Master of Arts in Elementary Education

Stresses educational research and best practices in teaching strategies. Throughout the program, students will practice incorporating critical thinking skills, cooperative learning strategies, state standards, and technology into reading, math, science, and social students curriculum areas. Students will have the opportunity to create products and complete activities that apply research into practice. Course assignments are designed to foster analysis of real world educational settings. The practicum experience in this online program does not require articulation agreements between school districts of other educational entities, but is a collaborative effort between the educational administrator, the graduate student, and the practicum professor through phone and online conferences.

Program Objectives:

• Examine scientific inquiry as a teaching method


• Recognize and put into practice appropriate methodology and instructional strategies to teach mathematics content K-6.


• Differentiate math instruction to meet the readiness levels and learning styles of the students


• Organize and administer effective corrective instruction to individuals, small groups or whole class


• Design appropriate curriculum integration projects for K-8 literacy learners.


• Demonstrate researched supported methods of instructing for language and reading fluency with ESOL students


• Demonstrate researched supported methods of scaffolding for reading fluency


• Organize literacy classrooms for optimum literacy growth and achievement


• Understand and explain the theoretical and research basis for using technology to increase the knowledge base for social studies and content literacy skills for students K-8 grades

Required Courses

• ED 626 Curriculum Design and Instruction


• ED 665 Integrating Technology in the Classroom


• RED 620 Emergent Literacy Development: Pre K- Grade 3


• RED 621 Teaching Elementary Reading Grades 1 - 6


• RED 625 Linguistically Diverse Students (ESOL, Dialect speakers and beyond)


• RED 626 Diagnosis and Remediation in Reading


• ELE 640 Research Based Practices for Elementary Social Studies Instruction


• ELE 641 Research Based Practices for Elementary Science Instruction


• ELE 642 Research Based Practices for Elementary Math Instruction


• ELE 643 Diagnosis and Remediation in Mathematics


• ELE 644 Teaching Language Arts

Electives: Select one of the following courses

• RED 627 Integrating Technology in Reading and Language Arts Classroom K-8


• ED 627 Engaging Students in Critical Thinking


• ED 609 Preparing for the National Board and Beyond