Graduate Program Opportunities: Master of Arts in Education

Master of Arts in Education

Professors Armstrong and Bush; Associate Professors Haley, Kang, Steffy and Stein; Assistant Professor Corley.

The purpose of the MA in Education program is to develop teachers who exercise leadership within their professional communities and academic institutions. The program is designed to develop experienced elementary and secondary school teachers who are recognized as master teachers because of their advanced knowledge and skills and their deep commitment to responsible professionalism.

Vital Connections is the constructivist framework for the education licensure programs at Heidelberg College. It is based on the notion that students are actively involved in constructing their own philosophy of education, implementing, and revising it. This involves three phases.

The first is becoming familiar with education theory as presented in the various classes. The second phase is practice in the schools, both vicarious and active. The third phase involves reflection on one’s experiences as they relate to theory and revision of one’s plans for subsequent experiences. The three phases are synergistic (they interact with one another) and symbiotic (they are interdependent). Thus, constructivism is at the core of the conceptual framework and the “tools” of theory, practice, and reflection are used (1) to build one’s understanding of the teaching/learning process, and (2) to connect the constructivist core to the individual.

The degree program requirements are structured as follows:

Required Courses: 19 semester hours

EDU 500 Instructional Theory and Practice I 3 hrs.
EDU 501 Curriculum Theory and Policy 3 hrs.
EDU 502 Educational Research 4 hrs.
EDU 504 Professional Ethics 3 hrs.
EDU 522 Introduction to Data Analysis 3 hrs
EDU 590 Practicum in Education I 3 hrs.

Electives: 14 semester hours

EDU 512 Foundations of Reading 3 hrs.
EDU 513 Teaching Reading in the Content Areas 3 hrs.
EDU 514 Diagnosis and Remediation of Reading Difficulties 3 hrs.
EDU 520 Computers in Education I 3 hrs.
EDU 521 Computers in Education II 3 hrs.
EDU 523 Trends in Elementary Education 3 hrs.
EDU 524 Trends in Secondary Education 3 hrs.
EDU 525 Multicultural Literature 3 hrs.
EDU 526 Academic Content Standards 3 hrs.
EDU 527 Child and Adolescent Development or COU 503 Human Growth and Development 3 hrs.
EDU 528  Motivation to Achieve 3 hrs.
EDU 529 Classroom Management 3 hrs.
EDU 530 Assessment and Evaluation in Schools 3 hrs.
EDU 531 Teacher Leadership  3 hrs
EDU 533 Archaeology for Educators K-12 3 hrs.
EDU 534 Investigating a Civil War Prison 3 hrs
EDU 535 The Effective Teacher 2 hrs.
EDU 541 Special Topics in Education 1-3 hrs.
EDU 550 Independent Study 1-3 hrs
EDU 560 Workshop 1-3 hrs.
EDU 591  Practicum in Education II 1 hr.

For a detailed description of the programs, please request a Graduate Studies Catalog 2008-2009 from the Office of Graduate Studies.