Elon University Master of Education Viewbook 2014

Master of Education www.elon.edu/med

Empowering Inspired

“The Elon M.Ed. will empower you to become a leader in your school and in your community. As you move through the program you will develop your inquiry skills, enhance your understanding of the needs of diverse learners, become more globally engaged and learn to use effective educational strategies to ensure the success of all of your students. We offer ongoing support to our graduates to encourage their commitment to lifelong learning.”

Dr. Joan Barnatt and Dr. Katie King, M.Ed. Co-directors

Empowering Dedicated Teachers to Become Inspired Leaders You teach because you love learning. You’re determined to ignite that same passion in each of your students. And now you’re ready for the next step. You’re ready to become a leader in your school and bring renewed inspiration to your classroom.

At Elon, you’ll earn a master’s degree and advanced licensure without sacrificing your demanding teaching schedule as you work toward National Boards Certification. You’ll work in small classes with faculty and students who share your drive and will help you achieve your goals.

A fully accredited program Elon M.Ed. graduates boast a 100 percent pass rate on advanced licensure exams. That’s one of the reasons why Elon is widely recognized for the success of its teacher education program. It meets the highest professional standards and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

The Master of Education program at Elon University is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2010 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C., 20036; phone (202) 466-7496. This accreditation covers initial teacher preparation programs and advanced educator preparation programs. NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit programs for the preparation of teachers and other professional school personnel.

Preparing Teachers to do Exceptional Work Best Value: Enjoy the benefits of a private university education with a cost comparable to public institutions. Earn a master’s degree in elementary, gifted or special education for approximately $10,000. A payment plan is available.

Blended Model: Meet face-to-face for three summers and online for two intervening years, totaling 26 months. Your professional workload is demanding, and our schedule is specifically designed to help you balance classroom responsibilities with graduate work.

National Boards Preparation: Elon has designed our program content and sequence to align with National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). With additional formatting and assistance from faculty, candidates can use their program capstone portfolio towards the NBPTS application.

Global Experience: Study abroad in Costa Rica for a week at no additional cost. You’ll study curriculum issues and work with both local students and teachers during the first session of your third summer.

Research and Inquiry: Learn to critically evaluate research literature and conduct action research projects. In a required online course, you will write an action research prospectus; the following semester you will carry out the project and conduct the research.

Exceptional Teachers

M.Ed. alumnae Heather Tuggle ‘10 and Michelle Himmelman ‘10 worked with Jean Rattigan-Rohr, associate professor of education, to examine the effects of a home-university tutoring program on struggling readers’ grades. They wrote reviews, observed undergraduate students as they worked with struggling readers, and worked with readers’ parents.

Best

Value

“At Elon, there was a research basis behind everything we did. That made me think very differently about entering the classroom every day. Until the Elon experience, I was a ‘reflective practitioner’, but I was only reflective on what I thought should happen in the classroom. Elon’s emphasis on action research helped clarify and polish my teaching methods.”

Marty Erskine, M.Ed. ‘11, 2013 Stokes County Teacher of the Year

Earn a master’s degree in elementary, gifted or special education for approximately $10,000 The Elon M.Ed. program is designed to shape master teachers. Twenty-six months of faculty-mentored inquiry, study and analysis forge graduates who are innovators in their classrooms and leaders in their professional communities. The true value of the program lies in the success of its alumni.

Elon’s program is offered at a substantially reduced cost. Your cost for the entire 26 months of study is fixed at the beginning of your first summer session. Elon also offers several options for dividing payments over the course of study. Financial aid is available in the form of Stafford Loans.

As a teacher, you know the importance of class size. Average class size in the M.Ed. program is 15. Elon keeps classes small to encourage close collaboration among students and faculty. You will exchange ideas with local teachers from other grades, school systems and levels of experience as well as teachers from other parts of the world.

Recog Exc

Marty Erskine, M.Ed.’11, 2013 Stokes County Teacher of the Year

Kim Mellor, M.Ed. ’04, 2012 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Teacher of the Year

Tyronna Hooker, M.Ed. ’09, 2012 North Carolina Teacher of the Year

nized ellence A Tradition of

Molly Ellington, M.Ed. ’08, 2012 Alamance-Burlington Teacher of the Year

Sample Elementary Schedule (33hr program) SUMMER I—GRADUATE CORE SESSION

1:

Advanced Psychological Theory in the Classroom

SESSION

2:

Instructional Technology in the Classroom

FALL I—ONLINE

Educational Research SPRING I—ONLINE

Educational Assessment & Evaluation SUMMER II—SPECIALTY CORE

A program designed for your schedule Focus your attention on graduate studies during a concentrated period of time. Take the majority of your courses over three summers — attend classes during the day for three weeks in June and another threeweek term in July, and complete the remaining courses online during the intervening school years, totaling 26 months. Enjoy the flexibility of studying at home when you are teaching and the convenience of completing the majority of your graduate work during summer breaks.

Each M.Ed. student is assigned to a faculty adviser, who works closely with students as they advance through the program.

Advisers and other faculty guide students as they conduct their action-based research projects and develop their graduate portfolios, leading many to National Boards Certification.

SESSION

1:

Critical Issues in Elementary Education

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar II

SESSION

2:

Curriculum & Instructional Design in Elem. Ed.

FALL II—ONLINE

Advanced Literacy Development SPRING II—ONLINE

Educating Diverse Learners SUMMER III—CONCLUDING PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES SESSION

1:

Studies in International Education (Costa Rica)

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar III

SESSION

2:

Consultation & Collaboration Skills with Internship Elementary Education section

Blended Model

Sample Special Education Schedule (33hr program) SUMMER I—GRADUATE CORE

Sample Gifted Education Schedule (33hr program) SUMMER I—GRADUATE CORE

SESSION

1:

Advanced Psychological Theory in the Classroom

SESSION

1:

Advanced Psychological Theory in the Classroom

SESSION

2:

Instructional Technology in the Classroom

SESSION

2:

Instructional Technology in the Classroom

FALL I—ONLINE

FALL I—ONLINE

Educational Research

Educational Research

SPRING I—ONLINE

SPRING I—ONLINE

Educational Assessment and Evaluation

Educational Assessment & Evaluation

SUMMER II—SPECIALTY CORE

SUMMER II—SPECIALTY CORE

SESSION

1:

Language and Literacy Methods in Special Education

SESSION

1:

Elective (see below for choice)

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar II

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar II

SESSION

2:

Curriculum & Instructional Design in Special Education

SESSION

2:

Curriculum & Instructional Design in Gifted Education

FALL II—ONLINE

FALL II—ONLINE

Foundations of Special Education

Foundations of Gifted Education

SPRING II—ONLINE

SPRING II—ONLINE

Classroom Management for Exceptional Learners

Social/Emotional Needs of Gifted Students

SUMMER III—CONCLUDING PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

SUMMER III—CONCLUDING PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

SESSION

1:

Studies in International Education (Costa Rica)

SESSION

1:

Studies in International Education (Costa Rica)

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar III

SESSION

1:

Advanced Masters Seminar III

SESSION

2:

Consultation & Collaboration Skills with Internship Special Education section

SESSION

2:

Consultation & Collaboration Skills with Internship Gifted Education section

ELECTIVES

Literature for Children & Youth: Analysis & Application Mathematical Concepts and Connections Integrated Science

Three Paths of Inquiry M.Ed. students select from three programs, each designed to meet the specific needs and goals of a particular learner. The programs are designed so that students don’t have to declare their chosen track until the second year.

National Boards Preparation “Teaching, to me, is the most important thing I’ve ever done. Here at Elon I’ve really had the opportunity to live my beliefs … and I’ve had the opportunity to see the fruits of living those beliefs.”

Glenda Crawford was honored as the 2011 North Carolina Professor of the Year. Crawford has mentored hundreds of educators as a professor in the School of Education. Her passion for understanding the mind of middle school students motivated Crawford to publish five books on how the adolescent brain develops.

The M.Ed. faculty deliberately designed the program’s content and sequence to align with National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) so that students have the opportunity to prepare an application for certification.

Students who would like to pursue NBPTS certification have the benefit of working with experienced faculty as they format their capstone portfolio for use in the NBPTS application. Candidates who have been teaching for a minimum of three years are eligible to participate in our NBPTS certification preparation seminars in special education, gifted education or elementary education.

Practical application to serve the common good Service is one of the university’s core values and the M.Ed. program incorporates service learning into the curriculum. All programs offer an on-campus internship in the third summer. You’ll design, administer and evaluate a learning enrichment experience tailored to the needs of local students while collaborating with peers and receiving daily feedback from your professors. This experience allows you to exercise and refine the knowledge and skills you have developed throughout the program under the tutelage of your professors.

• The program invites local school children to participate in the experience in order to provide an extended learning opportunity to the children of Alamance County, NC. • Special education candidates prepare and teach children with disabilities who are struggling with reading.

• Gifted education candidates prepare and teach gifted children enrichment.

• Elementary education candidates assess reading skills as they work with underrepresented students in the “It Takes a Village” Project, a literacy tutoring project started by the Director of the Center for Access and Success and Associate Professor of Education Jean Rattigan-Rohr.

Global Experience Study Abroad in Costa Rica Spend the first week of your final summer session in Costa Rica. This seven day international learning experience is offered at no additional cost and is a distinguishing feature of the Elon M.Ed. program.

Elon partners with a local school to ensure continuity of learning.

You’ll work from a multi-year plan toward an articulated goal while applying the lessons you learned at Elon.

The time you’ll spend with Costa Rican teachers and students supports the M.Ed. program’s mission to develop master teachers who are adept at teaching to all children across a broad range of cultural backgrounds.

One in three K-12 U.S. students is a minority, according to the National Council of Educational Statistics and a Pew Research report notes that 24 percent of all K-12 students are Latino. Preparing M.Ed. students to teach students from a variety of cultural backgrounds ensures graduates will be forerunners to meet a growing educational need.

“The trip to Costa Rica allowed me to take all of the information I learned throughout the program and view it through a global lens. While abroad, I wanted to learn about Latin American culture and then find a way to apply that knowledge when I returned home to work with my own students in the special education program. That goal was achieved and has positively served students in my classroom.”

Desmond Coble M.Ed.’13, special education teacher and chairperson for the exceptional children’s department Wheatmore High School in Trinity, N.C.

“While studying at Elon, I put a lot of thought into how educators could serve gifted students. With that goal in mind, I created a website to better inform parents and teachers of available programs and joined a team conducting professional development for the system’s high school English and language arts teachers. This led to a leadership role working with both teachers and principals on improving and expanding the experiences for AP and Honors students. In May, I became the program specialist for Secondary ELA and AIG, combining my previous role with working more closely on curriculum.

Built on the foundation of scholarly inquiry

I apply what I learned from my M.Ed. experiences every day in some way.”

Apply Today

Angelique Austin, M.Ed. ’12, program specialist for Secondary ELA & AIG Alamance-Burlington School System

You’ll quickly learn to structure classroom lessons on evidence-based research to ensure the success of your students.

While you’re here, you’ll complete an inquiry project to address a scholarly topic in education. You’ll design, collect and analyze data to produce a concluding capstone project that alumni have presented at conferences and shared as a springboard to leadership positions. If you are invited to present your research at a conference, Elon will pay your way. Alumni also have access to the School of Education’s Curriculum Research Center so they can continue their learning experience and translate lessons learned at Elon into their daily work.

The M.Ed. enrolls a new cohort each June. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please submit all required application materials as early as possible prior to enrollment, but no later than May 1.

For a complete list of requirements and additional admissions information, visit www.elon.edu/med.

Research &Inquiry

Office of Graduate Admissions PO Box 398 Elon, NC 27244 Change Service Requested 336-278-7600 800-334-8448 ext. 3 gradadm@elon.edu www.elon.edu/med

About Elon National Rankings U.S. News & World Report ranked Elon #1 among 124 Southern master’s-level universities in its 2014 “America’s Best Colleges” guide.

The Princeton Review lists Elon among the nation’s top schools in its 2014 “The Best 378 Colleges” guide. The National Survey of Student Engagement consistently names Elon one of the top schools in the country for actively engaging students in their learning experience.

Faculty Eighty-eight percent of Elon’s full-time faculty holds the highest degrees in their fields. The university’s student-to-faculty ratio is 12-1, and the average class size is 21. The M.Ed. student-to-faculty ratio is 8-1.

Enrollment and Location Elon’s 5,599 undergraduate and 706 graduate students come from 47 states, the District of Columbia, multiple U.S. territories and 49 other countries. Located in Elon, North Carolina, Elon’s 620-acre historic campus is a designated botanical garden. Elon is 30 minutes east of Greensboro and 45 minutes west of Chapel Hill and Durham.

Majors and Degrees Elon offers more than 60 majors leading to the bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of science degrees.

Master’s degrees are awarded in education, business administration, interactive media and physician assistant studies. Elon offers a doctor of physical therapy (DPT), and the Elon University School of Law offers the J.D. degree.

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