Graduate Course Descriptions

This course, aligned with the PA Leadership Core Standards and Corollary Standards, examines the goals, principles, and approaches to the coaching model. The emphasis of the course work is an understanding of adult learning principles that support collaboration with the ultimate goal of improved student performance. Options for working with teachers in a learning community and for encouraging teacher leadership are included. Through research, problem-based learning, in-class scenarios, case studies, and discussion, the course will focus on leadership and the role of supervision in student achievement. Coaching Field Experiences include activities from Pennsylvania Department of Education: Competency II A- Instructional Coaching Skills and Abilities and Competency II B- Group Coaching. (15 Hours of Field Experience Required)

This course will focus on using systematic researched methods of design and development for online instruction for diverse learners. Candidates will learn how to follow the five-phase instructional design model consisting of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) when designing and implementing online instruction. They will utilize varied delivery platform systems and technology tools both existing and emerging to create synchronous and/or asynchronous online courses which will foster differentiated instruction and accommodations. Candidates will address the various configurations of online instruction including fullyonline, hybrid, and online learning modules incorporated within traditional courses. (Includes 14 Field Experience Hours)

In this course, students will learn how to create online effective instruction as outlined in the Teacher Effectiveness Model of teaching supervision and evaluation. The candidate will learn strategies and techniques to actively engage students while building an online learning community. They will learn how to facilitate and monitor appropriate interactions of students while building trust within this community. Candidates will understand their role as an effective learning facilitator by establishing consistent and reliable expectations while giving appropriate and timely feedback to community members. Techniques for leading online instruction groups that are focused and inquiry based will be developed. Emphasis will be placed on providing differentiated instruction addressing the needs of the diverse online learners. (Prerequisite: EDL 666) (Includes 14 Field Experience Hours)

This course provides classroom teachers with information about factors that contribute to risky behaviors with a focus on the ecology of children’s lives that includes the school, community and neighborhood environments that increase risk in PK-12. Family, school, and individual characteristics that provide a more prominent and direct influence on youth will be explored. Data on at-risk categories along with major treatment and prevention approaches are examined. Prevention strategies are presented that focus on family, school, peer groups, and the individual.

This course seeks to inform teachers about the importance of mental health literacy in teaching students in PK-12. Mental Health issues include substance use and abuse, STDs, Risky Behaviors, Youth Violence, Youth Suicide, Anxiety, Depression, Bullying, Child Abuse and Neglect, Coping with Emergencies and Disasters, Attention Deficit (ADD/ADHD), Eating Disorders: Anorexia and Bulimia, and Affective Mood Disorder with a goal toward understanding and compassionate care of youth engaged in these behaviors (Required: 10 hours supervised or mentorship in the endorsement area.)

Research shows that to be successful in adult life, students must master not only core academics (literacy, numeracy, etc.) but also social emotional skills and a mindset that embodies a good citizen (Bock, 2015). Socio-emotional functioning of students, a non-academic component of schooling, is inextricably intertwined with academic functioning. Immaculata University’s approved endorsement program in Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness PK-12 requires field experience of its students. The final course requires a culmination of 45 hours of field experience PK-12 (10 hours from each of the first two courses) and 25 hours integrated application of wellness with a portfolio of culminating supervisory or mentorship experiences.

This course will equip candidates with the ability to effectively integrate children’s literature into instruction from Pre-K through high school. Various fiction and nonfiction genres will be explored in terms of motivating students, increasing their interest in reading, and developing an appreciation for a wide variety of types of texts. Emphasis will be placed on incorporating children’s literature into core and intervention instruction to address the Pennsylvania Core ELA Standards. This course is required for reading specialist certification.

This course is designed to provide reading specialist candidates with the ability to successfully evaluate and diagnose children who are struggling with reading and writing. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how to select, administer, and analyze date gleaned from a variety of formal, informal, and state-required assessment types, including but not limited to formative, diagnostic, progress-monitoring, summative, curriculum-based, standardized, and informal reading inventories. Candidates will develop the ability to interpret and communicate those results to school personnel and families. Students will conduct a variety of assessments and will compose a case study diagnosing the strengths and needs of a struggling learner. This course is required for reading specialist certification.

This course will focus on the study of the PK-12 literacy program. Emphasis is placed on the role of the reading specialist in developing, coordinating, and administering a literacy program at the school and district levels. Students will analyze the strengths and needs of a school’s literacy program and make recommendations for improvement. Other topics that will be explored include involvement in professional organizations; instructional schedules, tasks, and procedures; selecting materials and programs providing professional support and development.

The Special Topics in Education course will address innovations, trends, and strategies in the field of education.