GCED 600 Educational Leadership and Professional Development
The primary focus of professional development and instructional leadership is the enhancement of learning in the classroom and other dedicated settings in which students grow and develop to their maximum potential. Educational leadership is established within the context of the master teacher and professional educator. Self-study projects and human development workshops foster school and community leadership potential of the master teacher. Multiple assessments are used to develop career goal objectives leading to the Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Three credits.

GCED 605 Statistics and Research Design
This course will enable the educator to read and interpret empirical research as it is reported in the periodic literature and to design educational research instruments and projects. This advanced course will include instruction in educational test and measurements that will provide the educator with the prerequisite mathematical skills to compute, read, and interpret statistical data as reported on standardized achievement tests, group and individual tests, and research monographs. The major emphasis of the course is to develop the observational, investigative, and interpretive skills of a reflective educator/practitioner. Three credits.

GCED 610 Current Issues and Trends in Education
This course is designed to involve the student in an examination and analysis of significant contemporary issues in education. Current literature and research studies are explored through independent research assignments and seminar-type group discussions. Students are encouraged to develop substantiated personal positions regarding topics such as school reform initiatives, charter schools, school violence, problems in urban/rural schools, and the integration of technology in the classroom. Research projects can be initiated in this course. Three credits.

GCED 615 Curriculum and Systems Design
This course is designed to include theories of curriculum, instruction, and the design of instructional systems. Emphasis will be on translating theory into practice, particularly for curriculum implementation in public or private schools and/or in industry training. Students will have an opportunity to actually design curricula for use in an educational setting. This course will involve field trips, in-field experiences, classroom lecture, technological training, and project assignments. Three credits.

GCED 620 Assessment and Diagnostics
The fundamental principles of diagnostic theory and practice are analyzed with an emphasis on the application of these principles to a variety of educational settings. Students are acquainted with the guidelines and techniques for diagnosing students’ needs and abilities by implementing and interpreting developmentally appropriate assessments, both quantitative and qualitative. Procedures and problems in test construction and in the analysis, summarization, and reporting of student outcomes are examined. Three credits.

GCED 625 Instructional Technology
Students will explore the use of technology as an important education resource. They will develop the knowledge, technical expertise, and instructional strategies necessary for effective application of technology in a variety of educational and professional settings. “Hands-on” experience is emphasized. Three credits.

GCED 635 Instructional Methodology
Students will examine the rationale for and development of viable theories of instructional design; apply instructional models to various learning environments and evaluate the learning outcomes; develop an expanded and integrated repertoire of teaching strategies and techniques for use in their classrooms. Three credits.

GCED 640 Classroom Management
This course provides an overview of management models and practical techniques that foster the creation and maintenance of a functional, effective learning environment in the classroom. It focuses on behavior analysis, management strategies, and the legal and/or policy constraints affecting implementation. Students examine the use of techniques in a variety of settings and apply procedures in their own classes. (Elective) Three credits.

GCED 645 Philosophical and Ethical Perspectives in Education
The course will explore the idea that educational educations reflect the wider society. Students will examine schools and classrooms to determine how a school’s governance, administration, curriculum, and activities relate to the values, beliefs, and structures of the community and larger society. Students will see the impact of leadership style and philosophical underpinnings on a school’s culture, reasons for children’s success or failure at school, adopted and implicit curricula, and the effect of various factors such as gender, social class, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation on educational experiences of pupils. Students will also explore historical and current philosophical perspectives in American education and will articulate their own philosophical and ethical beliefs about education.

GCED 655 Educational Jurisprudence
This course investigates a wide range of legal issues that influence the lives of teachers, students, parents, administrators, and school boards. The legal aspects of teaching and teachers’ and students’ rights receive extensive treatment. Contract law, conditions of employment, collective bargaining, liability, child abuse, copyright law, and constitutional provisions of the law affecting the school, the child, and the teacher are investigated. Controversial and emerging legal issues are also examined. (Elective) Three credits.

GCED 660 Adult Learning
This course will define adult education and distinguish it from other adult-learning activities. The historic, social, and pedagogic origins of Adult Education will be surveyed, and it will be contrasted to other types of education. Examples of curricula, selected goals and objectives, and learning activities will be reviewed, and consideration will be given to how these educational components are influenced by theories of adult learning. Three credits.

GCED 670 Visual Thinking and Learning
This course introduces the students to the study and use of the instructional visual modalities within the curriculum. The course emphasizes how students learn and benefit from “instructionally balanced” picture based media (film, television, photography, graphics arts, computer-based instruction, 3-D imagery, and the Internet). Topics include: visual interpretation, creativity and imagination studies, instructional image manipulation and presentation techniques, social/political influences of visual imagery on children, and the role of the visual media in education. (Elective) Three credits.

GCED 675 Inclusionary Education
This course will offer students an introduction to inclusive environments and services. Students will learn the techniques and skills needed to address current inclusive classroom management issues as well as how to develop effect teaching strategies for an inclusive classroom. This course will involve practical application and discussion. (Elective) Three credits

GCED 680 Supervision of Instruction Students
will be introduced to the basic concepts and theories of instructional supervision. Emphasis on the roles, tasks, and processes involved in supervisory practice based on theory and research in education and ancillary fields such as psychology, social work, human resources management, communications, and organizational/business administration. (Elective) Three credits.

GCED 695 Managing Financial and Material Resources
This course will examine the changing financial realities facing schools, especially as they relate to the effective and efficient management of the school’s fiscal and material resources. The influences of state, city or municipality, and the school district, with its specific governance structure will be addressed. The management principles and managerial problems of the public/private education setting will be studied. Students will research various philosophies regarding resource management including: technology services, personnel, busing, facilities, etc. Budgeting methods and school maintenance are considered. (Elective) Three credits