M.S. in Special Education Degree

Upon completion of the Education Specialist Credential program curriculum, the following courses are required for the M.S. in Special Education degree:

• EDGN 509 Situating Yourself As Scholar
• EDGN 510 Collaboratories of Practice
• EDGN 599 Education Improvement Plan

Course Descriptions

EDGN 509 Stituating Yourself As Scholar (3 credits)

This course is designed to provide teachers and counselors with a background and understanding of educational research such that they will become critical consumers and effective implementers of research in the classroom. Through first examining one's own positionality, and the impact this has on our own pedagogical practice, students will explore concepts from several research paradigms (e.g. positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism, critical theory), as well as more teacher and classroom-specific approaches (e.g., action research) particular to the field of education. Considerable time will be devoted to reviewing published peer-reviewed research articles in order to investigate the extent to which educational research is used to inform educational decision-making at both the policy and individual classroom level and also decisions prospective counselors must make when considering their roles and responsibilities when working with schools, teachers, students and their families.

EDGN 510 Collaboratories of Practice (3 credits)

In this course students will begin to delve into differing approaches to affecting change in learning organizations. Collaboratories of Practice represent a fusion of two important developments in contemporary educational research: communities of practice and collaboratories. A collaboratory is a new networked organizational form involving structured experiences of authentic, real-world practice which serve as sources of active inquiry and professional learning. A collaboratory is a professional learning space that supports creative problem-solving, maker-centered learning, the development of cutting-edge teacher education, research projects, programs, and experiences within the GSOE. After first examining change theory that underpins the transformational change in the world of education, students will begin to investigate current problems of practice in the field of education and devise or recommend a proposal for pragmatic solutions suitable to their particular contexts. 

EDGN 599 Education Improvement Plan (3 credits)

This course is focused on effective and ethical strategies for implementing, monitoring, and reporting change in educational organizations. Students will also consider change planning implementation through community building and culturally responsive relationships, particularly with diverse stakeholders that come into play in the work of a teacher. Students will write three chapters of an Education Improvement Plan that introduces the context, problem, vision, and approach for educational change; analyzes information and data gathered to select the best change path; and, develops a plan for implementing, monitoring, and communicating the educational change process. At the end of this course, students will be able to reflect on and communicate about a research informed, evidence-based plan to address a previously identified problem of practice for educational improvement. thesis. Students will engage collaboratively in various forms of peer review.