Description of the Program A focus on how to best support the needs of students whose native language is not English, facilitate professional development and offer resources to teachers, students and families, and differentiate instruction and assessment for English language learners. Students in this program will be required to complete an internship which they may complete "on the job". Students will need to meet with the program's faculty advisor during their first semester to plan the internship. Admission Requirements Holds a minimum of a bachelor's degree; Holds a teaching certificate in elementary education (K-6); Pass the GRE/MAT requirements, OR have 3 years of successful teaching, OR 3.0 undergraduate cumulative GPA, OR other master's degree. Degree Requirements Core Courses = 4 courses (12 hours) ED 530 Applied Multiculturalism 3 hours Online Through an examination of constructs such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and religious affiliation, students will develop a theoretical understanding of the connections between identity, difference, power, and privilege and the role(s) schools (could/should) play in perpetuating or ending discriminatory practices. Furthermore and importantly, students will develop an understanding of the ways research in both the humanities and social sciences can be used to interpret, analyze, and critique multiculturalism. ED 535 Introduction to Applied Educational Research 3 hours Online Introduction to the nature of research and its relationship to educational thought and practice. Primary focus will be on planning and executing research activities(i.e. action research, thesis development) in the diverse classroom and analyzing the collected data to improve instruction, educational performance and adding to the body of knowledge on educational practices. ED 540 Advanced Cognitive Psychology 3 hours Online Designed to inform students about recent developments in Cognitive Psychology and their implications for teaching and learning. Students will leave ED 565 with a variety of “cognitive understandings” for use in differentiated classrooms. ED 565 Introduction to Differentiated Instruction 3 hours Online Provides an introduction to the philosophy and practice of differentiation. Examines the elements, content, process, product, affect and learning environment, by which instruction can be differentiated to address the complex challenges of meeting the diverse learning needs of all students. Concentration Courses = 6 courses (18 hours) EHL 505 Introduction to General LinguisticsCome to see the strange in familiar as you engage in the study of the system of language through focused analysis of the components of English. Language is usually the lens through which we observe and report on the world. In this course, it becomes the object of observations and discussion. 3 hours Online EHL 506 Critical Issues in ESOLCome to an understanding of the complex of policies, legislation, and practice that impact the progress of English Learners in elementary and secondary schools across the U.S. Understand the impact of federal, state, and local policies on classroom settings and teacher-student interactions. 3 hours Online EHL 507 Advanced English Grammar Studies - Applied English Linguistics IIThrough an in-depth analysis of the structure of sentences and discourse in contemporary English, you will understand more clearly the impact of the choices we make in the language we use in day-to-day conversations, instructional settings, political discourse, and beyond. 3 hours Online ED 635 Using Assessment to Guide Differentiated InstructionThe focus of this course would be to use a variety of norm-referenced, criterion-referenced and other assessment data to inform instruction for a diverse classroom within the RTi model. Students would learn to use formative and summative assessments to determine the type of strategies needed to teach content. 3 hours Online ED 640 Differentiated Strategies for Research & Teaching of English Language LearnersThe course is designed to provide current educators the foundation for informed and effective classroom teaching in diverse classrooms with ELL students. The course includes theoretical underpinnings of historical and contemporary ELL education, instructional methods, analysis and critique of methodologies, and strategies for pedagogically sound classroom instruction and lesson planning within linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. 3 hours Online ED 696 ESOL Internship Requires demonstration of competence to teach ESOL in an internship of at least 300 clock hours which may be completedthroughout the program. 3 hours Online Action Research Project = 1 course (3 hours) ED 690 Master's Action Research Project 3 hours Online After the completion of the courses, advanced candidates will complete a summative action research project. Working with an individual faculty member, the action research will be planned, completed, and presented for the department.