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Contacts

Erin Elman / eelman@uarts.edu / 215.717.6370
Dean of Continuing Studies and Interim Program Director

Description

Educators find themselves in an era of increased need to not only be a specialist in their chosen content area but also in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Rarely is professional development offered to deepen teachers’ knowledge about quality education program design and how important the design of the what, the how, and the why are to a student’s educational experience. The MEd in Educational Program Design demystifies curriculum, instruction, and assessment for teachers and provides them with the tools and skills necessary to create and/or revise existing program structures to meet the needs of contemporary learners. This program will empower educators to be curricular leaders in their schools and school districts, to be better teachers and advocates for their students on multiple levels.

Students in the M.Ed. in Educational Program Design will complete a total of 30 credits, in a flexible format, consisting of 15 credits of core courses (five courses at 3.0 credits), an additional 12 credits in an emphasis area and one 3.0 credit elective course. The core courses are as follows:

• Assessment Design
• Curriculum Design
• Designing 21st Century Learning Environments
• Research Methods
• Capstone Project

The combination of the core courses, coupled with the emphasis and one elective allow educators to cultivate a variety of skill sets applicable across multiple grade levels and disciplines. The flexible scheduling allows educators to take courses throughout the school year on weekends or in the evenings, or as week-long summer intensives. Some courses are offered online or in a hybrid format, as well. All coursework is project-based, practical, and hands-on, and is ready to be utilized in the classroom immediately. The curriculum in this program is based on best-practices and current thinking in education.

Program Objectives

Students will:

• Identify and distinguish between formative, summative, diagnostic, and benchmark testing.
• Develop an understanding of current local, state, and national assessment systems.
• Learn how to evaluate their school’s system of assessment.
• Develop an understanding of the elements of assessment construction including: reliability and validity; norm- and criterion-referenced testing; item complexity; performance assessment; test blueprinting.
• Learn to write measurable instructional objectives that align with assessment systems.
• Gain an understanding of current educational policy affecting curriculum development.
• Evaluate philosophies and theoretical perspectives of education and their relevance to contemporary education policy.
• Become familiar with the steps involved in curriculum design.
• Utilize the Understanding by Design framework (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005) to develop lesson and unit plans.
• Utilize curriculum mapping tools as a means of identifying areas of need in curriculum revision.
• Create an assessment instrument to monitor the implementation of curriculum in their current educational setting.
• Become familiar with the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
• Develop lesson plans with built-in modifications for both special needs and gifted populations.
• Gain a basic understanding of major concepts in and proponents of 21st century skills.
• Evaluate their own institution’s level of 21st century skills incorporation.
• Gain a basic understanding of the various types of 21st century tools affecting modern classrooms.
• Learn to evaluate and revise existing lesson plans to include a 21st century technology-based tools with the goal of increasing student engagement and achievement.
• Develop an understanding of how to incorporate 21st century technologies into the design of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
• Develop an understanding of research methods by working with a variety of sources, which are appropriately documented.
• Develop and demonstrate the ability to design and utilize appropriate data collection instruments.
• Develop the ability to appropriately analyze and report the results of original research.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the APA format.
• Learn to integrate the MEd and emphasis coursework and demonstrate mastery of Educational Program Design through the creation of a research paper, research project, or curriculum unit.

Program Requirements (30 credits)