The following courses will be offered during the 2008 Summer Tearchers Academy. The information in italics indicates the dates and time of course meetings. All classes will meet at RMU's campus in Moon Township.
EDUC6000 | Critical Issues Affecting American Education |
This course focuses on the historical, political, economic,
legislative, technological, social and educational events and
leaders that have affected education in the 20th century. The
course provides participants the opportunity to identify and
research the pros and cons of major contemporary issues and
events affecting education, formulate a positive attitude toward
change, understand their own philosophy of education, suggest
needed changes in curricula and recommend appropriate
teaching strategies to deal with issues and events. (3 credits)
Offered during Session I of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 1) and on Wednesdays from 6-10 p.m. during
the eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6010 | Theories of Learning and Instruction |
This course concentrates on the presentation, illustration and
comparison of major contemporary learning theories. The course
provides the opportunity to apply the theories in an integrated
fashion through in-class discussions and a series of case studies
that are organized around the following: cognitive strategies,
positive attitudes and motivation to learn; retention of verbal
information; and intellectual skills. Sensitivity to individual
differences among diverse learners is emphasized through the
study of topics such as learning styles, multiple intelligence
and cultural differences as they may affect the learner. A major
course requirement is to develop instructional strategy plans
that take into account individual differences and the major
theories of learning. (3 credits) Offered during Session I of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 1) and on Tuesdays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6020 | Assessment/Educational Statistics |
This course is divided into two major learning outcomes. The first
is measurement and evaluation to assess outcomes of learning,
including: the assessment process; constructing classroom tests;
judging and evaluating the quality of tests; and an interpretation
of test results. The second focus is on understanding statistics and
their role in informal classroom and professional research studies.
Topics include parametric and non-parametric classical decision theory plus linear regression analysis. This segment prepares
participants for research if they elect to go on to the doctoral level
of education. (3 credits)
Offered during Session II of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 1) and on Mondays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6030 | Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Online Education (online) |
This course provides an overview of the e-learning environment
including: competing visions of online education, commercial
software, professionally developed courseware and online
providers, and Web-based online resources. The course also
involves students in hands-on projects related to the application
of e-learning strategies and skills. This course is appropriate
for elementary, secondary, and college educators, trainers in
development and/or human resources, and others interested
in online education. There are no prerequisite courses, but
basic computer literacy skills are required. (3 credits)
Offered fully online during the eight-week session staring May 27.
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EDUC6040 | The Learning Environment |
This course creates an analytical classroom environment
where teachers participate in teaching clinics and interact with
professional peers, teaching professors and clinical specialists.
The course is designed to stimulate K-12 classroom teachers to
create exemplary learning environments. Students interact with
practitioners from various social, legal and educational agencies;
link with primary, middle and secondary schools; and increase
their multicultural awareness and knowledge base. (3 credits)
Offered during Session II of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 2) and on Wednesdays from 6-10 p.m. during
the eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6060 | Curriculum Design and Development |
This course concentrates on the development of effective,
practical techniques for establishing curricula for use in a
standards-based education environment. The course examines
the theoretical dimensions of curriculum development and
a 10-step curriculum planning process model demonstrating how teachers and school districts can be accountable for the
achievement of student outcomes. The 10-step process assists
in planning how to solve real or simulated curricular problems.
Topics such as curriculum integration, collaborative learning and
authentic assessment are addressed to show their connection to
curriculum development and standards-based education
planning. (3 credits)
Offered during Session II of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 1) and on Thursdays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6080 | Special Learning Problems |
This course focuses on different learning problems of students
in the elementary and secondary schools, including students
who cannot achieve to grade level because of specific learning
problem(s) and students who should be achieving at much higher
levels than their present grade level. The course provides a
background of knowledge of these specific learning problems,
methods of identifying (diagnosing) the problems, and approaches
or strategies to remediate and/or enrich the student within the
framework or the particular content area of choice in the school
system. New legal reforms and rights of exceptional people are
explored and students adapt teaching strategies and environments
to meet the legal rights of exceptional people. (3 credits)
Offered during Session I of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 2) and on Mondays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6090 | Learning Systems/Instructional Decision Making |
This course focuses on the importance of making instructional
decisions that are research-based and data-driven. Students
explore a variety of learning systems and teaching techniques
such as cooperative learning, mastery learning, inter-disciplinary
teaming and instruction based on learning styles. The importance
of developing a process for selecting the appropriate techniques
based on instructional needs and assessment data is emphasized.
Utilizing nontraditional assessment and translating it into usable
data will dictate instructional decisions that students make
involving their own classrooms. Students present the results
of their studies in a paper suitable for publication. (3 credits)
Offered during Session I of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 2) and on Thursdays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6100 | Multimedia Design |
This course explores issues in the design and implementation
of multimedia projects for teaching, including hardware and
software consideration, problems and concerns. Instructional
design principles provide a basis for software use. Multimedia
projects allow individuals to practice the principles of analysis
and design in relation to a teaching and learning application
relevant to individual situations and needs. (3 credits)
Offered on Thursdays from 6-10 p.m. during the eight-week session
starting May 27.
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EDUC6110 | Computers in the Classroom |
This course is an introduction to the methods and techniques
of teaching with the computer. The course focuses on utilizing
computers and peripheral hardware and software in an
instructional setting, including networking and systems security.
It emphasizes developing teachers' abilities so they can use
computer technology to improve teaching and learning in the
classroom and lead other teachers to do the same. Emphasis is
on using computers and multimedia hardware and software to
promote the development of higher-level thinking in all content
areas. Computer testing and computer-assisted instruction are
covered. The relationship of the computer to education and
society is discussed. (3 credits)
Offered during Session II of the STA Master of Science in Instructional
Leadership (Summer 2) and on Tuesdays from 6-10 p.m. during the
eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6120 | Instructional Leadership/Management |
This course emphasizes the theory, resources and techniques to
develop the leadership, communication and management skills
that teachers need to work with and lead various educational
constituencies in a variety of forums, such as one-to-one meetings,
small groups, committees, conferences and public meetings.
Students focus on the nature of leadership, communication
and management; their definitions; and their various styles.
In addition, students adapt leadership, communication and
management strategies and techniques to achieve desired
outcomes in diverse situations. Students relate course topics
to school and teaching experiences through individual and
group activities. (3 credits)
Offered on Mondays from 6-10 p.m. during the eight-week session
starting May 27.
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EDUC6130 | Internet/Basic Web Page Design |
This course is designed to introduce and prepare students with
the research process in education, including identifying and
stating the research problem, reviewing the literature, collecting
and analyzing the data, planning the research design, reporting
the findings and writing the report. Students review and analyze
the research of others with an emphasis on adequacy of design,
appropriateness of the analysis and generalization of the results.
(3 credits)
Offered fully online during the eight-week session starting May 27.
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EDUC6210 | Internet/Basic Web Page Design |
This course gives participants the opportunity to learn proven
strategies for finding useful information on the Web and for
incorporating the Internet into classroom instruction. Participants
will learn to download applications and use them to enhance
their Internet and web design experiences. Basic HTML concepts
will be taught, and all participants will create a web page using
an HTML editor. (3 credits)
Offered fully online during the eight-week session starting May 27.
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