Graduate Education Courses

This course is designed for general educators, special educators, social workers, paraprofessionals, or any adults supporting students who struggle in school. Participants will design strategic plans, lessons, and learning opportunities for individual students in regular education settings.  The course will focus on: effective strategies for keeping struggling students engaged in learning, the profound way trauma impacts student learning, how to collaboratively problem solve with students, systems to keep students in classrooms including safety and transition plans, and ways to involve parents and families in the learning process.  Together we will explore the best approaches for working with students who have a variety of needs including students with ADHD, ASD, emotional disturbance, who display oppositional behaviors, and students who have experienced trauma.

This interactive and student-centered course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead improvements in literacy instruction and student achievement in their schools or districts. Various models of literacy leadership, professional development, literacy instruction and literacy intervention will be examined. This course is highly recommended for students in the M.Ed. and C.A.G.S. Reading Concentrations.  It is open to all graduate education students interested in leading improvements in literacy instruction and intervention.

This course provides an interdisciplinary analysis of child and adolescent development through an exploration of varied theories, including contemporary cultural influences.  It examines physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral, and spiritual dimensions and stages of development, along with implications for learning.

This course will address how stress impacts overall teacher performance and will provide opportunities to learn and experience regenerative practices that are so necessary for resilience and well-being. It will include Earth-based concepts that realign us with nature, with natural learning, and with those essential qualities that sustain us.

In our increasingly diverse schools, it is essential to create culturally inclusive and equity literate school environments in order for all students to feel welcome and affirmed, and for instructional practices to lead to equitable opportunities for success. In this course, teachers, counselors, special educators, specialists, and administrators will develop the skills to recognize incidents of bias when they occur, respond in the moment, redress and repair harm, and better understand the impacts of bias on student achievement and well-being.  Students will develop their own “equity lens” through which to analyze curricula, language, pedagogy, and instructional decision making. This course will examine historical and current contexts of educational inequities including successful and ineffective interventions aimed at addressing racism and other forms of oppression. Throughout the course, students will engage in the reflexive practice of investigating the ways in which their own identity markers, levels of privilege, and implicit biases inform their practice as educators.

This course will enable participants to explore the role school communities and school/district leadership play as our instructional landscape scales up to create personalized, learner-centered environments that respond to each student’s needs and interests. High-quality instruction, paired with the appropriate technological tools used to build the connections for all students between the person and the content is the key. Leadership principles will be examined to better understand the intricacies of how to effect change within a school culture to support and enact this personalization for all students.

Registration requires approval by Director Dan French, students must register using paper registration form.

This course offers an opportunity to deepen one's understanding of sustainable development and its implications for education, learning and change. Located on the beautiful campus of the United Nations' University for Peace in Costa Rica, the one-week course will explore practical methods for introducing sustainability into educational settings using the Earth Charter and Sustainable Development Goals. Appropriate for all educators and grade levels. Topics include values-based learning, transformative education, systems thinking, and Earth Charter resources.

Students will find course information here.

This contract course requires joint registration between Saint Michael's College and The Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development. The Earth Charter registration is done online here. The Saint Michael's College registration is done using the contract course paper registration form here. Please return form to Paula Henry in the Education office.

Tuition for all students is $800. Students are responsible for their own flight and accommodations. Gloriana Lara can assist with housing information and other particulars.

After the instructor presents the components of a successful picture book, seven author-illustrators will be traced from their first book to their final work -- Virginia Lee Burton, James Marshall, Ezra Jack Keats, Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, David Wiesner, and Laura Vacarro Seeger. Class members will read and evaluate the works of these creators and in the final class present an author study. Drawing on forty years of experience in publishing and reviewing books, Anita Silvey will model different approaches to author units and help each student execute a final project that can be used in the classroom or library.

This course introduces students to the world of educational research so that they will be able to read qualitative and quantitative studies intelligently, and learn to design and conduct qualitatively oriented studies themselves. Beginning with an overview of the epistemological assumptions behind different kinds of research, the course will explore various types of research approaches and the kinds of topics and queries they support. Students will read and critique examples of published research of various kinds, chosen for the interests of course participants. Next, students will investigate topic development and various methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative data. Finally, students will develop a research proposal for their own research project. This course also assesses students’ writing proficiency which must be demonstrated before acceptance to candidacy.

Prerequisites: This course should be taken at the end of the Master’s program and two semesters prior to Capstone to allow students with at least one semester to collect data for the Capstone project.

Registration requires approval by instructor, students must register using paper registration form.

The What Works Clearinghouse, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English have all examined research on effective classroom and intervention practices for struggling adolescents. This course is designed to build on this knowledge base as we explore ways to assess and adjust literacy instruction to the strengths and needs of adolescent students.

This course will provide students with an understanding of the cultural shifts inherent in schools evolving from NCLB legislation and the increased focus on monitoring student learning.  Students will develop the necessary understandings and tools to make connections between Vermont’s grade expectations, the Common Core, local curriculum and formative and summative assessment of student learning.  Students will explore ways to use state and local student assessment data to make decisions about instruction, professional development and school/supervisory union based action planning.  Students will develop an understanding of curriculum in the context of standards, assessment, instruction and student learning.  Students will need access to school assessment data that will be used throughout the course. Students without a teacher license require instructor approval.  The course syllabus and reading material will be sent to participants prior to the beginning of the course. Access to some element of student performance data (class, grade, school-wide) required or otherwise arranged with instructor prior to initial class).

Educators and students are invited to explore and create in this studio course addressing the art of the book. Participants will experiment with forms, structures, materials, and concepts as we investigate the limitless possibilities of the Book.  By surveying the historical need to record and contain knowledge and by examining the work of contemporary book artist students will gain a foundation for their own creative expression of ideas and meaning.  Students will make a working portfolio of paper treatments, book models and altered structures then create their own individual art books.

The class will be a working model of a 21st century collaborative community supporting the creative process through practice, constructive criticism, reflecting, and refining technique.  The Common Core anchor standards of Craft and Structure and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas will be addressed. No previous bookmaking or art experience required. Students who have previously taken GED 671 The Art of Bookmaking and/or GED 673 Science, Art and Bookmaking: Making Connections, are welcome in this class.

A $50.00 materials fee is required and due at registration.

This course will engage students in examining learning theories from birth through early adulthood. Students will examine how language, culture, and family background influence learning.  Students will consider how development impacts learning at all stages and implications for effective instruction for children with exceptionalities. Students will participate by attending class and engaging in learning activities online.  Activities will include opportunities designing lessons, rubrics, concept maps, and strategy logs related to course content.  Students will also engage in self-directed learning by selecting a relevant topic to explore and present, to further engage and expand their learning and that of their classmates.  All activities throughout the course are designed to provide students with an opportunity to apply course content to current or prospective practice.  Students will also be required to write up a reflection and synthesis of their learning throughout the course.

In this course students will focus on the legal and ethical issues involved in developing, implementing and overseeing educational programming for students with disabilities.  The course is organized around critical elements of special education and disability law, and aims to develop an understanding not only of the legal implications of such laws but also how those laws impact the delivery of high quality, effective educational programming for all students.

Please pick one pathway (first 4 are for middle level endorsement):
GED 635A:  Middle Grades Organization
GED 635B:  Middle Grades Curriculum
GED 635C:  Embedded Literacy in Middle Grades
GED 635D:  Brain Based Education for Young Adolescents
GED 635M: Middle School Is Not a Building

Participants select one of the above pathways. The first four can be credited toward a middle level endorsement. Individuals and teams of teachers seeking further professional development in middle grades philosophy and practice are encouraged to enroll in GED 635M: Middle School Is Not a Building.

For registration and information please contact James Nagle at Saint Michael's College or visit middlegradescollaborative.org.

Costs for the Institute are: $1,500 for non-credit; and $1,950 for credit. Tuition includes room and board, but residency is not required. Checks and money orders are payable to the Middle Grades Collaborative, 227 Leap Frog Hollow, Montpelier, VT 05602.

In this course participants will learn how to teach and accommodate students with disabilities in any regular classroom. Basic special education history and laws will be examined. Participants will explore the complex nature of serving students with special needs and discover specific strategies for making inclusion work. Participants will be responsible for finding a student to tutor for 2 hours per week to complete a case study as part of the course requirements. Please have a tutoring opportunity in mind when registering.

Held on-campus week 1, then at JJ Flynn Elementary School, 1645 North Avenue, Burlington for weeks 2 & 3.

This course provides an in-depth study of sound instructional practices and materials to use with struggling learners based on an analysis of the learner’s strengths and challenges in the area of reading and written language. Methods used to teach reading, spelling, study, and writing skills are covered. The emphasis is on working with students in elementary schools. Course times include practicum experience.

Prerequisite: GED 522 Teaching Literacy in the Elementary Classroom

The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery - Fourth Edition (WJ-IV) is a wide-range, comprehensive set of individually administered tests for measuring cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and oral language development.  The WJ-IV has been updated to reflect the contemporary research on cognitive abilities, to increase utility relative to determining special education eligibility, to provide greater diagnostic capabilities to inform instruction, and to reflect the research regarding language development and overall academic achievement.  Through participation in this course, participants will learn about the tests, factors, and scoring options that result from the administration of this test battery.  Students will also learn to administer, score, and interpret the WJ-IV.  Classroom discussions, demonstrations, and activities will be supplemented by three complete administrations of the battery.  Students who successfully complete this course will have met the training criteria recommended by the authors and publisher of the WJ-IV.  The course will also include a discussion of a variety of essential related topics such as Vermont's special education eligibility criteria as they relate to tests and scoring options.  The WJ-IV will also be thoroughly examined in regard to its use within Responsiveness to Intervention (RtI) model of student support.

This course introduces current and prospective educators and administrators to the ever changing, but closely coupled, relationship between school and community. Emphasis will be placed on how the community informs what happens in schools, and how the schools, in turn, influence the community. The course will also look closely at the role played by economic, political and social forces.

This course is designed for students in School Leadership (Principal, Director of Special Education, and Director of Curriculum) who are seeking endorsements from the Agency of Education. The course includes a 300-hour internship, completion of a professional portfolio, and additional study in the areas of leadership. The course is broken into 3 parts and requires a Full Year commitment. Students will be expected to complete a portion of their internship hours during the summer. Students will enroll in each part when the semester registration opens.  They must be taken in sequence during one academic year.

Registration requires approval by instructor, students must register using paper registration form.

There are three parts to this Internship; Part I summer, Part II fall, Part III spring.  Students will receive grades of Pass/Fail for Part I and Part II.  A final grade will be given for Part III.  Each part is 2 credits. The class meets monthly for Part II and Part III. The dates for Part II and Part III will be given at the June meeting.

This course is designed to explore the many facets of teaching science and engineering at the K-8 levels. Course participants will explore Inquiry-Centered Science and Engineering concepts and skills through a variety of hands-on, minds-on activities. Course topics will include an exploration of the New Generation Science Standards as well as State and local science and engineering standards, instructional resource materials, selected science and engineering programs, the application of technology in science and engineering education as well as ways students construct a meaningful understanding of science and engineering concepts.

A $25 materials fee is required and due at registration.

This course supports students as they complete the M.Ed. program. Students research a topic in their field of interest in GED 558, complete data analysis in GED 699, and then both a paper and a presentation demonstrating their in-depth understanding of this topic. Research skills, critique and reflection, and expressive presentations are included.

Note: GED 558 and GED 699 are required for the Master’s in Education. Students develop a research proposal in GED 558, collect the data the following semester, then write and present findings in GED 699. It is necessary to leave at least one semester between GED 558 and GED 699 for the following reasons: (1) if taken back to back, GED 558 may not have ended before GED 699 begins, resulting in the research proposal not being ready for the first Capstone class, and (2) it allows more time for data collection.

The Educator as Researcher instructor approves the research proposal (Introduction, Literature Review and Methodology) if the proposal is ready. In addition, students must submit the online Institutional Review Board (IRB) application to the IRB coordinator during GED 558 and be accepted before collecting data and enrolling in GED 699.

Prerequisites: GED 558 Educator as Researcher, an accepted research proposal, and approved IRB application.

Registration requires approval by instructor, students must register using paper registration form.