Certificate of Advanced Study in Education

Graduate Department

Degrees offered

Certificate

Campuses

Main Campus
Eastern Shore Higher Education Center (ESHEC)
Southern Maryland Higher Education Center (SMHEC)
University Center Northeastern Maryland (formerly the HEAT Center)

The Certificate of Advanced Study in Education (CASE) in Instructional Leadership is a 30-credit program for experienced educators who have completed a master’s degree. The program provides advanced studies in leadership, curriculum and pedagogy. Through a curriculum designed to integrate theory and practice, educators acquire or enhance skills that will meet the needs of future educational leadership.

Curriculum

This program consists of six 600-level courses and four electives. Electives may be taken in a student’s area of special interest. Students must maintain a B average to be awarded a CASE certificate.

600-Level Courses (18 credits)

Select from among the following:

EDU-622    Education and Policy Analysis for Changing Schools (3)
EDU-624     Dialects in American Schools (3)
EDU-647     Learning, Language and the Brain (3)
EDU-660     Legislative and Legal Decisions Affecting Changing School Populations (3)
EDU-672    Changing School Population in Historical Perspective (3)
EDU-674    Global and International Perspectives in Education (3)
EDU-675    Democracy and Education: Philosophical Perspectives (3)
EDU-676    Educational Applications of Multimedia (3)  OR
EDU-665     Digital Game Based Learning and Design (3)
EDU-697    Language and Intercultural Communication for Changing Populations (3)
EDU-698    Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (3)

Electives (12 Credits)

Areas of special interest are available in reading; administration and supervision; special education; global and multicultural education; curriculum planning; TESOL; historical, philosophical, and psychological perspectives; management; technology; marketing; and public relations.

The CASE program is flexible and the required courses in the Program of Study can be modified by the Advisor to allow students to obtain certification in the following areas:

Administration and Supervision
Gifted and Talented Education
Library Media
Mathematics Instructional Leadership, Grades K-6 or Grades 4-9
Reading Specialist
Special Education
STEM, Grades preK-6
TESOL
Spanish

Courses

EDU-622 Education and Policy Analysis For Changing Schools

Creates awareness of recurring issues and tensions inherent in providing educational opportunities in a democratic society. Examples are: impact of linguistic and cultural diversity on equity, ethical issues confronting teachers and policy-makers, tensions between individual and collective interests, limits of democratic authority and equality of educational opportunity in a democratic society. This course introduces the process by which such policies are accomplished: identifying context and relevant antecedents, framing of problems and solutions within policies, policy implementation and anticipating and responding to policy consequences. The course includes theoretical and applied readings on state and national policy issues as they affect the educational environment and the learning needs of mainstream and non-mainstream students. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-624 Dialects in American Schools

This advanced course examines the effects of linguistic variation in K-12 classrooms. Various factors will be analyzed that can result in linguistic variation, such as social class and ethnicity. Students examine nonstandard language varieties of English, including African American Vernacular English, and World English varieties. An important focus of the course will be effect of nonstandard English on the development of literacy skills. The course will also address unique pedagogical strategies for teaching speakers of nonstandard varieties of English. Students will complete individual research projects, in which they analyze the language development of K-12 students. [3 credits ]

EDU-647 Learning, Language and the Brain

Demonstrates how new brain imaging capabilities illustrate the ways the brain acquires knowledge and stores memories. This seminar course examines current brain-inaction research and the insights this information provides for effective instructional practices with special attention to language acquisition and manipulation. Students design, conduct and discuss research projects addressing aspects of brain functioning and the consequences for learning. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-660 Legislative and Legal Decisions Affecting Changing School Populations

Applies analytical and legal reasoning skills to issues emerging from implementation of recent legislation setting standards for: achievement expectations for specific student populations, mandatory testing requirements, teacher quality and licensing, instruction for students for whom English is a second language and related issues. Using the case study approach, students apply the precedents established in previously studied landmark cases to cases and problems currently pending, or soon to come, before district courts and the Supreme Court. Emphasis is placed on alternative dispute resolution in a wide variety of situations that present the possibility of litigation with focus on issues affecting changing student populations. [ 3 credits]

EDU-665 Digital Game-Based Learning and Design

This course provides an overview of the learning theories, best practices, and classroom application models involved with incorporating educational games and simulations into learning environments. The use of current and emerging technologies found in the gaming arena will be explored and documented for classroom application. This course brings together cultural, business, government and technical perspectives on developing and integrating electronic gaming techniques and technologies to enhance and enrich learning. Course participants will develop an understanding of the current trends (technical and sociological) in computer and console gaming, and what can be learned and applied from the world of gaming to positively affect teaching and learning. They will also experience an authentic creative process when they explore the game design process. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-672 Changing School Population in Historical Perspective

Considers the immigrant experience as integral to major developments in the history of American education. The United States has been called "a nation of immigrants," and John Dewey has defined the school as a society in miniature. This course traces the influence waves of immigration have had on American attitudes and institutions of education from colonial times to the present as successive generations have responded to the pedagogical, economic and political implications inherent in the changing demographics of American schools. The course provides insights into the aims, challenges and priorities for curriculum and instruction as A merican schools have confronted such issues as learning differences, gender, race, ethnicity and social structures in changing populations of learners. The course traces the history of complex interactions as multicultural and multilingual students, teachers, staff, parents, community leaders and others have sought to create schools as learning communities. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-674 Global and International Perspectives in Education

Prepares students for learning and teaching for the 21st century with new methodologies, new skills and new approaches in an increasingly interdependent world. These interdependencies include: international communications systems providing worldwide access to information, global economic situations that impact career and work, ideological contests that are global in nature and significance, and the challenge of global disparity in standards of living and access to resources. Inquiry into the nature of these interdependencies enables educators to make decisions impacting curriculum and instructional methodology appropriate for preparing all students for intelligent participation in the contemporary world. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-675 Democracy and Education: Philosophical Perspectives

Analyzes the major philosophical perspectives that have formed and continue to inf luence American attitudes toward the enterprise of schooling and toward the roles and responsibilities of schools in the United States. Selections address education both as a public responsibility and as an individual pursuit. Students also examine the unique moral, ethical and educational issues raised by the linguistically and culturally pluralistic nature of society in the United States. Through reading, study, analytic discussion and reflection students identify more clearly their own philosophies of education with regard to serving non-mainstream learners and the ethical principles that guide their professional decisions. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-676 Educational Applications of Multimedia

Provides an introduction to designing and planning multimedia projects in the K-12 setting through collaborative inquiry. Topics to be introduced include storyboarding, conferencing, video editing and incorporating multimedia elements into selected software programs. Students will read some of the latest research covering the impact of multimedia development on student achievement. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-697 Language and Intercultural Communication for Changing Populations

Examines the nature of language as the instrument of communication that expresses cultural and societal modes of thinking, customs and values. Participants analyze their own and others' socio-cultural perceptions, values and behaviors in order to gain insight into student behaviors and develop strategies that facilitate effective instruction and learning for all students. The study of linguistic patterns enables teachers and other educational leaders to gain global insights into the role of language in fostering individual and cultural identity. This course focuses on sociolinguistics and the social contexts in which language is used. [ 3 credits ]

EDU-698 Linguistic and Cultural Diversity

Assists educators in better understanding the nature of language and language acquisition in the context of their relevance for education. First and second language acquisition will be studied in detail, primarily from a cognitive perspective with emphasis on the analysis of the diverse variables that play a role in language acquisition and how these affect literacy development. The focus of this course will be on the study of language development of K-12 students who are linguistic minority students, including those for whom Standard English is a second dialect and those for whom it is a second language. [ 3 credits ]