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GRADUATE CATALOG

The information contained in this catalog is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as the basis of a contract between a student and this institution.

Ed.D. Elementary Education Courses

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Education & Research Core (27 hours)

  • The course deepens experienced educators’ knowledge of research-based best practices in diverse classrooms. This is an advanced course with in-depth study of classic and current research on learning theories and related topics in educational psychology as they relate to teaching and learning in schools. Focus is on those theories and research which have transformed and are reforming educational practice.

  • This course offers a theoretical, historical, and practical foundation in critical multicultural and global education. Candidates will gain an understanding of how structures, policies, and practices of schools in U.S. and global contexts tend to perpetuate discriminatory inequities by their effects on students and teachers. Candidates will examine their own identities, cultural assumptions, and instructional practices to enact a philosophy of teaching that disrupts deficit discourses and ensures equitable outcomes for all learners.

  • This course prepares professional educators to examine the relationship between the research base and applied practice especially as they relate to diverse learners (academically and/or culturally and linguistically). Candidates will examine the characteristics and needs of English language learners and students with exceptionalities, explore evidence-based practices for specific populations, employ a curriculum decision-making process that aligns with the Georgia Performance Standards and the Common Core, and translates to improved pedagogy and student achievement, and critically analyze existing curriculum guidelines as they relate to traditionally marginalized learners.

  • This course provides a critical analysis of K-12 education policy at the national, state, and local levels. Topics include issues related to historical, political, cultural, and social contexts of American education. Students examine institutions and processes of public policymaking, the values and assumptions that underlie different types of policies, the political factors that shape their formulation and implementation, and the links between policy and educational practice. The goal of the course is to help teachers think critically about education policy and its influences on their students as learners. Successful candidates will complete a Teaching for Transformative Change Product that includes a) critical analysis of local, state, and national policies as they impact change at all educational levels, b) contextual analysis and evaluation of influence of select policy upon student learning at the classroom and school levels, c) proposal for transformative change, d) proposal for evaluation, e) collected literature and resources.

  • This seminar focuses on critically reviewing research and applying best-practices in formative assessment. Recent research reports effective use of formative assessment enhances student learning and teaching effectiveness. Specific topics include barriers and misconceptions to the formative assessment process, effective practices in formative assessment, theoretical underpinnings of formative assessment, relationships of formative assessment to self-regulated learning and learner autonomy. Additionally, attention will be paid to multicultural formative assessment procedures and concerns relevant to external assessment programs.

  • This course will serve as an introduction to qualitative research and methodologies. Methodological origins, theoretical frameworks, literature reviews, and basic methods of data collection and data analysis will be explored in conjunction with an analysis of relevant literature, educational research reports, and ethics in research. Students will apply basic skills of data collection and analysis. Students will differentiate between the types of qualitative research.

  • Candidates will demonstrate a functional understanding of the nature and design of quantitative research as applied to the educational arena including but not limited to the following topics; the nature and application of descriptive and basic inferential statistics including the concepts of variance, normal distribution, population, sample, power, effect size, hypothesis testing, parametric and nonparametric tests, interaction effects, validity, reliability; the strengths, weaknesses of quantitative research designs; the principles of data collection and analysis using computer software such as SPSS. Candidates will acquire and become proficient in analytical and interpretive skills; and will be prepared to conduct applied quantitative research that will bear positively on schools.

  • This seminar will assist the doctoral candidate in conceptualizing, indentifying the components of, and articulating the emerging conceptual framework of their dissertation. Under the guidance of the course professor and in consultation with their dissertation chair, the candidate will emerge from the course with a draft his/her conceptual framework which includes the purpose and rationale for his/her research as well as a draft of the theoretical underpinnings of the research described through a review of literature followed by preliminary research questions or hypotheses for his/her dissertation.

  • This course is an advanced study of qualitative research methodologies including ethnography, case study, and phenomenology. Students will examine a variety of data sources (e.g. interviews, observations) and methods of analysis (e.g. memo writing, coding). Students will conduct research as they formulate their research questions, collect and analyze data, and write a research report.

  • This course is an in-depth study of and application of selected quantitative research designs. Course also involves advanced study of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and non-parametric tests traditionally utilized in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in applied settings. Candidates will deepen their expertise in designing and conducting research and analyzing quantitative data. Candidates will conduct these analyses using quantitative statistical software, interpret their findings, and communicate their results ethically, clearly and effectively.

Major (24 hours)

  • Through the exploration of both traditional and advanced educational technologies, candidates will develop technological skills and strategies of implementation to build an integrated plan of utilizing technology for improving classroom teaching and student learning.

    Note: Offered as an online course.

  • This course is intended to nurture a more philosophic perspective towards planning, implementating, evaluating curriculum, teaching, and school policy. Emphasis will be on understanding the implications of the philosophic roots and ethical implications of current school reform, curriculum decision-making and classroom instruction.

  • The formation of a classroom community is crucial to the success of any elementary teacher and involves deliberate fostering of trust, care, and growth. The classroom community does not end within the school walls, however, but also extends to the families and the outside community where their students are found. This course focuses on capitalizing on the funds of knowledge their students and families bring, as well as the impact of classroom environment considerations to develop stronger classroom communities to maximize student learning.

  • This course offers an advanced study of multiculturalism and diversity in elementary and early childhood settings. Drawing upon historical and current scholarly literature on race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, language, and ability, this course provides candidates with a combination of theory, research, and practice on making elementary education more inclusive, equitable, and socially just.

  • This course serves as an advanced study of contemporary trends, issues, and research in curriculum theory and assessment design for K-5 learners. Intended for teachers and other education professionals serving as curriculum decision-makers, the course will address current research in the field of elementary curriculum. Emphases will also be on the examination and critique of standars-based assessment movements, increasing awareness of the role and impact of external accrediting bodies, and the identification of authentic assessments of meaningful teacher characteristics. Topics will be examined through historical and contemporary contexts with emphases on themes linked to policy and practice.

  • Competing theories of literacy view reading, writing, and teh production of texts as the cognitive processes of individuals or as social practices imbued with issues of power, access, diversity, and design. Today’s P-5 educational environment requires teachers to fill their students’ heads with knowledge that will be measured on high-stakes tests, often at the expense of teaching children to think critically and understand how texts function in our society so they may become agenst in charge of writing and rewriting their world. Candidates in this course will learn to analyze critically a range of multimodal texts from a sociolinguistic perspective and teach their students to engage in textual analysis, explore how language is related to power, and create opportunities for students to design and redesign texts so they may take action for greater democracy, equity, and justice.

  • This course will examine contemporary trends and issues in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (STEM) in the P-5 setting. Focus will include historical, current innovations and future directions of STEM Education in the elementary schools. Emphasis is placed on developing necessary instructional methodology, and to designing integrated and project-based learning experiences for all students and also develops a framework for thinking about the role of STEM subjects in a democratic society.

  • This course serves as an advanced study of persistent issues, contemporary trends, and research in elementary social studies education. In this course, students will examine and work with theories, approaches, and methods for powerful social studies teaching as well as examine frameworks, materials, and strategies for teaching social studies for social justice and democratic citizenship. Topics will be examined through historical and contemporary contexts with emphases on themes linked to policy and practice. This course will provide students with a deeper understanding of social studies education and its role to create a more just and equal world and will also develop the skills needed to critique ideas and issues surrounding elementary social studies education.

Students are awarded the ED.S. after completion of 30-33 hours. Students possessing an Ed.S. in another field who wish to enter the Ed.D. program may transfer in up to 21 hours of prior coursework to the degree.

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