<div class="field field--name-name field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Educational Services

Class Program

This course focuses on strategic leadership and how it can be a power influence in bringing about and managing change in an educational institution. It will serve to prepare students with the knowledge, vision, and skills to become ethical and socially conscious leaders in the field of Education. Participants will pursue theory and research focusing on the complex historical, cultural, sociological, philosophical, and theoretical aspects of the leadership process. Students interested in undertaking a research project or thesis related to educational leadership are encouraged to take this course.

EDUC 813: Reflective Practice & Practicum

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Class Program

In this course students will study how the development of teaching is closely associated with both metacognitive self-evaluation and critical reflection of the literature of teaching/learning (both generally and i n their respective subjects). Reflective practice is a process of continual experiential learning (Schon, D. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner. Basic Books). I n this course students will learn to engage in critical self-evaluation while responding appropriately to peer/student evaluations and taking into consideration practical theory.

Students who register for this course may be exempted from the practicum section if they have:

A current teaching responsibility which lasts for the duration of the course, and/or
Substantial prior teaching experience on which to reflect.
Create, explain, and justify a plan for h ow they might improve their practice. Students are responsible for securing their own practicum, but faculty will do what they ca n to help. The practicum may be completed through lecturing, teaching, and/or s mall group facilitation (such as D ES Groups). Unless the student i s exempted, the practicum will be undertaken concurrently with the course.

EDUC 814: Practical Approaches for Statistical Analysis

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Class Program

Practical Approaches for Research Analysis is designed to extend beyond the content of the Research Methodology course and more fully equip students interested in conducting quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies. It will build on students' understanding of the basic concepts and methods related to descriptive, parametric, and non-parametric analysis and provide the opportunity to run analyses and report findings using basic statistical software. Emphasis will be placed on the practical application of research methods including statistical analysis. Students will develop the necessary skill s to interpret empirical findings in published research as well as in their own applied research.

EDUC 815: Critical Appraisal of Educational Research

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Class Program

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the literature review as they appraise educational research literature. Students will learn about the process of conducting a literature search for the purpose of constructing a literature review. A balance of class meetings and independent work will enable students to learn basic skills and strategies and then apply them to their own work. Students are encouraged to focus their reviews on their research interests. The final project for this course will be a literature review, which may serve as the basis for a research project or thesis. Students who have limited experience conducting literature reviews are urged to take this course.

EDUC 816: Theories of Learning

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Class Program

The goal of this course is to provide you with an in-depth look at key theories and perspectives that have shaped the field of education, including behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, progressivism, sociocultural theory and critical theory. Through this course, you will be encouraged to develop a theoretical foundation for the work that you will carry forward in your professional career, whether in research or in practice. You will be supported in developing the skills to locate and comprehend academic readings, to synthesize and explain educational literature, and to use literature to support your claims. You will also be supported in developing academic writing skills through the process of writing a literature review.

EDUC 817: Curriculum & Pedagogy

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Class Program

This course exposes you to various approaches to curriculum development, focusing primarily on outcomesbased approaches and the Understanding by Design framework. You will experience and practice a variety of different pedagogical strategies with a mind toward differentiated, active and multimodal learning. You will consider the role of context and purpose in selecting specific strategies in the design of the overall learning experience and in relation to the desired results/learning outcomes. This course will also address best practices in assessment and feedback and consider constructive alignment in the curriculum design process.

EDUC 818: Education in Multicultural Society

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Class Program

Through this course, you will engage with the multifaceted and intersecting nature if culture, identity and context in the field of education, in both theory and practice. You will focus specifically on education in the postcolonial Caribbean context, as you grapple with identity construction, intersectionality and structural inequalities. Through the lens of critical multiculturalism, you will consider non-essentialist understandings of culture and identity in relation to both past and future educational experiences, for yourself and for your students.

EDUC 819: Practitioner Research

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Class Program

This foundational research methods course is designed to support students in understanding the goals, approaches and foundations of applied, practitioner-orientated action research. Students will be exposed to qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods methodologies. At the end of the course, students will produce a research proposal for their practitioner research project, which will serve as the foundation for their master's thesis. Students will take this course concurrently with their practicum, so that their research proposal is deeply connected to their practice. This is a pass/fail course.

EDUC 820: Leadership: Theory & Practice

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Class Program

This is a required course in the third semester of the Master of Education Programme. In this course, students will explore the intersections between identity, context, leadership philosophies and practices. Students will examine various perspectives on leadership and apply leadership theories as they collectively analyze problems of practice. Students will also gain experience providing, receiving and incorporating feedback towards improving leadership practice. Through this course, students will refine their leadership philosophy and gain practical skills for improving their leadership practices.

EDUC 821: Supporting Students with (Dis)Abilities

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Class Program

Through this online course, students will learn about various (dis)abilities (visible and invisible) and investigate the ways in which (dis)abilities intersect with the learning process. Students will be exposed to pedagogical strategies to reduce barriers to learning for students with disabilities, and when implemented properly can improve the learning of others as well.

EDUC 822: Student Support Services in Medical Education

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Class Program

Through this online course, students will learn about the various factors that influence student performance in medical school and some of the common support services offered to enhance performance and well-being. Students will 1) better understand the factors that influence student academic success in medical school, and 2) explain how student support activities can potentially enhance student academic outcomes.

EDUC 823: Technology in Education

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Class Program

The overall aim of this course is to produce educators who are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate and adroit in using ICT to support 21st century teaching and to facilitate student learning. The major theme of this course is to enhance education through appropriate use if ICT. This course provides participants with the basic technical and pedagogical knowledge, skills and experience to effectively integrate ICTs into their teaching practice by using student-centered and innovative techniques, to facilitate student learning. This course will provide students with practical experience in using a wide variety of technological tools, while building connections between theory and practice, in their respective fields. Students will gain an understanding if the impact (benefits and challenges) of incorporating ICT into education and classroom management issues related to ICTs. This course caters to educators in both primary and secondary contexts as we all as higher education contexts.

EDUC 824: Historical, Social & Cultural Foundation

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Class Program

In this course, students will engage with seminal texts in the field of education as they consider the historical, social and cultural aspects of education. Specifically, students will explore the influence of the program's six 'big ideas' (power, equity, agency, collaboration and inquiry) on the evolution of the field of education across time and place.

EDUC 825: Educational Statistics

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Class Program

Credits 1

Educational Statistics is a 1-credit selective course on statistics on the Masters of Education Program. The main goals of the course are to help students understand basic educational statistics and analyses real-world data for the purposes of making real-world decisions. The course complements student's other coursework, helps students analyze their own data, is student-centered, and can be comodified with students.

EDUC 835: Practicum I

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Class Program

This is an interactive course, designed to support reflective practice, and integration of research, theory and practice. Students will be in a range of different practicums and will have structured opportunities to work through problems of practice together as a cohort. Practicum placements will vary; it could be a new experience, a little bit above and beyond what they normally do, or something they've done for years that they want to focus on more deeply with a microscope. The goal of the practicum is for students to have a practical experience to help them integrate theory, research and practice. The practicum will also be the basis of the student’s thesis. as it will also be the site of their research. Finally, through these courses students will focus deeply on developing their e-portfolio.

EDUC 837: Research Seminar

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Class Program

In this course, students will conduct practitioner research for their master's Thesis. Students will be taking this course concurrently with their practicum, which will be the site of their research. Through coursework, students will be supported with refining data collection tools, collecting and analyzing qualitative and/or quantitative data. Students learning will be guided by a series of research memos that students will write in this course. In keeping with the rich tradition of practitioner research (often a deeply collaborative process), students will work in small inquiry groups throughout this course.

EDUC 838: Capstone Seminar

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Class Program

In this course, you will be supported through the process of completing and presenting your capstone project. You will be supported by a faculty advisor and an external mentor, as well as a the peers in your capstone group, as you complete significant independent work for your capstone project. Your capstone will be a direct extension of the practitioner research you conducted the previous semester and will be an illustration of what you have learned over the two years in relation to each of the program learning outcomes. You will present your capstone at the end-ofprogram conference. This course serves as the culminating course for the entire programme.

EDUC 839: Reflective Practice

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Class Program

The goal of this course is to support reflective practice and integration of research, theory, and practice across all M.Ed. program courses through the creation of an ePortfolio. Through this digital portfolio, students will strategically and systematically reflect on their learning within and across each of the M.Ed. courses in relation to the four program learning outcomes.

To prepare for the various stages of this process, students will:

Collect work from all courses across the two years in the program
Reflect on the documents as evidence of learning
Select pieces that highlight turning points and changes in thinking
Connect by sharing with a variety of audiences for feedback

According to Rogers (2001), reflection is defined as, "a cognitive and affective process or activity that (1) requires active engagement on the part of the individual; (2) is triggered by an unusual or perplexing situation or experience; (3) involves examining one's own responses, beliefs, and premises in light of the situation at hand; and (4) results in integration of the new understanding into one's experience." (p.41).

By integrating the ePortfolio reflective experience into the M.Ed. program, student learning will be explored through the lens of the delivered classroom curriculum and the lived curriculum as experienced beyond the walls and campus of SGU (Yancey, 2004) as students cycle through the four stages of Kolb's Learning Cycle (1984):

having a concrete experience followed by...
observation of and reflection on that experience which leads to...
the formation of abstract concepts (analysis) & generalizations (conclusions) which are then...
used to test hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences.

The ePortfolio should be considered both the process through which students engage in this systemic and intentional reflection, as well as the product of this work.

EDUC 840: Collaborative Learning & Leadership

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Class Program

In this course, students will explore collaborative approaches to teaching, learning and leadership. Students will think about collaboration in their own contexts, from the perspectives of students, faculty, and administration, as they explore the challenges and opportunities of collaborative learning and leadership.

EDUC 900: Practitioner Inquiry

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Class Program

This foundational research methods course is designed to support students in understanding the goals, approaches and foundations of applied, practitioner-oriented action research. Through this course, students will engage in a self-study, in which the will examine an aspect of their practice in relation to the broader literature. Students will take this course concurrently with their practicum, so that their research proposal is deeply connected to their practice. This is a pass/fail course.

EDUC 901: Current Topics in Education

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