6000

The course is designed to provide opportunities for classroom teachers to develop their knowledge, skills, and dispositions as a teacher researcher; analyze theories and practical applications of action research, understand the components of a professional research study; reflect upon one’s own practice; and examine the ethical, legal, and professional issues and responsibilities of conducting research.

Prerequisite: EDMG 6050. Teachers as Researchers II builds on knowledge, skills, and dispositions from Teachers as Researchers I to help students further refine their research question as well as design and implement their study centered on improving their teaching practice.

This course focuses specifically on an introduction to school climate and culture and its influence on student achievement and behavior. Emphasis will be placed on an introduction to the PBIS framework, philosophy, core beliefs, and components and its role within school culture and climate, and concludes with a project in which students will design a school-wide PBIS program from scratch. The ultimate purpose of each of these steps is to assist students in developing a foundation upon which students may become architects of change within their districts and schools.

A study of the social studies disciplines and instructional strategies appropriate for the middle grades. Emphasis is placed on developing concepts in geography, history, economics, and government.

A study of current literature for the preadolescent/adolescent, focusing on contemporary realistic fiction, biographies, science fiction, poetry, and historical fiction.

A content course which integrates physical and life science. Students acquire a basis for understanding the electrical nature of all matter by relating matter and energy between organisms and their environment.

A content course introducing the concept of the scientific model. Students acquire basis for understanding the electrical nature of all matter by relating matter and energy to electrical phenomena.

A content course built upon the unifying theory of plate tectonics and explores how this concept can be used to explain the occurrences of volcanoes, earthquakes, and other geologic phenomena.

A content course built upon the theme of the uniqueness of the Earth among all planets in the solar system and the features that produce weather. The focus is on planetary astronomy and topics in weather.

The course will serve as a culmination of coursework in the candidate’s major field of study and the study of how educational research methodologies can be used to test assumptions related to collaborative school improvement. Candidates will present a portfolio of their work to provide evidence of their ability to meet NMSA/NCATE Master’s Standards and the Georgia Systematic Teacher Education Program (GSTEP) Framework.

Emphasis on characteristics of preadolescent, curriculum for the middle grade student, and instructional strategies appropriate for the preadolescent learner.

Current events, trends, and opinions of middle level education related to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social needs of the adolescent focusing on the teacher as a practitioner of research.

The purpose of this course is to provide teacher candidates with content-specific knowledge, methods, and theoretical basis necessary for success in the middle school science and mathematics classrooms. The course content emphasizes: teaching for conceptual understanding, problem solving, reasoning and sense making, inquiry (hands-on and minds-on instruction), modeling, representations, use of technology, and especially, design of interdisciplinary, integrated curricular units. The course is also designed to help teacher candidates to develop an understanding of how to use national and state science (e.g., the Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS]) and mathematics (e.g., the Common Core State Standards-Mathematics [CCSSM]) standards in lesson planning, instruction, and assessment, and become aware of various teaching resources that are available to enrich math instruction.

Examines in-depth the integral role of assessment in the teaching-learning process that occurs in elementary schools. It includes discuss and experiences with issues related to student assessment, teaching assessment, curriculum assessment and school assessment.

This course examines the interactive relationships among families, schools, and communities. Students will examine recent research in order to deepen their understanding of the ways that these relationships have an impact on student learning.

A study of the reading and writing processes in the middle grades. Emphasis will be placed on current trends in written discourse language, and evaluating writing.

This course focuses on the development of the thinking processes of middle grades children. Particular emphasis is placed on the learning of mathematics in the middle grades.