Students explore the concept of neurodiversity–the full range of human neurocognitive variation–discovering its benefits to individuals, organizations, and society. Students learn the history of the neurodiversity movement which rejects assumptions of pathology and fosters the emerging neurodiversity paradigm. The course shares neurodivergent voices, experiences, and perspectives, and encourages critical analysis of what is considered “normal” in school, at work, and in life. Students consider the implications of these concepts in business, education, clinical practice, employment, public policy, and other spheres of society. They also imagine what neuroinclusive practice could be within their own careers.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 250 OR MGMT 250. Students build on their understanding of neurodiversity by learning about practices intended to create inclusive and supportive environments in various work settings, including businesses, educational institutions, and community organizations. This course covers such topics as personal identity, legal implications, neurodivergent talent, recruitment and selection, onboarding, accommodations, work group interactions, performance management, leadership, career development, and advancement. Students explore how professionals can create neuroinclusive environments for the people they serve, including sensory friendly spaces, flexible policies and procedures, respectful client/customer communication, and other neurodivergent-affirming practices. Students will get ready to practice inclusion in neurodiverse work environments as a client-facing professional, colleague, team member, and manager within their chosen careers.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 250 or MGMT 250. Students explore how they can foster neuroinclusive practices by acting as advocates and leaders in their chosen careers. Neuroinclusive leadership drives organizational excellence through enabling the talents, interests, and capabilities of everyone in an organization. Building on their understanding of critical neurodiversity studies, students practice ways to adopt a strengths-based approach to their own work, collaborate effectively with colleagues, and manage direct reports and teams to leverage the full range of human neurodiversity to achieve strategic goals. In this course, students develop their own leadership skills, facilitating cross-neurotype communication, cultivating compassion and intercultural competence, generating insights and ideas, and practicing advocacy. Students will analyze workplaces in businesses, nonprofits, and a range of clinical and educational settings and recommend neuroinclusive practices, policies, cultures, and structures.
The course is for practicing teachers and provides an introduction of the principles and practices of computational thinking (CT). This course is appropriate for teachers who seek to understand how computational principles complement any curricular discipline or field of study. The course does not require any background in computing or programming beyond simple computer skills to write emails, browse the web, or complete assignments. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Computer science for all students requires that educators advocate for and be responsive to the existing inequities in computer science. Rather than maintaining the status quo, this course challenges teachers to problematize existing structures that marginalize under-represented students in computer science based on race, gender, language, and ability/disability. This course will examine responsive and intentional strategies to increase access and opportunities for all students to learn computer science as part of an equitable and socially just education. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
This course supports teachers in developing effective strategies for teaching and retaining students through culturally relevant and inclusive computer science pedagogies. The course begins with a foundational understanding of the CS Framework and International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) standards and builds upon computer science and computational thinking approaches to learning across disciplines. Teachers develop engaging and rigorous learning experiences informed by Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to develop instruction for students to analyze the pros and cons of our technological world critically. Teachers create lesson plans with formative and summative assessments to measure student progress, inform and improve instruction, and learn how to provide feedback for student learning. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Restriction(s): Admission to the graduate school, admission to the MEd in Teaching for Equity and Justice. A critical study of curriculum theories with a focus on traditional, progressive and radical orientations and how these frame issues concerning access, power, language, social systems, social justice, and equity for school students and teachers. The instructional design aspect of the course builds upon these critiques and dimensions, and draws upon current understanding of learning theories and approaches to planning that ensure accessible learning experiences for a wide range of students.
Restriction(s): Admission to the graduate school, admission to the MEd in Teaching for Equity and Justice. An examination of the social, conceptual and theoretical traditions and practices that inform and shape access of diverse populations of students to success in schools. Theoretically informed foci and pedagogies such as—but not limited to—multicultural education, bilingual education, culturally responsive pedagogy, critical pedagogy, anti-racism pedagogy, inclusive pedagogies, liberatory pedagogy, pedagogies of resistance, student/teacher well-being pedagogies, and social justice education will be discussed. This course examines the historical and ongoing relationships between culture, society, teaching, and learning, as well as between contemporary teacher/school ideologies and belief systems.
Restriction(s): Admission to the graduate school, admission to the MEd in Teaching for Equity and Justice. Theories and practices of learning and assessment are addressed for a wide range of learners and their needs. This course engages students in inquiry and analysis of theories and models of learning and responsive pedagogical practice, along with assessment design and strategies. This course studies evidence-based practices in teaching in person and online, explores the multiple purposes for which assessment is used, and examines designing, constructing, and modifying assessments to maximize student learning and well-being. Coursework engages explicitly with making use of student assessment data to improve teaching.
Prerequisite(s): Open only to post-baccalaureate and graduate students admitted to the MSU Alternate Route Teacher Education program leading to a P-12 Subject Area Certification. This course is designed for newly-hired teachers in the P-12 Subject Area Alternate Route teacher certification program. The course will focus on developing beginning teachers’ understanding of the major goals of their subject area as well as the enactment of core instructional, curricular, and assessment practices. Students will analyze and rehearse methods for engaging students, representing content, communicating effectively with students and families, using instructional technology, learning about school and community contexts, and developing and sustaining collegial networks. Readings are selected from current education research, and the course will offer specific instructional activities and practices necessary for rigorous and equitable teaching. Other key topics include classroom organization and management, research-based approaches to teaching and learning, lesson and unit planning, and approaches to teaching the New Jersey curriculum standards within a specific discipline.
Restriction(s): Open only to post-baccalaureate and graduate students admitted to the MSU Alternate Route Teacher Education program. This course provides a highly qualified classroom observer to visit, observe, and provide formative feedback to teacher candidates in their district of hire.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 513. Restriction(s): Open only to post-baccalaureate and graduate students admitted to the MSU Alternate Route Teacher Education program. This course provides a highly qualified classroom observer to visit, observe, and provide formative feedback to teacher candidates in their district of hire.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 514. Restriction(s): Open only to post-baccalaureate and graduate students admitted to the MSU Alternate Route Teacher Education program. This course provides a highly qualified classroom observer to visit, observe, and provide formative feedback to teacher candidates in their district of hire.
Restriction(s): This course is available only to students who have been accepted into the new Urban Teacher Residency Program. This course engages students with community-based institutions and services within Newark and Orange to help residents develop an asset based view of these cities. Residents study the political and social history of Newark/Orange through understanding the distinct neighborhoods and learning the roles of effective Newark/Orange community-based organizations. Through working with community based organizations, residents become familiar with the challenges and resiliency of the local community. They also learn how the issues facing the community can become the foundation of curriculum across the disciplines in order to develop culturally sustaining pedagogy. Through coursework coupled with community study, residents develop an understanding of antiracism and social justice that becomes the foundational lens of the residency. They engage in professional development activities, readings, and academic activities across the disciplines that accompany the internship. During this semester, residents also develop an understanding of child and adolescent development and disability studies to prepare them to think inclusively about meeting the needs of all learners. They work with P-12 students in summer internships to apply their learning. Residents meet with cohort faculty to reflect and assess individual progress, and plan learning goals for the next semester.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 523. Restriction(s): Available only to students who have been accepted into the new Urban Teacher Residency Program. This course focuses on the intersections of curriculum development, student assessment, and inclusion. Through a combination of classroom practice and academic study, residents acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions to build inclusive classroom communities, plan and implement short- and long-term instruction to meet diverse student needs, incorporate family and community cultures and languages into the classroom, implement practices specific to their content area certification, develop a range of formative assessments for student learning, and use assessment data to inform practice. Residents are introduced to a range of transformative teaching approaches such as culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogies, ethnic studies and healing-centered engagement. In addition, residents develop specific strategies such as Universal Design for Learning and differentiated instruction to work with students with a range of disabilities. Additionally, residents participate in a weekly seminar and are observed by university education, subject area, and school-based faculty. Residents document their ongoing work and reflect on progress through an electronic portfolio.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 523 and TLRN 524. Restriction(s): Available only to students who have been accepted into the new Urban Teacher Residency Program. This course focuses on the intersections of curriculum development, student assessment, and inclusion. Through a combination of classroom practice and academic study, residents acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions to build inclusive classroom communities, plan and implement short- and long-term instruction to meet diverse student needs, incorporate family and community cultures and languages into the classroom, develop a range of formative assessments for student learning, and use assessment data to inform practice. By drawing from academic, classroom-based, and technological resources, residents learn to plan a long-term integrated curriculum unit, implement and critique existing curricular approaches, investigate and document the academic skills, strengths and needs of individual students, and reflect on the complexities of teaching and learning practices. In addition, residents develop specific strategies for working with children with a range of disabilities. These strategies are developed primarily through an apprenticeship with a classroom-based mentor in their grade or subject area during which residents co-teach the mentor's full teaching assignment, develop and teach units and lessons, and collaboratively engage in assessment with the mentor. Additionally, residents participate in a weekly seminar and are observed by university education, subject area, and school-based faculty. Residents document ongoing work and reflect on progress through an electronic portfolio.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 523, TLRN 524 and TLRN 525. Restriction(s): Available only to students who have been accepted into the new Urban Teacher Residency Program. This course focuses on assessing and building on students' prior knowledge, strengths, and needs. It additionally hones in on planning curriculum and instruction, and teaching across multiple content areas. Residents learn to use student data to plan universally designed and/ or differentiated instruction based on assessments of students learning needs as well as linguistic differences. They explore how students' learning histories affect their classroom achievement and learn about students' lives outside the classroom. They also engage in various curriculum and instruction approaches, examining how students do their best learning, gather data about what student learning looks like through formal and informal assessments, and create action plans for addressing the learning needs of students. Additionally, residents participate in a weekly seminar and are observed by university education, subject area, and school-based faculty.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 523, TLRN 524, TLRN 525 and TLRN 526. Restriction(s): Available only to students who have been accepted into the new Urban Teacher Residency Program. This course focuses on the resident's role as researcher and reflective practitioner. Teacher residents use an inquiry lens to organize the classroom, develop a positive environment, and plan for student learning. Teacher residents demonstrate pedagogical and content knowledge in designing and implementing classroom learning experiences, assessments, and units of study. Teacher residents explore the triumphs and challenges of families with children with disabilities and focus on partnerships with parents. They evaluate their teaching effectiveness and adjust their instruction based on monitoring learning through observational, formative, and summative assessments. The course gives special attention to supporting universal design for learning and/or differentiated instruction through the use of educational technologies and other instructional strategies. Teacher residents engage in professional relationships with all members of the school community and are actively involved in building partnerships with families. Teacher residents take on responsibility for curriculum and all classroom-related tasks. They develop and present their cumulative learning portfolio to other professionals and are observed and assessed by university and school based faculty.
Restriction(s): Graduate standing. Students critically explore the concept of human neurodiversity–the full range of human neurological and neurocognitive variation. The course foregrounds neurodivergent perspectives, experience, and authorship, and critically examines the dominant and underexamined perspectives of neuronormativity, framing cross-neurotype communication and interaction as forms of intercultural competence that can be developed. Students critically analyze neuronormativity and actively explore the benefits of neurodivergent experience, innovation, and leadership–to individuals, organizations, workplaces, and society. Students develop critical understandings of the history of the neurodiversity movement, the neurodiversity paradigm, and the scholarly field of Critical Neurodiversity Studies, and also explore the implications of these concepts for developing and applying neuroinclusive practice in business, education, clinical practice, employment, public policy, and other spheres of society.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 550 or MGMT 550. Students build on their understanding of critical neurodiversity studies by exploring both the design and execution of neuroinclusive strategies in workplaces and professional practices. The central theme of this course is how to think systematically and strategically about implementing policies, procedures, and programs that enable neurodiverse workforces and professional practices to achieve their organizational goals, serve their clients/customers better, and gain a competitive advantage. This course covers personal identity, legal implications, ethics, neurodivergent talent, recruitment and selection, onboarding, accommodations, work group interactions, performance management, leadership, career development, and advancement. Students explore how professionals can create client-facing neuroinclusive environments. Students will analyze common inclusion challenges and generate proposals for organizational change and practice adjustment through strategic neuroinclusive policy and programs.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 550 or MGMT 550. Students develop their leadership skills by examining how to advance neuroinclusive practices in their chosen careers. Neuroinclusive leadership creates value and drives excellence through enabling the talents, interests, and capabilities of everyone in an organization. Building on a foundation of critical neurodiversity studies, students learn how businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations are trying to leverage the full range of human neurodiversity. Students assess workplace settings and design strategic organizational changes to enhance neuroinclusion. Topics to be discussed will include strengths-based management, universal design, innovation, meeting management and facilitation, mindfulness and contemplative practices, team leadership, organizational behavior, and organizational change management. Students get ready to advocate for themselves and others as leaders in this emerging field.
This course provides an introduction to the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of disability studies (DS) and disability studies in education (DSE). Prioritizing the perspectives of disabled individuals, we explore the socio-political and historical constructions of disability and normalcy in societies. Traditional special education practices are deconstructed using critical lenses, and inclusive education is framed within an equity- based framework as students begin to develop dispositions for becoming intersectional, inclusive educators. Students examine ableism in the context of schools and learn strategies for embedding lessons about the topic of disability within p-12 curricula and anti-ableist teaching.
Prerequisite(s): TLRN 503, TLRN 504, and TLRN 505. Restriction(s): Admission to the graduate school, admission to the MEd in Teaching for Equity and Justice. This capstone course provides instruction in and support for conducting inquiry into a genuine educational problem within students’ own instructional setting. This inquiry project will draw together students’ learning from their specialization and from the M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning Core in a meaningful way. Students will learn how to survey existing literature and situate their problem within a larger field of inquiry, select an appropriate methodology for their inquiry, and report their findings in an accessible way. Equivalent course TLRN 506 effective through Summer 2024.
Corequisite(s): TLRN 686. Restriction(s): Admitted to the Teacher Leadership Endorsement Program. This course guides teacher leaders to develop a form of inquiry that parallels their understandings of teaching and learning. It provides teacher leaders with the tools and resources necessary to examine their own practice as the center of their investigation and later share their findings with other teacher leaders. Participating in a cycle of inquiry, teachers design a self-study or action research project that focuses on an authentic question that has emerged from their teaching/leading in the classroom or school setting. They use a variety of different research methods such as action research and narrative research to collect and analyze data. They then share their research process with their colleagues to reflect on the process of self-study and the ways in which it has begun to impact their teaching and leading. Becoming teacher researchers enhances their teacher leadership. Mutually Exclusive with EDFD 684.
Corequisite(s): TLRN 684. Restriction(s): Admitted to the Teacher Leadership Endorsement Program. This course brings together current ideas and literature in a critical exploration of the interrelationship between teaching, learning, and leadership. It provides teacher leaders with tools and resources to evaluate and develop their own views of the relationship between teaching and learning and the ways to document and assess student growth. Teacher leaders develop a working understanding of concepts such as learning, cognition, development, assessment, and pedagogy and examine how they occur in a variety of cultural contexts (home, school and community) and also within their own practices. In the course teachers analyze multiple examples that illustrate common interests and concerns with an emphasis on professional learning, research-based instructional practices, and the quality of reflective practice and self-study of teaching. Mutually Exclusive with EDFD 686.
Corequisite(s): TLRN 692. This course brings together research and practice in a critical exploration of professional development and teacher learning. It provides teacher leaders with the tools and resources to be able to develop their own understanding of the role of communities of practice and professional development in teacher learning. Students study what research tells us about effective and ineffective professional development forms, focusing particularly on those that involve teacher leadership. We examine the role of technology and data analysis in teacher learning and how it is most effectively used in professional development. Students identify professional development needs in their school and then work to develop professional development plans and programs to meet those needs, incorporating technology and their understanding of effective professional development practices. Mutually Exclusive with EDFD 689.
Corequisite(s): TLRN 689. This course brings together theories and practices of education policy and law that have had an impact on teacher education, certification, and licensure. It provides teacher leaders with the habits of mind, skills, tools and resources to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of education policy and law through the lens of teacher education. Teacher leaders study the history that has shaped the development of these education policies and laws on local, state, and federal levels, and will consider the impact of politics, the courts, and public opinion. They apply these understandings in order to critique policies derived from current federal legislation and explore their roles as advocates for teachers, students, and families. Mutually Exclusive with EDFD 692.