Elementary Education

Graduate Programs

Description

The Department of Elementary and Literacy Education programs are designed to meet the needs of elementary teachers. All of the graduate programs are offered online and can be completed from distance. 

Majors

 Program Locations Total Credits
Elementary Education MS MS - Master of Science
  • Online
 31

Certificates

 Program Locations Total Credits
Elementary Math Pedagogy GC
  • Online
 9

Policies & Faculty

Policies

In addition to meeting the general admission requirements of the College of Graduate Studies and Research, preference will be given to students who have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students with a GPA less than 3.0 will be considered for admission after successfully completing 6 graduate credits within the department with a grade of B or higher as a non-degree-seeking student. Students must submit two recommendation forms that address the student’s professional competence. 

Contact Information

328 Armstrong Hall

Main Office (507) 389-1516
https://ed.mnsu.edu/academic-programs/Elementary-literacy-education/

Faculty

Graduate Coordinator
  • Beth Beschorner, Ph.D.
Chair
  • Beth Beschorner, Ph.D.
Administrative Assistant
  • Sara Sletten
Faculty

500 Level

Credits: 2

To prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to use technology in the elementary classroom. Applications to each content area will be considered.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Foundation level knowledge concerning the reading process and how it pertains to the ESL student including strategy instruction.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Presents strategies for teaching and reading knowledge, attitudes and skills in the various teaching content areas.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Through hands-on experiences students learn the basics of engineering needed to teach this content at the elementary school level. Topics include the engineering design process, reverse engineering, engineering fields/professions, and experience with instructional strategies. The course focuses on the engineering strand of the K-6 Minnesota State Science Standards.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Students will develop competency using the specific technology skills needed to become effective Elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teachers.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Students will become familiar with important, emerging topics in the field of elementary STEM education.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Students will learn to integrate the four disciplines of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) into their instruction in the elementary classroom.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

This practicum provides students with an immersion experience in a supervised Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educational setting.

Prerequisites: none

600 Level

Credits: 3

Students will understand current trends in mathematics instruction for elementary students and develop competencies in the following: promoting reasoning and problem-solving, using mathematical representations, facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse, posing purposeful questions, building procedural fluency from conceptual understanding, supporting productive struggle, eliciting evidence of student thinking, and creating equitable opportunities in teaching and learning mathematics. Emphasis is on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principles of effective mathematics teaching and Standards for Mathematical Practice.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

Selected topics explored for elementary or secondary teaching. May be repeated.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course focuses on developing skills related to academic writing.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course focuses on implementing high quality, research based literacy instruction for all children in preschool through second grade. Emphasis is placed on the use of varied instructional approaches and materials for young learners. Students will develop the ability to: understand major theories and research describing literacy development, implement a balanced curriculum, design an environment to optimize student learning that includes choice and motivation, and differentiate instruction.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course provides an introduction to the Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative. Different implementation models will be reviewed, along with specific factors important to consider when designing programs. An overview of progress monitoring and intervention strategies will be provided.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This purpose of this course is to develop a theoretical and research-based understanding of 21st Century learning that will provide the foundational underpinnings for utilizing instructional practices that foster empowered citizenship within the elementary classroom.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course provides an in-depth study of assessment strategies for readers at different levels. Effective reading assessments for groups and individual learners, data-driven decision-making, and assessment of curriculum will be emphasized. Data analysis and patterns of performance will be highlighted.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course focuses on implementing high-quality, research based literacy instruction within the disciplines/content areas. The course emphasizes the use of varied instructional approaches and materials related to vocabulary and comprehension of a wide-range of print-based and multimodal texts. Students will be able to: identify features of a motivating environment for literacy learning and plan appropriate explicit instruction for literacy within disciplines/content areas.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course provides an in-depth study of instructional strategies and interventions for readers at different levels. Effective reading strategies for groups and individual learners, data-based curriculum decisions, and selection of appropriate materials and instructional strategies will be emphasized.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course focuses on recent research, issues, and instructional approaches in K-12 reading. Emphasis is placed on providing effective instruction for all learners and includes topics related to content and pedagogy. Students will develop the ability to: explain components of a balanced approach to literacy instruction, describe phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and their contribution to reading, plan and deliver effective instruction, and reflect on literacy instruction.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Presents information about elementary learners' writing development, genres for the elementary curriculum, and assessment of elementary students' writing. Research-validated practices for teaching diverse learners will be the focus of the course.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Students will develop expertise in working with culturally and linguistically diverse students in literacy learning. The course focuses on culturally responsive instructional strategies for literacy learning in reading, writing, and oral language to meet the cognitive, linguistic, cultural, and dispositional needs of English learners and culturally diverse learners. English language development, linguistics, academic language, assessment, family engagement, strengthening students' cultural connections, vocabulary development, comprehension strategies, writing instruction, and differentiation are major topics.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Examines research and theory in education. Explores major research and theoretical thinking in education.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

Supervised practical experiences in curricular design and development. Admission by application only.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Investigation of effective elementary classroom instruction through multiple methods of formal and informal assessment strategies that support student engagement, student progress monitoring, and guiding instructional decision making. Examination of assessment strategies for instructional planning and evaluation to promote strong intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development which will support all elementary students.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed to enhance skills for using formative assessment strategies that elicits elementary children¿s thinking to support learning with understanding. Emphasis is on understanding children¿s mathematical thinking, assessing for mathematical proficiency, positioning children as competent sense makers and valuing diverse ways of thinking.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed to build understanding and skills for differentiating elementary mathematics in ways that fosters an inclusive environment. Emphasis is on critically evaluating ways differentiation practices can work to marginalize children and perpetuate patterns of inequities within the math classroom and developing with strategies that value diverse ways of knowing and thinking.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Develop skills, knowledge, and dispositions related to technology use for literacy learning in the elementary classroom.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Develop skill to enact practices that develop learners¿ mathematical proficiency based on three goals: (1) explicitly teach skills for disrupting patterns of injustices and inequities that often get reproduced within the context of elementary mathematics classrooms; (2) develop professional skills for the high-leverage practices of eliciting and interpreting students¿ thinking and leading a group discussion; and (3) gain the mathematical knowledge needed for engaging learners in inquiry-based instruction for number sense & operations, place value, computation, and rational number concepts in grades K-6.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course will explore practical information, assessment tools, instructional ideas and activities for effective implementation of an inquiry-based approach in elementary curriculum. Teacher candidates will focus on developing inquiry-based methods and strategies for improving student learning while linking one or more elementary content areas.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Examines the elements of anti-racist classroom environments that meet the needs of the whole child (e.g. morning meeting, integrating the arts, etc.).

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

Special teaching projects of an experiental and creative nature in the students' field of preparations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This field-based course is designed as the capstone experience for students completing the reading teacher program. The focus is on assessment and intervention experiences with struggling readers.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

In this course students learn about and use a variety of developmentally appropriate, motivating techniques and assessments to disrupt predictable patterns of achievement and to advance children¿s: oral and written language, phonemic awareness, phonics, and concepts about print within a balanced literacy framework. Additionally, the interdependent nature of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, stages of spelling development, and role of vocabulary and fluency in comprehension are addressed.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course will provide elementary teacher candidates with the knowledge and skills necessary to: identify concepts to be explored through scientific investigations, and then design and conduct investigations of those concepts, using appropriate scientific apparatus and mathematical tools to improve their investigations. Students will apply appropriate pedagogies to foster inquiry the elementary classroom. Identify and mitigate their students¿ science misconceptions.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed to prepare teacher candidates with the understanding and application of concepts related to human diversity and interactions, structures of power, the identity of individuals and communities, and explicitly connects social studies concepts with their influence on educational experiences of diverse learners. The course addresses issues of oppression and social justice related to race/ethnicity, gender, age, class, religion, disability, physical appearance, sexual orientation and nationality.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The purpose of this course is to build the mathematical background and skills for teaching in the elementary school. This course meets the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) fundamental topics in arithmetic competencies. Topics addressed in this course are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers; number theory related to fractions; fractions; decimals; and integers.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The first semester of a year-long student teaching experience that provides an opportunity for teacher candidates to experience fully the role of the professional elementary educator and demonstrate their ability to successfully enter the induction phase of teaching.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Analyze and design instruction and assessment that bridges curriculum with students¿ cultural, racial, linguistic and community assets and reflects students' diverse experiences.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Examines, synthesizes, and applies the research base for a problem of practice within elementary level education.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This field-based course is designed for students working with two-year college students and adults in reading. It provides an opportunity to implement knowledge and skills developed in coursework with this population.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

Opportunity for individual study on curriculum or instruction topics under direction of graduate faculty.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Seminar brings together knowledge from a variety of disciplines to help students meet the needs of learners within inclusive settings. Specific attention is given to English language support, special education services, ethical and legal issues in teaching, and the edTPA.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Current research, instructional techniques and materials regarding kindergarten curriculum in language arts, reading, science, mathematics, social studies, psychomotor and creative arts.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-2

For students completing a Master's degree with the alternate plan paper option.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-2

For students completing a Master's degree with the creative project option.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

For students completing the Master's or Specialist degree using the thesis option.

Prerequisites: none