APLN500: Language and Linguistics (3 hours lecture)

An overview of the study of language and linguistics intended to provide students with a clear understanding of human language and with the conceptual foundations of linguistics. The course will expose students to several major areas within linguistics: language acquisition, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It will introduce the major tenets and principles of linguistics without surveying the areas treated in the other graduate courses in the department. It is a prerequisite for all other courses in the M.A. program. 3 sh.

APLN502: Sociolinguistics (3 hours lecture)

The study of language in its social context with a focus on language variation. Topics include language and social class, language and ethnicity, language and gender, and the study of standard versus nonstandard varieties of language. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500. Restricted to MA students in Applied Linguistics (APLN) only.

APLN505: Semantics and Pragmatics (3 hours lecture)

An exploration of the main tenets of contemporary semantics and pragmatics, the areas of linguistics that examine various aspects of meaning. The course investigates the boundaries between semantics and pragmatics by studying utterance meaning as well as lexical and sentence meaning. Students will learn about the applications of semantics and pragmatics to a variety of areas of applied linguistics. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500. Restricted to MA students in Applied Linguistics (APLN) only.

APLN510: Discourse Analysis (3 hours lecture)

An investigation of the techniques used in discourse analysis, the branch of linguistics which studies how to analyze naturally occurring connected speech. Discourse analysis is the study of the organization of language above the sentence level including the structure of conversations. It considers language in a social context, in particular the language used in verbal interactions. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500. Restricted to MA students in Applied Linguistics (APLN) only.

APLN512: Cross-Cultural Discourse Analysis (3 hours lecture)

A discourse analytic examination and comparison of the verbal practices and communicative strategies of different linguistic, social, and cultural groups. Students will broaden their understanding of discourse analysis by investigating verbal interactions that take place in different languages and within a variety of cultural contexts. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 510. Restricted to MA students in Applied Linguistics (APLN) only.

CURR532: Middle School Curriculum and Organization (3 hours lecture)

Emerging curriculum of the rapidly developing middle school. Organization of pupils, instruction, media and facilities. Recent social changes and educational innovations; practices in typical middle schools; developing instructional strategies. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CURR 530.

ELAD513: Secondary School Administration (3 hours lecture)

Special administration problems of the junior and senior high school. Recruitment of staff, scheduling of teachers, organization and school morale, and recent experiments of organizational structure. Supervision of instruction as a major function of administration. Current demands of adults in the community. How the secondary school operates in relation to the elementary school and higher education to help design education as a continuous process. Students write a paper on special administrative problems. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ELAD 510. Graduate students in ELAD, ADSU, ELET, ELAO or department approval.

ELAD521: Education Law (3 hours lecture)

This course immerses students in the practice of school law as it relates to legal theory, practical politics, the relationship of a school district's organization to other units of government, the appellate function of the state Commissioner of Education and the state Board of Education, New Jersey school laws (Title 18A of the revised statutes), and rules and regulations of the state Board of Education and their decisions. Students study New Jersey school legal structure and compare it to that of other states, while they work through authentic case studies. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ELAD 510, Graduate students in Educational Leadership (ELAD), Principal (PRIN), Supervisor (SUPR) or departmental approval.

ELAD531: Program Planning and Development (3 hours lecture)

This course provides education and training personnel with experience in the principles and techniques of designing training programs in the organizational setting. Special attention will be placed on organizational needs analysis and program development in skills areas and staff development. Students will design a total program and individual lessons for education and training efforts in a variety of simulated settings. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Graduate students in Educatonal Leadership w/conc: Educ/Trainer (ELET) or Educational Leadership w/conc: Adult and OrgLrning (ELAO) or departmental approval.

ELAD540: Differentiated Supervision (3 hours lecture)

In this course, students examine the supervisory roles of school leaders in supporting effective teaching and student learning. They learn about the processes of clinical supervision, coaching, and mentoring, and develop the knowledge and skills to ensure effective instruction through collaboration, observation, analysis, feedback, and evaluation of instruction. All students engage in simulated and authentic supervision of classroom practice through a variety of techniques. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ELAD 510. Graduate students in Educational Leadership (ELAD), Principal (PRIN), Supervisor (SUPR).

MEDI503: Critical Basics of Media and Technology Production (3 hours laboratory)

This course introduces critical and practical frameworks for producing educational media. Students engage in hands-on production of multiple media forms to support a variety of curricular goals, with emphasis on digital media. Students explore the possibilities of multimedia and non-linear teaching and learning for educators and learn the fundamentals of interactive and integrative curriculum design across MacIntosh and PC-based computer platforms. Open to matriculating and non-matriculating students. 3 sh.

MEDI506: Evaluation and Selection of Educational Media (3 hours lecture)

Emphasizes the evaluation and selection of research materials in multiple media formats - from print to digital. The course provides opportunities to discover what kinds of resources are available and generate criteria for evaluating the quality and usefulness of new and traditional media in supporting the research process. 3 sh.

PSYC506: Professional Issues in Multicultural Psychology (3 hours lecture)

This course is designed to expose students in school psychology to multicultural issues which are central to theory, practice, and research. The course has an awareness, knowledge, and skills focus. Awareness is centered on understanding multiple value systems and world views and gaining insight into one's own cultural socialization and inherent biases. Knowledge focuses on acquiring accurate understanding of the various cultural groups with whom one will work. Skills relate to specific culturally appropriate and tailored interventions. The course incorporates multicultural modes of learning and performance evaluation. 3 sh.

PSYC560: Advanced Educational Psychology (3 hours lecture)

A comprehensive treatment of the cognitive and affective characteristics of the learner and the processes of learning and teaching provide the framework for this course. Behavioral, cognitive and information-processing theory are presented and their applicability to instructional strategies and classroom dynamics is discussed. Other areas included are the origins of individual differences including heredity and environment, early childhood education, cultural differences, student motivation, classroom management, measurement and evaluation, exceptional children and other topics. 3 sh.

PSYC578: Psychological Tests and Measurements (3 hours lecture)

This course surveys the theory, construction and application of psychological tests. Topics include the statistical concepts underlying measurement; reliability and validity; critical analyses of selected intelligence, ability and personality tests; evaluation and interpretation of test data in practical situations; and the role of testing in clinical, educational and remedial settings. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval, and an undergraduate Psychology statistics course or equivalent.

READ500: The Nature of Reading. Starting Summer 2012: Literacy Foundations (3 hours lecture)

Examines the foundations of reading: the nature of the reading process, readiness, beginning instruction, current practices in the teaching of reading in early childhood and elementary education, a reappraisal of the role of reading in a technological society. Starting Summer 2012: Students examine the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of literacy and literacy teaching. This involves learning about reading development, early years and elementary literacy instruction, assessment processes and policies, and practical strategies for ensuring literacy success for all school students. 3 sh.

READ501: Techniques of Reading Improvement in the Secondary School (3 hours lecture)

Techniques of Reading Improvement in the Secondary School introduces pre-service and in-service teachers to an array of cross-content literacy strategies for the improvement of nonclinical reading difficulties. Students learn how to ground literacy strategies in purposeful and meaningful curricular and pedagogical projects. 3 sh.

READ502: Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs (3 hours lecture)

Explores the more complex aspects of organizing and administering reading programs: theory and techniques of leadership, program development, organization of in-service programs, developing a budget, methods of evaluation, etc. Essential background for reading specialists in order to establish or administer a functional school reading program. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 500 and READ 501.

READ503: Literature for Adolescents (3 hours lecture)

Offers background for the development of recreational reading programs in middle schools and high schools. Literature written for students, as well as literature intended to be read widely by adolescents, criteria for book selection, censorship, role of mass media, minority group identification through books, bibliotherapy, bibliographic tools, and the importance of the librarian. 3 sh.

READ504: Literacy Needs of Adult Learners (3 hours lecture)

Language learning and related psychological factors; methodology and reading instruction; literature and the reading program and innovations in reading instruction are examined. 3 sh.

READ507: Understanding Reading Comprehension (3 hours lecture)

Pre-service and in-service teachers examine the concept of reading comprehension. Students make the link between influential theories of reading comprehension, specific elements of reading as a practice, and real-world reading and teaching situations. Over the course of the semester, students articulate and reflect upon their own concepts of reading comprehension, and identify useful approaches for working with a range of school students and types of readers. 3 sh.

READ508: Critical Thinking and Literacy (3 hours lecture)

In Critical Thinking and Literacy, students learn various epistemological approaches to critical thinking and literacy development and practice, including, for example, sociological, psychological, cultural, historical and sociolinguistic approaches. Students link approaches to classroom pedagogy, and use insights gained from this course to critique habituated ways of knowing, seeing, and acting with respect to literacy teaching, with a particular emphasis on how language and literacies condition reality and our belief in the possibility of transforming it. 3 sh.

READ510: Field Experience in Reading

Provides students opportunities to observe, participate and report community-based activities of agencies. For students in long-range research, students with limited teaching experience, and students who need additional field and clinical experience. Independent study. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

READ511: Case Studies of Reading Difficulties (3 hours lecture)

Offers opportunities to learn the techniques for diagnosing reading difficulties, evaluating the most frequently used tests and inventories, and the testing of a child with reading problems. Group and individual tests, survey and diagnostic tests, standardized and informal tests. and reporting to parents, schools and agencies are discussed. The course develops skills in diagnosing and ameliorating reading problems. Additional diagnostic hours arranged. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 500 and READ 501.

READ519: Language and Early Literacy Development (3 hours lecture)

This course examines the nature of language, communication, and literacy development in children of diverse backgrounds and abilities during the foundational early childhood period from birth through age five. Students explore how children acquire language in social context and the impact of biological, psycholinguistic, and sociocultural factors on language development in both typically and atypically developing children. Students examine the relationships between language skills and emergent literacy, and the role of parents, teachers and other caregivers in helping prepare children to successfully acquire school-based Literacies. Students explore state and national policies that seek to improve preschool supports for language and early literacy development and the impact of increasing linguistic and cultural diversity on early childhood language arts/literacy education. 3 sh.

READ522: History of Literacy and Media (3 hours lecture)

Students learn about the history of literacy and media from early sign-making systems, to the printing press, to broadcast media and education, to the internet, and across ancient, modern and post-modern eras. Students also learn the history of a range of literacy educational initiatives from Dame Schools and tutor systems, to literacy "readers" in schools, to national policies that shape education, and more. In learning about the history of literacy and media, students engage with issues concerning dominant literacy discourses in education and wider society, children's and youths' literacy practices and the extent to which these are built upon in schools, and the relationship between literacy policies and classroom practices over time. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 500 or READ 501 or instructor's permission.

READ524: Teaching Multiethnic Literature in P-8 Classrooms (3 hours lecture)

Students examine multiethnic children's literature as aesthetic forms and pedagogical tools. Students analyze the social, political, and education implications of this literature and its use in P-8 classrooms. Students are encouraged to introduce powerful, well-written and illustrated, and engaging literature into their classroom teaching across a range of subject areas as they explore important topics, such as race, ethnicity, and democracy; processes such as critical thinking and critical media analysis; and issues of power and privilege. Students learn to use this literature effectively and confidently within a range of curriculum and assessment structures. 3 sh.

READ525: Literacies, Digital Technology and Learning (3 hours lecture)

Within this course, students examine a range of theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to identifying and understanding new literacies. In particular, students engage with sociocultural approaches to understanding and exploring new literacies that focus on literacy in connection with social practices. Students also evaluate popular literacy and technology uses in classrooms, and develop their own strategies for bringing together literacy learning and digital technologies in well informed and forward-looking ways in schools. 3 sh.

READ600: Workshop in Contemporary Issues in Reading

Students have the opportunity to learn about current literacy-related issues, developments, pedagogies, policies, and so on within this course. Each workshop is topic-specific and designed by faculty on a course-by-course basis. Students within the program are encouraged to request that this course be offered to target a specific topic they themselves find timely or pressing. 1 - 3 sh.