APLN500: Language and Linguistics

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

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.

APLN505: Semantics and Pragmatics

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.

APLN510: Discourse Analysis

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.

APLN512: Cross-Cultural Discourse Analysis

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.

CURR532: Middle School Curriculum and Organization

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.

CURR599: Curricular and Social Dynamics of Schooling

This course introduces students to the curriculum of the American School. The content of the curriculum, the organization of the curriculum and the pedogogical factors that influence it are examined. In addition, students examine the historical, political and philosophic factors that influence curriculum. 3 sh.

ELAD513: Secondary School Administration

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.

ELAD521: Education Law

Legal-theory, practical politics, relationship of school district organization to other units of government, 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 regulation of the state Board of Education and their decisions. New Jersey school legal structure compared with that of other states. 3 sh.

ELAD531: Program Planning and Development

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: One and one-half years' work experience.

ELAD540: Differentiated Supervision

This course will examine the supervisory roles of school leaders, focusing on the process of clinical supervision and the learning and supervision needs of teachers at different professional levels. Topics include professional development, hiring and interviewing, intensive assistance, and adult learning. All students will engage in simulated and authentic supervision of classroom practice. 3 sh.

PSYC506: Professional Issues in Multicultural School Psychology

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

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

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

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. 3 sh.

READ501: Techniques of Reading Improvement in the Secondary School

Studies the improvement of nonclinical reading difficulties in the content subjects. For the subject area teacher and the beginning reading specialist. Secondary school reading needs and specific suggestions for guiding the slow, average, and gifted student in a classroom situation. 3 sh.

READ502: Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs

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.

READ503: Literature for Adolescents

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

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

READ508: Critical Thinking and Literacy

Offers a critical thinking framework for the communication arts with an emphasis on reading comprehension, writing, and discussion. Relevant psychological, sociological, and philosophical theories will be studied and applied to texts that are representative of diverse genres and cultures and that challenge conventional beliefs. 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

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.

READ513: Supervised Clinical Practicum, Part I

For advanced students and specialists involved in some aspect of remedial instruction. Investigates and interprets serious reading problems, causes of reading difficulties, and techniques of remedial and corrective treatment. Clients are drawn from children in surrounding communities. Additional tutoring hours will be arranged. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 511.

READ514: Supervised Clinical Practicum, Part II

For advanced students and specialists involved in some aspect of remedial instruction. Examines selection and adaptation of suitable improvement devices, materials and ideas; intensive treatment in a practicum situation. Clients are drawn from children in the surrounding communities. Additional tutoring hours will be arranged. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 511.

READ519: Language and Early Literacy Development

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

This course examines literacy evolutions through physical innovations from cuneiform to the printing press to the internet, educational initiatives from the tutor system to mandated public education to No Child Left Behind, and historical eras from ancient to modern to post-modern. This course will run as a seminar co-developed by the professor and students. This class engages students in learning the history of literacy and literacy pedagogy and, through that, wrestling with issues of discourse, culture, theory, and practice in education and society - both as practicing or potential teachers and as scholars. Topics covered include: development of literacy as related to the printing press, literacy definitions and educational policy, new media and new Literacies, and issues of literacy and power in educational settings. 3 sh.

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

READ524: Teaching Multiethnic Literature in P-8 Classrooms

This graduate-level course is designed to assist in-service teachers and school media specialists in their efforts to examine multiethnic children's literature as both aesthetic forms and pedagogical tools. Students will analyze the social, political, and educational implications of such literature and its use in P-8 classrooms. If teachers and school media specialists introduce powerful, but enjoyable, literary pieces through which they explore the topics of race and ethnicity and ask critical questions, children might have a greater chance of living up to democratic principles and becoming active participants in the global community. This course will help teachers to use multiethnic children's literature more frequently in their respective classrooms and to approach that responsibility with confidence. 3 sh.

READ525: Literacies, Digital Technology and Learning

This course is designed to provide a context in which pre-service and in-service teachers can explore a range of "new" Literacies and the implications of these new Literacies for school-based literacy education. This course comprises a theoretical dimension that focuses on literacy as a social practice, and a practical dimension that includes hands-on use of a range of new digital technologies and new literacy practices. Attention will be paid to developing effective ways of taking up new Literacies in classroom contexts. 3 sh.

READ600: Workshop in Contemporary Issues in Reading

Explores contemporary issues in reading instruction, basic skills, literature, cultural literacy and critical thinking. Each workshop will be topic-specific. Faculty determine topic selection according to timely public policy issues and philosophical concerns. Collaborative research between workshop faculty and participants will be emphasized. 1 - 3 sh.