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Director: Dr. Francis S. Grandinetti
Phone: 814-871-7533
Email: grandine002@gannon.edu

Overview

Gannon University offers the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in off-campus cohorts throughout western Pennsylvania and on campus in Erie. The Masters degree is a 37 credit, non-thesis, portfolio-based program. Twenty-four (24) credits are taken from the Gannon core and up to twelve (12) credits earned from Gannon/Performance Learning Systems (PLS) courses may be used as electives. The program is completed with a 1 credit portfolio.

There are two options for completing the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction:

Weekend Option: The program is built around a teacher’s schedule with classes meeting every other Saturday during the academic year and for two one-week-long sessions in the summer. It is a lock-step program in which students complete two Gannon core courses (6 credits) each semester for four semesters. Students take the Gannon/PLS electives whenever and wherever it is most convenient to them.

Summer & Online Option: This option allows students to complete the majority of the coursework in the summertime with two online courses during the school year. The schedule is as follows:

Summer 2008	Three one-week live instruction courses (1 in June, 1 in July, 1 in August)
Fall 2008	An online course with two live meetings
Spring 2009	An online course with two live meetings
Summer 2009	Three one-week live instruction courses (1 in June, 1 in July, 1 in August)

Students take the Gannon/PLS electives whenever and wherever it is most convenient to them.

The startup of the cohort on the date indicated is contingent upon sufficient enrollment. We need at least ten students in order to begin the program and take a maximum of twenty-four per cohort. If we don’t have sufficient enrollment for the start date indicated, we will continue marketing the program and begin in the next possible semester once we do have the minimum enrollment.

Find the Cohort nearest you!

Objectives

The School of Education offers a program leading to a Master of Education degree designed to facilitate the highest level of teacher performance. The core courses focus on the mastery of teaching effectiveness for teachers in grades K through 12. The objectives enable the teacher to:

• Develop the verbal skills and strategies that produce mastery of positive communication
• Acquire skills that increase student thinking and self-esteem through the instruction process
• Use instructional strategies to reach the learning style preferences of students
• Create lesson formats and instructional processes (induction, deduction, inquiry, analysis and synthesis) that match the learning and thinking styles of students
• Develop skills to create a motivating learning environment.

Admission Requirements:

• Complete an application for admission
• Submit three letters of recommendation.
• Official transcripts showing a Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. (Transcripts are only considered official when they are sent directly to Gannon from all schools attended.)
• Copy of teaching certification
• Evidence by previous academic record that the applicant has the general ability and preparation necessary to pursue graduate study successfully.

Curriculum Requirements

This program requires the student to take 25 credits of core courses and 12 credits of electives, bringing the total number of credits for the degree to 37.

Core Courses (25 credits)

GEDU 503 Educational Leadership (3 credits) This course is a study of the models of leadership, issues of human development, communication, culture, trust, change, management and assessment of leadership.

GEDU 505 Classroom Discipline (3 credits) This course is a study of major educational disciplines, theory and practical applications for teachers as they use their knowledge and skills for effective classroom discipline.

GEDU 601 Educational Research Methods (3 credits) This course examines research techniques, interpreting research reports, employing data analysis procedures and applying statistical techniques to further investigation.

GEDU 602 Portfolio (1 credit) The final development, presentation and evaluation of the portfolio project.

GEDU 603 Current Issues in Education (3 credits) This course provides the opportunity for graduate students to explore current education topics in depth.

GEDU 604 Student Assessment and Educational Statistics (3 credits) This course explores the various statistics and assessments that teachers utilize in the classroom.

GEDU 621 School Curriculum (3 credits) The examination of theory, history, purposes and evolution in curriculum.

GEDU 637 Learning Theory (3 credits) Human learning processes, the nature and kinds of learning, factors that influence learning and major theories to explain learning.

GEDU 650 Advanced Educational Computing (3 credits) This course will focus on the assessment and planning stages of the instructional design process. Students will engage in applied learning activities which stress the use of computer productivity tools for text/data processing, making presentations, and technology assessment and planning. This course has an online component that requires students to have computer and Internet access.

Electives (12 credits)

Students may satisfy the electives requirement in one of four ways:

• Option 1: Twelve credits of electives can be selected and planned in consultation with the student's academic advisor. Students can choose an approved sequence of on-campus courses in one of, but not limited to, the following areas:
  
  • Natural Sciences
  • English
  • Environmental Education
  • Reading
• Option 2: Students can earn a graduate-level certificate in one of the following areas:
  • Religious Education (12 credits)
  • Reading (additional credits)
• Option 3: Students can choose to take Performance Learning Systems, Inc. (PLS) courses, which are offered both at Gannon University and throughout Western Pennsylvania. Check with the School of Education or the Center for Adult Learning for the latest PLS brochure with course offerings, dates, times and locations. Or visit the PLS website via the link at the top of this page. (This is the option that most off-campus M.Ed. students will use.)
• Option 4: A 12-credit combination of Option 1 and Option 3.

Portfolio

All students are required to complete a portfolio. The portfolio enables students, through action research, to develop projects that will impact their classroom, school and/or school district. As a result of these projects conducted through the Gannon M.Ed. cohort program, significant changes have impacted schools and the participants have emerged as leaders in their respective districts.