SEMESTER

COURSE
CODE

COURSE NAME

COURSE DESCRIPTION

FALL 2012

EDUC 5002G

Research Methods in
Education

This course is a general introduction to educational research methods. The epistemological assumptions about the
nature of knowledge and the relationship between theory and evidence are extensively examined across a broad
range of approaches to research. Students consider the types of questions that can be answered through research
as well as the practical and ethical questions that arise in educational research. A central goal of the course is to
instil a culture of disciplined inquiry for modern teaching professionals. As graduate students, they become critical
readers and consumers of research. There is, in addition, a praxis element to this course, as participants are
encouraged to build capacity for engaging in Research-driven practice. Technology has a significant role to play in
the research process, but caution must be observed with respect to the ethics of collection of information. The
importance of computer software packages for both quantitative and qualitative analysis is also introduced.

WINTER
2013

EDUC 5001G

Principles of Learning

This course serves as an introduction to the variety of ways that human learning is thought about within educational
contexts. This course helps students understand some of the similarities and differences that exist among a variety
of learning theories. Because the application of theory in educational practice (praxis) is a key element of this
course, students are encouraged to see new pathways of possibility for teaching and learning in their own
educational experiences. Students may assess the success of the course sessions by evaluating the degree to
which their experiences In the course have provoked them toward reflective practice for their own learning
communities.

SPRING
2013

EDUC 5204G

Staff Development and

Supervision

This course investigates the process of teacher learning as it applies to the needs of the early practitioner and
experienced teacher. This includes staff development, teacher supervision and teacher growth through reflective
practice. Staff development theory and practice will be examined, as well as current research in measuring the
impact of teacher learning. The conceptual bases outlined in current theory, research and practice in the models of
teacher supervision are critically examined relative to current policies on teacher supervision.

FALL 2013

EDUC 5199G

Special Topics:
Computer-assisted
Learning

This Special Topics course provides an overview of the first and second generation of computer assisted language
learning. Students will become familiar with current programs and apps available for individual use in foreign
language learning, such as Anki and Memrise. They will also explore Network Based Language Learning (NBLT) to
consider how blogs, wikis, videoconferencing, web-based programs like Verbling and italki, and social networking
sites like Facebook and Second Life allow for tandem and small group collaboration in the language learning
process. Topics will include the rise of online corporate English training as developing nations increasingly
participate in the global economy; the erosion of the role of the teacher and formal curriculum in online language
learning; the role of self-directed learning; and the use of technology to revive endangered languages.

WINTER
2014

EDUC 5101G

Digital Tools for

This course critically examines research and theory on the use of digital cognitive tools for constructing knowledge.
Constructing Knowledge Students will explore and analyze the educational affordances of a wide range of digital tools. It is expected that
students will see the ways in which specific choices of technology are associated and lead to specific learning
outcomes. Specific topics that may be considered include systems of thought that favour or oppose the use of
technology in education, analysis and categorization of online digital tools and systems, and constructivist
approaches to applications of technology.

SPRING
2014

EDUC5305G

Authentic Assessment

The ultimate goal of this course is to enable educators to help their students to be able to think about their own
learning processes. Authentic assessment is not about final exams and bell curves. The focus of this course is to
research, analyze, and apply a variety of assessment techniques and applications that are based on the notion that
people learn most effectively when they are able to relate what they are learning to their previous knowledge.
Assessment is defined within the context of simulating authentic life-related tasks. Young children and adolescents
also need to understand their own thought processes through self and peer assessment if they are to see their own
growth potential and develop self motivation and self-esteem. Graduate students in this course learn key principles
of authentic assessment and how to differentiate among assessments (such as criterion-referenced and normreferenced.) They apply theory to examine underlying issues concerning high stakes standardized testing. As they
study how to create more effective rubrics and objective test items, they think critically about how to better assess
their students academic development. By the end of the course, participants understand the differences between
assessment for learning and assessment of learning.

FALL 2014

EDUC 5304G

Digital Literacies:
Theory, Practice, and
Research

Postmodern literacies have proliferated in response to the rapid expansion of digital technologies and network
interconnectivity in the 21st-century. The kinds of texts produced for and by the current knowledge economy are
artifacts of digital rather than industrial technologies; these technologies have had considerable impact on how
people read and write. This course examines what we have learned about the impact of digital technologies to this
point with a view to understanding what it means to be literate in a digital age. We consider the continuing overlap of
pre-print, print and post-print forms within the larger history of literacy artifacts. We consider the effect of word
processors, hypermedia, and the Web 2.0 on writing and reading practices, and we experiment with emerging webbased social software such as wikis and weblogs. From legal boundaries of who owns what words in cyberspace to
recognizing new orthographies, new identities, new contexts for learning and new poetics in digital contexts, we
explore the various socio-political and educational aspects of digital communications technologies.

WINTER
2015

EDUC 5005G

Social & Cultural

Context of Education

This course will include sociological explorations of the social and cultural factors that have impacted upon
curriculum and the experience of schooling historically and in the current digital era. As discussions of power
privilege and socio-cultural difference become increasingly common in popular culture, it is incumbent upon
educators to understand how the web shapes and responds to normative views of curriculum and the learning
experience. Students in this course will be asked to critically examine their own academic, professional and
personal journeys in light of concepts introduced in the course readings. The investigative approach includes ethical
reasoning, autobiographical reflection, deconstruction and sociological analysis of lived experiences and burning
issues. This course will relate content and discussion to educational research in order to assist students in thinking
about their own potential platforms for educational research.

WINTER
2015

EDUC 5205G

Leadership and
Technology

Significant educational leadership principles, models in the use of technology, and the influence of information and
communication technology on educational leadership are explored and applied. Course topics include common
vision; analysis of needs; development; access and security; integration into instruction; assessment and
evaluation; professional development; and infrastructure of the school system including administrative software,
community relationships, ethical legal issues and other educational policy implications. The result will be a plan of
significant value to the masters candidates educational technology leadership role.

SPRING/
SUMMER
2015

EDUC 6300G

MEd Graduate Portfolio

The Portfolio is a one term project that synthesizes and applies knowledge, understanding and perspectives
obtained in the 9 previous courses of study. Students will create a final product that demonstrates a culmination of
what they have learned in program. Sample portfolio products might be an education web-page, a learning tool
(web-based or otherwise), a new course design, a training workshop, design of a new curriculum, a formal report
summarizing a key area of interest, a multi-media reflective video journal.

SEMESTER

COURSE
CODE

COURSE NAME

COURSE DESCRIPTION