Overview
The Department of Learning and Instruction offers exciting and unique programs at the master’s/credential and doctoral levels.
The Master’s Degree in Special Education with a Mild/Moderate Education Specialist Credential program prepares candidates to teach K-12 students with mild to moderate disabilities with a focus on urban, multicultural special education.
For more information on the program, please visit:
http://www.usfca.edu/soe/programs/li/sped/
The doctoral program in Learning and Instruction emphasizes theories of learning, teaching, and instruction, which inform educational practices in a variety of settings. Graduates of the program apply their skills to deliver instruction, conduct research, evaluate programs, design curriculum, and solve learning-based problems.
For more information on the doctoral programs, please visit:
http://www.usfca.edu/soe/programs/li/
All of these programs share the conviction that instructional decisions must be grounded in the best social science evidence available at the time. Thus, the overriding goal is to prepare our graduates to contribute to, and make use of, the ever-changing knowledge base in learning and instruction.
Credential and Masters Program
The Master’s Degree in Special Education with Mild/Moderate Education Specialist Credential program is designed to prepare interns for special education careers in diverse, urban schools. In this two-year cohort program, candidates can earn Preliminary Teaching Credentials and Master’s Degrees while working as paid intern teachers in Bay area schools.
The Mild/Moderate Education Specialist Credential authorizes graduates to work in a wide variety of positions. They can be employed in public and private K-12 schools as special day class teachers or as resource and inclusion specialists. With the credential and the master’s degree, graduates can be employed at California community colleges as Special Education Learning Specialists.
The Master of Arts degree in Special Education requires the completion of the following:
• TEC 621 Multiple Subject Curriculum & Instruction: Early Literacy
• TEC 613 Multiple Subject Curriculum and Instruction: Math & Science
• L&I 637 Teaching Diverse Groups
• L&I 665 Development of Legal and Educational Foundations for the Learning Specialist
• L&I 636 Educational Practices for the Learning Specialist
• L&I 633 Assessment in Special Education
• L&I 631 Curriculum and Instruction for Students with Mild/Moderate Disabilities
• L&I 639 Intern Teaching Seminar I
• L&I 676 Behavioral Management
• L&I 622 Instructional Uses of Technology for the Learning Specialist
• L&I 640 Intern Teaching Seminar II
• L&I 675 Data-based Instruction
• L&I 678 Intern Teaching Seminar III
• L&I 659 Collaboration and Consultation
• L&I 679 Intern Teaching Seminar IV
• TEC 642 Health Education
• L&I 641 Research in Special Education
• L&I 638 Master's Thesis/Field Project
Total Units for Master’s Degree with Credential – 42 credits
Doctoral Program
The Ed.D. in Learning and Instruction offers professionals an opportunity to acquire and develop methodological skills and substantive knowledge in the areas of learning, teaching, and instructional design. Using the latest technology to assist in instructional delivery and support, coursework is offered in areas ranging from creativity and human abilities to performance assessment and essentials for teaching in higher education. There is also an option to obtain a concentration in Special Education (9 credits).
The doctoral program consists of 60 credit hours of study beyond the master’s degree and culminates in the completion of a doctoral dissertation. Students will complete 60 credits of doctoral coursework that satisfy the following requirements: Foundation Core (12 credits), L&I Core (18 credits), Advanced Research Core (12 credits), Elective courses (9 credits), and Dissertation Core (9 credits). The 12 credits of Foundation Core courses are:
• GEDU 704 Psychological Foundations
• GEDU 706 Applied Educational Statistics
• GEDU 708 Research Methods in Education
• L&I 700 Cognitive Psychologies
Students are required to complete 18 credits of L&I Core courses. Students can select 6 courses from the following L&I offerings in consultation with the student’s advisor:
• L&I 752 Data-Based Decision Making for School Leaders
• L&I 724 Grant Writing
• L&I 713 Essentials for Teaching in Higher Education
• L&I 732 Motivation
• L&I 735 Creativity
• L&I 702 Human Abilities
• L&I 712 Performance-Based Assessment
• L&I 743 Constructivism and Technology
• L&I 701 Multimedia Learning
• L&I 798 Special Topics
The 12 credits of coursework to fulfill the advanced Research Core requirements are as follows:
• GEDU 707 Advanced Statistics
• GEDU 714 Educational and Psychological Measurement
• L&I 707 Literature reviews
• One advanced Methodology course selected in consultation with the student’s advisor.
The 9 credits associated with the development, research, and writing of a doctoral dissertation are:
• L&I 709 Dissertation Proposal Seminar
• L&I 790 Dissertation Proposal Development
• L&I 791 Dissertation Research and Writing
Students complete the program by successfully defending their dissertation research in Dissertation Research and Writing.
