Master of Education—Moderate Disabilities
Program Coordinator: Dr. Sue F. Foo
Phone: 508-929-8071
Email: sfoo@worcester.edu
Candidates for the Master of Education (M.Ed.) with a concentration in Moderate Disabilities (P-8 or 5-12) are required to meet the competencies established by the Office of Graduate Programs for all candidates seeking a Master of Education Degree through Worcester State University.
Candidates must possess an Initial License as a Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For more information on the Initial Licensure Program for Moderate Disabilities, please go to www.worcester.edu/graduate.
The Worcester State University Special Education Master’s Program is a 37-credit program, consisting of twelve (12) three-credit courses and a one-credit portfolio course. The portfolio course requires candidates to document mastery of content and pedagogical standards beyond the initial license.
The courses in the M.Ed. with a concentration in Moderate Disabilities (P-8 or 5-12) program fall into 3 categories. The first set of courses meets the core education requirements common to several of the M. Ed. programs. There are four core courses that total ten (10) credits. Completion of these courses assures that students have acquired graduate level knowledge and skills in the foundation of education, and in the interpretation, planning, and implementation of educational research.
Additional courses that transfer from the initial licensure program are ED-921, ED-923, ED-922, and ED-924. These are required courses for the M.Ed.
To access online information about the program, including an application and admission requirements, please go to: www.worcester.edu/apply.
Items Needed to Apply:
- Online application found at www.worcester.edu/apply
- Essay explaining reason for pursuing this degree program
- Application fee
- Two letters of recommendation from professional or academic sources
- Official transcripts from ALL colleges and universities attended showing a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
- Official transcript evaluation for any transcript from outside the United States
- An English language proficiency test if the student’s academic background is not in English
- Copy of a Massachusetts initial or professional teaching license in moderate disabilities
- GREs are required, but are waived with passing scores on MTEL or possession of an earned master’s degree
Core M.Ed. Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ED-981 | Advanced Foundations of Education | 3 |
| ED-982 | Research in Education | 3 |
| ED-993 | Seminar: Research in Content Concentration | 3 |
| ED-992 | Portfolio Evaluation | 1 |
Candidates are advised to take ED-981 early in the program as it provides the foundation for the graduate program. The research course ED-982 informs candidates on interesting areas of research as well as a foundation for ED-993. The seminar course is completed near the end of the program and leads to a completed research paper in the area of Moderate Disabilities. ED-992 must be taken during the last semester. The course guides candidates in compiling a program portfolio that demonstrates successful attainment of the state standards for initial licensure and the college standards for the Master in Education Degree.
Core Content/Pedagogical Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CD-910 | Speech/Language Development, Differences and Diversity | 3 |
| ED-914 | Teaching and Learning Literacy Across Multiple Disciplines | 3 |
| ED-929 | Mathematics Assessment and Instruction For Diverse Learners | 3 |
| ED-913 | Differentiated Reading Instruction | 3 |
These four courses are required to complete the M.Ed. with a concentration in Moderate Disabilities to meet the state regulations regarding “content or pedagogical courses beyond those for the initial license based on the academic discipline, developed or taught in collaboration with experts who hold at least a master’s degree in that discipline or hold a full time faculty position in that discipline in the arts or sciences or appropriate professional school other than education.” Candidates are required to take one course as elective under the advisement of the program coordinator.
Students who have completed Worcester State University Post-Baccalaureate Program for Initial Teacher License in Moderate Disabilities and elect to continue taking courses leading to the Master of Education Degree, may transfer 12 credits from the initial licensure program. The students then complete an additional 25 credits, for a total of 37 to earn a Master of Education Degree with a concentration in Moderate Disabilities.
Elective Courses (select one of the following)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ED-911 | Advanced Foundations of Literacy | 3 |
| ED-918 | Reading As Language: Teaching Literacy to English Language Learners | 3 |
| ED-951 | Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies in the Elementary/Middle Schools | 3 |
| ED-953 | Integrating Science and Mathematics in the Elementary/Middle Schools | 3 |
| ED-917 | Diagnosis, Analysis, and Remediation of Reading Difficulties in the Middle and Upper Grades | 3 |
| ED-979 | Technology and Literacy in the Classroom | 3 |
| EE-915 | Detection and Remediation of Early Reading Difficulties | 3 |
| Other course with approval from the Moderate Disabilities Graduate Coordinator. | ||
1. Expand their knowledge of the special education and related laws, and subject matter in core academic disciplines that relate to the content taught under the moderate disabilities licenses, P-8 and 5-12.
2. Design and implement integrated, developmentally appropriate, challenging curriculum based upon the MA Curriculum Frameworks and on the students’ abilities, needs and interests.
3. Use their knowledge of individual students and the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks to plan, implement and evaluate experiences embracing the concept of inclusion and responding to each student as an individual learner.
4. Develop skills and strategies to encourage parents and families to be active participants in the student’s development and learning.
5. Involve community of people, settings and services as resources for learning and teaching.
6. Utilize a variety of instructional strategies, materials, and other resources to meet the learning needs of each student with moderate disabilities.
7. Assess students within the context of deep knowledge of child and adolescent development and learning, and use of the information to develop and implement IEP’s and to report to parents.
8. Connect current educational practice to philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of American education.
9. Find, interpret, and apply current research to answer questions about and improve their classroom practice.