Fall 2016 Graduate Calendar

EDUCATION: COURSES

Not all courses will necessarily be offered each year. All 600-level courses are restricted to students in the joint Ph.D. program.



80-502. Learning-Centred Teaching in Higher Education: Principles and Practice
This course offers the opportunity to explore, apply, and evaluate principles and theories of learning-centred practice in contexts typical of higher education. Analysis and reflection on teaching practice constitutes a central theme of learning in the course. The course is of particular interest to teaching assistants and members of the professoriate from across the disciplines and professional fields, but prior teaching experience in higher education is not a prerequisite.

80-503. The Psychology of Learning and Teaching
This course will provide students with an in depth view of psychological theory and research towards the understanding of learning and teaching. While both behavioural and cognitive perspectives will be discussed, the emphasis will be upon cognitive theory and application. Topics will include behaviourism, behaviour modification, information processing, metacognition, cognitive behaviour modification, cognitive strategy training, motivation and individual differences.

80-510. Statistics in Education
This course will deal with the following: descriptive and inferential statistical procedures; commonly used one- and two-sample tests; an introduction to analysis variance and corresponding research designs.

80-515. Comparative and International Education
The course is designed to introduce students, who are registered in both the Educational Administration and Curriculum stream of the M.Ed program, to important educational issues from a comparative and international perspective. Within this framework, the similarities and differences between Canadian education and educational practices in other countries of the world are examined. Key questions that guide the direction of the course include, although are not limited to the following: what can we learn from the educational, teaching and learning practices of other countries? What are the processes involved in educational policy formulation from an international perspective? What are the emerging global trends in education and how does globalization impact on education and teaching/learning practices in Canada? In addition, various international frameworks for promoting peaceful educational/school environments such as peace education, global, and intercultural education are explored. The local, national and global impact of the educational policies of international agencies such as the UN, UNESCO, the World Bank, and CIDA are also analyzed.

80-524. Fundamentals of Curriculum Theory and Development
A survey of the major theories of curriculum that have influenced education. An outline of the techniques employed in curriculum development, including sources of influence and control, specification of outcomes, selection and coordination of activities, strategies, resources and evaluation.

80-527. Research in Education
An overview of educational research methods: e.g., the interpretation of research literature, the identification and use of data bases, the design of research proposals and the application of specific methods to research projects.

80-529. Theories of Educational Administration
This course will examine current knowledge in educational administration. Theory, research, and the practice of leadership within the educational system will be the main foci. Emphasis will be placed on administrative problems, such as staff development, team building, and motivation.

80-530. Qualitative Methods in Educational Research
This course will examine the concepts and methods involved in carrying out educational research through naturalistic observation, participant observation, case studies, and other qualitative approaches.

80-531. Supervision of the Instructional Process
A practice-oriented course designed to develop administrative competency in the supervision of instruction. The focus will be threefold: (1) awareness and recognition of specific technical skills, (2) the development of competence in interpersonal and group skills, and (3) a general examination of supervisory approaches.

80-532. Organization and Administration of the School
This course will consider and analyze the many variables impacting upon school administrators as they organize their schools. The effects of administrative theory, past and present, will be considered.

80-533. Survey Design and Research
This course will provide students with an overview of survey research and questionnaire design. Students will critique existing survey research, develop a working knowledge of survey research design, critique samples of survey questionnaires, and design a questionnaire based on a chosen research topic.

80-534. Individual Reading
The Individual Reading course is intended to permit students with special interests in, and knowledge of, particular areas of education not covered in sufficient depth in available courses to pursue those interests through independent, supervised study. (Permission of an advisor and of a subcommittee of the Graduate Studies Committee is required.)

80-535. Organizational Behaviour in Educational Institutions
A study of theory and research in the socio-behavioral sciences which concerns the behaviour of individuals and groups in educational settings. Attention will be given to the implications of such theory and research for administration in educational institutions.

80-536. Introduction to Educational Policy Analysis
This course focuses on a critical and disciplined examination of education policy issues drawing on a variety of theoretical orientations such as positivist, pluralist, post-positivist, poststructuralist and others. These perspectives provide different lenses to view current and past education reform and restructuring policies in Ontario and other jurisdictions in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, U.S.A, and the U.K. It reviews current theoretical approaches to the nature, develop¬ment, and implementa¬tion of educational policy at all levels. The course critiques policy-makers’ approaches to reform, and restructuring, and the potential short and long term impacts of these changes on the philosophy, content and practices in the public education arena. By thinking about what sort of people and voices inhabit the texts of policy, the course enables participants to think about how we engage with the social and collective identities of our research subjects in an attempt to capture the complex interplay of identities and interests, and coalitions, conflicts and uneasy ‘settlements’ within the processes and enactments of policy.

80-537. Language Arts in the Elementary School
This course will examine issues in language arts instruction in the light of current language theories. The focus is on current research and its practical application, with special emphasis on methods of instruction, teacher strategies, student activities and evaluation practices.

80-538. The Arts and Education
This course explores how the arts influence the construction of meaning in society, both within and beyond the classroom. Representation, through images, music, and text, traditionally serve to preserve cultural memory, but can also reflect changing social mores, challenge established ideas, and trigger new ways of thinking. Readings will include current research in the arts and education, and class activities will include the production and interpretation of images and artefacts.

80-539. Second Language Teaching: Theories and Applications
This course reviews current thinking on the nature of language, communication and second-language learning and examines implications for teaching methods and curriculum design.

80-540 Language, Culture, and Society
The New London Group (1996, 2000), an international group of literacy experts, coined the term “multiliteracies.” In their manifesto, they suggested that literacy needs to focus on ensuring that people of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds be able to integrate in all societies without losing what is unique to their identities, and for accents and dialects to be recognized as a part of the English language (that there is no one true standard English). It is a matter of equity that we find genuine ways to embrace diversity. The other thrust of the New London Group's theory is that multiliteracies provide a better way to define literacy because it acknowledges the role that technologies, multimodalities, semiotics, and media play in literacy and how meaning is constructed and communicated. A multiliteracies theoretical framework has implications for systemic as well as individual changes in both schools and broader societies. This course will trace some of the historical roots of multiliteracies in critical theory as well as analyze how multiliteracies are developing in practical and theoretical terms in the current world.

80-541. The Social Science Curriculum
An examination of trends and development of social science curricula. Curriculum theory will be applied to one or more of the social sciences within the context of provincial guidelines and the academic and professional qualifications of the students.

80-542. Language System Analysis
This course is a broad introduction to the analytic study of human languages. It surveys language systems such as: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. It explains how those systems interact with each other synchronically in discourse and diachronically in creating language families. Students have an opportunity to examine the universal features of all languages and their relationship to linguistic variety. Topics in historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics are explored. Various writing systems used in world languages are also discussed.

80-543 Special Education and Language Acquisition
The relationship between language acquisition, perceived learning dis/abilities, and special education support has been the subject of ongoing debate. Key topics linked to this debate include: language impairment, needs assessment, access to support, method of support, program design, and disproportional representation. These matters have significant implications for language learners, educators, and program developers alike. Those involved in teaching-learning an additional language, whatever that language might be, face a number of important questions, including: What is language impairment? How should the needs of language learners be assessed? Who should access support? What should that support look like? What should inclusion look like in a language learning setting? Why have language learners been disproportionally represented in some special education programs? As these questions indicate, language learning is complicated, and is intertwined with a number of social justice issues. In this course, students will critically examine a range of current research, and draw conclusions about the discourse on the relationship between language acquisition, perceived learning dis/abilities, and special education support.

80-545. Teaching for Sustainability: An Introduction to Environmental Education
This course will engage students in an analysis and investigation of the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of EE, and the pragmatic relevance of learning for sustainability. To this end students will get an opportunity to critically discuss, analyze, and evaluate a variety of perspectives around the environmental debate and assist them in articulating, clarifying, and/or refining their own assumptions and position about the environment and implications for sustainability. Fundamental questions to be answered include, what is the rationale for teaching and learning for sustainability and what are the core principles and competencies that should drive this pursuit? Secondly, what pedagogical constructs are useful in effective teaching and learning for sustainability? Students will engage in investigations of real world environmental issues, and problem-solving, and experiential learning through field-trips.

80-547. Learning in Science
This course will consider current research and theory in the promotion of science as a process and product. Included will be a critical survey of recent issues in science education. The focus will be on their implications for curriculum and practice at the classroom level. An examination of some of the major difficulties in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of science curricula.

80-550. Issues in Education
This course will examine current issues affecting contemporary Canadian education. Specific course content and instructors will be published in advance.

80-551. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Teaching and Learning
This course explores how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can support teaching and learning within an educational context. It analyzes principles, strategies and related issues regarding the design of innovative educational technologies and creative learning environments. This course will include discussions based on assigned readings as well as hands-on learning activities. Students will gain an understanding of how various Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enhance a student-centered approach to learning.

80-552. Curriculum Developments in Mathematics Education
This course will examine recent developments in curriculum, instruction, and evaluation in elementary and secondary mathematics education. Trends will be discussed in light of recent research findings, technological advances, and social goals. International comparisons will be made.

80-553. The Teaching and Learning of Mathematics
This course will examine research into students' learning and the teaching of mathematics. First, the motivational aspects of teaching and learning will be considered, including those related to the topic "Women in Mathematics." Second, specific mathematical topics will be dealt with, selected according to the interests of students.

80-554. Fundamentals of Instructional Design
This course will consider current principles, research, theory and practice in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of instruction within various learning and teaching settings.

80-555. Strategies for the Implementation of Change in Education
Procedures for dissemination, adoption, implementation, and integration of changes for teachers, administrators, and leaders of professional organizations. Attention will be given to theoretical models and their applications, change agency, and modification of organizational climate and structure.

80-556. Approaches to Literacy Development
This course will consider current research and theory in the development of reading and writing abilities, and will examine some aspects of assessing literacy development.

80-557. The English Language Arts
This course will examine current theories and issues in the English Language Arts with particular focus on their implications for curriculum and practice in the intermediate and senior divisions. Current issues at the local or provincial level, determined by the group, may be examined in detail.

80-558. Psychology of Learning Problems
This course will review current theories of learning disabilities and learning problems. Various approaches to diagnosis and remediation will be presented. Students will be expected to discuss case study examples during the course, and to develop a particular interest area to great depth.

80-559. The Recent History of Education in Ontario
This course examines major developments in Ontario education from the 1950s to the present day. Beginning with the postwar Hope Commission Report, and extending to the current attempts at reform, the Ontario school system for primary and secondary education has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the past half century. These changes will be investigated in the context of their historical evolution, and contemporary relevance.

80-560. Politics of Education
This course will examine the administration of education from a political perspective. Both the legal and extra-legal factors that influence educational outcomes will be examined. Their roles will be viewed in terms of comparative forms of educational administration. Finally, several administrative decisions will be analyzed using the perspectives gained throughout the course.

80-561. Legal Aspects of Education
This course will focus on legislation and court decisions dealing specifically with the educational process. Both the historical and philosophical basis of these and the practical application of the same in a contemporary setting will form the primary emphasis for the course.

80-562. Educational Finance
This course will be concerned with educational finance in Canada, with particular emphasis on Ontario. It will examine such topics as equity, accountability, efficiency, and adequacy of educational revenues and expenditures. Provincial grant systems will be analyzed within the contexts of political governance and the economics of education.

80-565. Sociological Aspects of Education
This course will examine the school and its occupants and their relationship to the contemporary social order. Analysis of topics such as student culture, learning and social class, roles within the school setting will occur. The focus will be on theoretical positions, representative research findings and representative research methods.

80-566. Interpersonal Relationships in Education
This course will analyze the importance and dynamics of interpersonal behaviour. Students will be given the opportunity to examine and develop their own skills in this area. Emphasis will also be placed upon a practical orientation toward utilizing these skills in the educational environment.

80-572. Theory and Practice in Early Childhood Education
An examination of theory and current practice in Early Childhood Education. The emphasis will be on the translation of theory into sound educational practice. Organization and management of Early Childhood programs will be of concern as well as teaching procedures.

80-591. Special Topics in Education
Selected advanced topics in Education based on new developments in particular areas, special faculty interests, and opportunities afforded by the availability of visiting professors. Special topics are subject to Graduate Committee approval and may be taken more than once provided the topics are different.

80-591(32) Special Topics: Language Assessment
This course introduces participants to international principles and practice of assessing language ability and engages participants in the debate on how to measure language fluency. A variety of national and global methods of language assessment will be critically discussed in this course. Participants will also compare and evaluate research that explores this subject as they justify their own analyses of language assessment research.

80-602. Doctoral Seminar I
In Core Seminar 1, the history and philosophical foundations of education are examined through the three fields of study. As well, students are introduced to qualitative methods of research in education, encompassing interview, phenomenological, ethnographic, constructivist, and case study approaches to data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

80-604. Doctoral Seminar 2
In Core Seminar 2 students examine research, theories, and issues in the fields of study via a specific theme which is identified annually. For example, the theme might be bullying, or caring education, or gender issues. As well, students are introduced to quantitative methods of research in education, encompassing true experiments, quasi experiments, and correlational studies.

80-621. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
This course introduces students to the origins and intellectual traditions of theories that influence how we organize education. Students develop an understanding of sociological paradigms that have influenced educational systems over time, and develop perspectives that enable them to think critically and creatively about contemporary and future issues in educational leadership, policy, and organizations.

80-631. Socio/Cultural/Political Contexts of Education
This course centres around a critical examination of cultural, historical, and theoretical perspectives in education. Bodies of knowledge related to understanding the complexities of sociocultural influences in education are the main focus. Power relations at play and how they are negotiated in everyday practice are considered. Using the sociocultural framework developed in the course, students also investigate their specific areas of interest (for example, curriculum theory and practice).

80-641. Cognition and Learning
This course provides an analysis of epistemological theories through a critical examination of foundational and current research and a reflection on historical and philosophical orientations as they relate to contemporary issues in cognition and learning.

80-651. The Specialized Elective
The content for this course must relate to the students dissertation topic and field of study. The course may be selected from the graduate studies calendar of courses from one of the participating universities, or it may be taken as a directed study. A directed study takes place under the supervision of a faculty member with appropriate expertise. Usually, the student completes a sustained program of study relating to a topic of current theoretical and/or empirical interest leading to the production of a substantial research paper. Directed studies are intended for students with special interests which cannot be satisfied by calendar courses.

80-669. Research Proposal Colloquium
In this course students examine theory and research in relation to their intended dissertation topic. Students develop a topic idea in the form of a dissertation proposal, defining a research question and a theoretical base for intended study. Students examine research questions in relation to varied methodologies, so that a diverse examination of research frameworks takes place through WebCT based discourse.

80-680. Comprehensive Portfolio
(3 course equivalencies.)

80-793. Educational Research Internship
Candidates pursuing the course-based option as part of the International stream, under the guidance of the course instructor, field experience coordinator, and research partners in the field, will engage in a collaborative process leading to the production of a final paper on an issue or topic of inquiry of relevance to the research partners in the educational field. This course will present students with authentic assessment tasks that situates their on-going inquiries in a context that enables them to apply and further critique what has been learned previously. Students will engage in matters pertaining to research, program review, policy development, and so on, as appropriate. The spectrum of projects may, for example, address questions aimed at the improvement of literacy and numeracy skills, student motivation, curriculum integration, and leadership development. The final paper will be grounded in relevant research and show evidence of knowledge, skills of inquiry, reflection and problem-solving acquired through the other courses. It will normally be taken following completion of the other course-work. (Prerequisites: 80-515; 80-551; 80-529 OR 80-524; 80-527; 80-510 OR 80-530; 80-565; 80-535; 80-536; 80-566.)

80-794. Thesis Proposal
Candidates pursuing a Masters thesis, under the guidance of the thesis supervisor, internal thesis reader, and other faculty where appropriate, will engage in the preparation and defence of a Masters thesis proposal. (Before registering for the Thesis Proposal (80-794), students must have completed all required courses in their program. The Thesis Proposal may be completed concurrently with one elective in the final semester of coursework.) Thesis stream students must enrol in 80-794 (Thesis Proposal) and do so for each subsequent term until the thesis proposal has successfully been defended.

80-795. Final Project Seminar
Candidates pursing the course-based option, under the guidance of the instructor and in consultation with other faculty where appropriate, will engage in a collaborative process leading to the production of a final project on an issue or topic of inquiry of relevance to professional practice. The final project will be grounded in relevant research and show evidence of knowledge, skills of inquiry, reflection and problem-solving acquired through the other courses. It will normally be taken following completion of the other course-work.

80-796. Major Paper
Conducted under the guidance of at least two members of the Faculty, a major paper may analyze and evaluate a substantial body of scholarly literature or describe or interpret a research project undertaken by the student. The major paper is subject to an oral examination (see section titled, The Master's Degree - Thesis or Major Paper, and the section titled Education - The Master of Education Degree - Program Requirements.)

80-797. Thesis
(See section titled, The Master's Degree - Thesis or Major Paper, and the section titled Education - Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies.) Students may enrol concurrently in the Thesis Proposal (80-794) and the Thesis (80-797) if all course work is complete. If students register for the Thesis Proposal (80-794) and the Thesis (80-797) concurrently, then only upon completion of the thesis proposal, may thesis stream students begin their Thesis. They must enrol in 80-797 (Thesis) for each subsequent term until the successful completion and deposition of the thesis.

80-798. Doctoral Dissertation
(See section titled, The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy - The Dissertation, and the section titled Education - Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies.) (10 course equivalencies.)