Our Mission
The program for licensed teachers is designed for those who wish to improve and update their professional competency in teaching and enrich their teaching expertise for becoming master teachers in elementary education and secondary education. Practicing teachers completing the program enhance their ability to teach effectively and to conduct powerful educational research that has a direct impact upon their individual practice and school settings. Completion of the program requirements leads to the upgrade of the teaching license to the Postgraduate Professional level for those program students who hold a current teaching license. Curricula for the program emphasize the inter-disciplinary nature of teaching in diverse settings, and the potential for educators to act as agents of change. Teachers also learn to engage in reflective inquiry throughout the program and eventually conduct practitioner inquiry that directly transforms instructional practice and beliefs about teaching.
Online Learning
Elementary and Secondary concentrations are offered completely online. Early Childhood concentration is a combination of both online and on-campus courses. You'll have opportunities for interaction and networking in your online courses!
Learning Outcomes
- To enhance classroom instruction: by enriching the knowledge and skills of practicing teachers
- To use reflective practice: to critique current and past practices as an educator to affect change in instructional practice, student learning, and personal beliefs
- To examine the role of local, state, and national educational policy: on preK-12 learners, and explore strategies for disseminating information on the impact of educational policy on preK-12 classrooms
- To identify and explain: the central role of teachers in school change, identifying tools for change facilitation, and recognizing why some change initiatives succeed and others are less successful
- To construct an identity as a professional educator: by examining closely the assumptions, beliefs, and values underlying what and how you teach in the classroom
Course of Study
The program supports two concentrations that lets students specialize in an educational area related to their teaching practice. These concentrations are:
- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education
Provisionally licensed teachers in Virginia can complete the Secondary Education Professional Studies Graduate Certificate transfer up to 12 credit hours to the MSED program for licensed teachers.
The elementary education concentration provides additional education for elementary school teachers who teach in public and private school settings. This 30-credit hour program has a strong emphasis on practitioner inquiry and preparing teachers to be future teacher leaders in their professional settings. This concentration is offered solely in an asynchronous online format.
Core Courses
- TLCI 731: Instructional Technology Trends in Curriculum and Instruction
- TLED 618: Assessment and Evaluation in PK-12 Schools
- TLED 701: Teacher as Leader
- TLED 775: English Language Learners in the PK-12 Classroom
Research Courses
- TLED 638: Dynamic Assessment of Teaching and Learning
- TLED 671: Practitioner Inquiry in Elementary and Secondary Grades
Concentration Courses
- TLED 724: Curriculum Development Principles and Practices in Secondary Schools
- TLED 734: Problems of Teaching in Elementary Grades
- TLED 744: Diversity and Equity Issues in Elementary Education
Students also complete a three-credit hour research thesis or internship at the conclusion of their program as a graduation requirement.
The secondary education concentration provides additional education for middle and secondary school teachers who teach in public and private school settings. This 30-credit hour program has a strong emphasis on practitioner inquiry and preparing teachers to be future teacher leaders in their professional settings. This concentration is offered solely in an asynchronous online format. Students also complete a three-credit hour research thesis or internship at the conclusion of their program as a graduation requirement.
Core Courses
- TLCI 731: Instructional Technology Trends in Curriculum and Instruction
- TLED 618: Assessment and Evaluation in PK-12 Schools
- TLED 701: Teacher as Leader
- TLED 775: English Language Learners in the PK-12 Classroom
Research Courses
- TLED 638: Dynamic Assessment of Teaching and Learning
- TLED 671: Practitioner Inquiry in Elementary and Secondary Grades
Concentration Courses
- TLED 725: Curriculum Development Principles and Practices in Secondary Schools
- TLED 735: Problems of Teaching in Secondary Grades
- TLED 745: Diversity and Equity Issues in Secondary Education
The elementary education concentration provides additional education for elementary school teachers who teach in public and private school settings. This 30-credit hour program has a strong emphasis on practitioner inquiry and preparing teachers to be future teacher leaders in their professional settings. This concentration is offered solely in an asynchronous online format.
Core Courses
- TLCI 731: Instructional Technology Trends in Curriculum and Instruction
- TLED 618: Assessment and Evaluation in PK-12 Schools
- TLED 701: Teacher as Leader
- TLED 775: English Language Learners in the PK-12 Classroom
Research Courses
- TLED 638: Dynamic Assessment of Teaching and Learning
- TLED 671: Practitioner Inquiry in Elementary and Secondary Grades
Concentration Courses
- TLED 724: Curriculum Development Principles and Practices in Secondary Schools
- TLED 734: Problems of Teaching in Elementary Grades
- TLED 744: Diversity and Equity Issues in Elementary Education
Students also complete a three-credit hour research thesis or internship at the conclusion of their program as a graduation requirement.
The secondary education concentration provides additional education for middle and secondary school teachers who teach in public and private school settings. This 30-credit hour program has a strong emphasis on practitioner inquiry and preparing teachers to be future teacher leaders in their professional settings. This concentration is offered solely in an asynchronous online format. Students also complete a three-credit hour research thesis or internship at the conclusion of their program as a graduation requirement.
Core Courses
- TLCI 731: Instructional Technology Trends in Curriculum and Instruction
- TLED 618: Assessment and Evaluation in PK-12 Schools
- TLED 701: Teacher as Leader
- TLED 775: English Language Learners in the PK-12 Classroom
Research Courses
- TLED 638: Dynamic Assessment of Teaching and Learning
- TLED 671: Practitioner Inquiry in Elementary and Secondary Grades
Concentration Courses
- TLED 725: Curriculum Development Principles and Practices in Secondary Schools
- TLED 735: Problems of Teaching in Secondary Grades
- TLED 745: Diversity and Equity Issues in Secondary Education
Applications are allowed throughout the year and students can enroll in the program in fall, spring, or summer semesters.
To apply for the program:
- Complete an online application, and pay application fee;
- Upload transcripts from previous educational institutions;
- Have a general undergraduate GPA of at least 2.80;
- Submit a written essay on career goals (at least two pages) that demonstrates academic writing proficiency;
- Submit two letters of professional reference for this program of study;
- Have an interview with the graduate program director; and
- For the elementary and secondary concentrations, hold a Virginia Professional Teaching License or an equivalent from another state in elementary, middle or secondary education. Applicants for the early childhood concentration are not required to hold a teaching license.
