Graduate Catalog
Curriculum and Instruction
Lewis & Clark offers an engaging, individually designed course of study for teachers wishing to engage in advanced study and improve their professional practice. The Curriculum and Instruction program provides maximum flexibility and allows degree candidates to identify their individual learning needs and select appropriate courses in education and academic content. The course of study is planned in consultation with a faculty advisor. As part of the M.Ed. program, students may choose to complete coursework toward one or more endorsements in the areas of ESOL/bilingual education, reading, or special education, and may also earn a certificate such as the Oregon Writing Project Certificate in the Teaching of Writing or the Documentary Studies Certificate. Teachers who hold an Oregon Initial I or Initial II teaching license can also pursue the Oregon Continuing Teaching License as part of their M.Ed. program.
The M.Ed. program in Curriculum and Instruction can provide exceptional value for educators looking to advance their careers. With careful planning, students can combine up to four programs in one—earning not only a degree, but also up to two endorsements or an endorsement and a certificate, as well as the Oregon Continuing Teaching License.
Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction
Degree Requirements
A minimum of 36 semester hours, distributed as follows:
Required Degree Courses
| ED 500 | Educational Research | 2 |
| ED 509 | Master's Project Seminar | 2 |
Endorsement/Licensure Courses
Students must choose at least one of the following four options and may work with an advisor to explore combining more than one of the following options:
- All courses required for the ESOL or ESOL/Bilingual endorsement*, Track I (minimum of 14 semester hours), plus LA 501 Researching and Teaching the Language Arts (3 s.h.)
- All courses required for the Reading endorsement* (minimum of 14 semester hours), plus LA 501 Researching and Teaching the Language Arts (3 s.h.)
- All courses required for the Special Education endorsement* (minimum of 18 semester hours)
- All courses required for the stand-alone Continuing Teaching License, including the following 13 semester hours:
| LA 501/LA 632 | Researching and Teaching the Language Arts | 3 |
| LA 534/LA 614 | Reading Comprehension: Theory and Practical Application | 3 |
| ESOL 501/ESOL 601 | Strategies and Materials for Teaching Content and Literacy to ESOL/Bilingual Students | 3 |
| SPED 510/SPED 626 | Educating Students With Special Needs: Learning and Legal Issues | 2 |
| ED 520A/ED 620A | Professional Portfolio I | 1 |
| ED 520B/ED 620B | Professional Portfolio II | 1 |
Elective Courses
All remaining semester hours will be earned as electives chosen jointly by the advisor and student. Students may choose to pursue coursework toward the Oregon Writing Project Certificate in the Teaching of Writing or the Documentary Studies Certificate. A full list of education courses is available in this catalog.
Graduate Core Requirement
A minimum of 2 semester hours of Core Program coursework and one Core convocation
Continuing Teaching License
Teachers holding an Initial I or II Oregon teaching license and who are planning to complete an endorsement as part of their M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction program, are invited to combine the Continuing Teaching License program with the endorsement. The requirements for the continuing teaching license are embedded in the requirements for each endorsement (with the exception of Track II of the ESOL/Bilingual endorsement program). Alternately, students can earn the Continuing Teaching License by meeting the requirements laid out in M.Ed Option 4.
Lewis & Clark will recommended you to the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) for the Oregon Continuing Teaching License if the following conditions have been met:
- You have been admitted to and complete the required coursework, portfolio, and practica (if required) of the any one of the following:
- ESOL/Bilingual endorsement (track I only) (CTL requirements embedded in endorsement)
- Reading endorsement (CTL requirements embedded in endorsement)
- Special Education endorsement (CTL requirements embedded in endorsement)
- M.Ed. option 4, stand-alone Continuing Teaching License course requirements.
- You have completed all requirements of the Initial I and the Initial II licenses
- You hold a master's degree or higher in the arts and sciences or an advanced degree in the professions
Please note that:
- At the time students apply to TSPC for the Continuing Teaching License they are required to been teaching for five years (at least half-time or more) on any non-provisional license appropriate for the assignment.
- The NES/ORELA or PRAXIS II subject area test, or the appropriate TSPC-approved alternative assessment, is required in order to apply to TSPC for each endorsement. No tests are required by TSPC for the Continuing Teaching License, itself.
Required Courses
M.Ed. Courses
ED 500 Educational Research
Content: How professional educators can gather and
interpret the information they need for effective
decision making. Topics include the major uses and
components of classroom or school-based research
processes, quantitative and qualitative methods,
the scholarly critique of research studies, and
what it means to be a reflective
teacher-researcher.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 2 semester hours.
ED 509 Master's Project Seminar
Content: Culmination of the master's inservice program.
Students have the opportunity to integrate what
they have learned. In consultation with the
instructor, students design a project that defines
and answers a question about creating engaging,
responsive, democratic learning communities for
diverse learners related to their teaching or
intellectual and professional development. Class
time is reduced to accommodate individual
conferences with the instructor and students'
research time. The class meets as a group to
support students' synthesis of each other's work
and for problem-solving as research and writing
proceed.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: To be taken at end of master's program.
Credits: 2 semester hours.
Endorsement Courses
- See ESOL/Bilingual Endorsement courses
- See Reading Endorsement required courses and elective courses
- See Special Education Endorsement courses
Stand-Alone Continuing Teaching License courses
Note: The course numbers given below are for on-campus courses. All courses have off-campus equivalents with a 600-level version of the course number. A full list is available in this catalog on the Education Courses page.
LA 501 Researching and Teaching the Language Arts
Content: Development of a framework, based on a wide range
of research findings, from which to make informed
decisions about curriculum and teaching approaches
that engage students in listening, speaking,
reading, and writing experiences that are
responsive to individual differences, interests,
developmental levels, and cultural contexts.
Emphasis on framing teachers' own classroom
inquiry through the adoption of habits of teacher
research that focus on personal and scholarly
reflection.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 3 semester hours.
LA 534 Reading Comprehension: Theory and Practical Application
Content: In-depth exploration of current models and trends
in reading comprehension and its cognitive and
linguistic components. Students read widely from
professional journals, explore and reflect on
their personal reading processes, and do
theoretical and practical projects to further
their understanding. Examines factors that
contribute to reading difficulty (from early
childhood through adulthood), as well as important
issues and questions about standardized tests,
observational diagnostics, readability formulas,
and the effectiveness and theoretical validity of
published programs.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 3 semester hours.
ESOL 501 Strategies and Materials for Teaching Content and Literacy to ESOL/Bilingual Students
Content: How and whys of content-learning approaches such
as sheltered English, integrated language
teaching, applications of language experience,
whole language, and cooperative learning for
second-language learners. Provides grounding in
the relationship between first- and
second-language literacy, oral language
proficiency, and culturally responsive reading
comprehension. Explores materials, literacy
teaching approaches, classroom organization,
formal and alternative assessment measures,
technology integration, and the alignment of
curriculum models with English-language
proficiency levels. Participants critically
examine curriculum models, community resources,
and content in relation to student experience.
Prerequisites: ESOL 507/607 or LA 500/634.
Credits: 3 semester hours.
SPED 510 Educating Students With Special Needs: Learning and Legal Issues
Content: Analysis of the cognitive, linguistic, motor,
behavioral, and learning characteristics of
individuals with special needs. With the focus on
progress monitoring and accountability, topics
include history, current policies and procedures,
the practice of special education based on
scientific research, incorporation of technology,
and legal issues. Students develop and refine a
research-based foundation in the education of
students with special needs, including the impact
of linguistic and cultural variability on special
education eligibility and practice.
Prerequisites: None.
Credits: 2 semester hours.
ED 520A Professional Portfolio I
Content: Offers participants an opportunity to explore
their strengths, needs, and possibilities in their
current teaching setting. Participants construct a
teaching narrative and design an individualized
blueprint for the professional portfolio that
documents their knowledge and performance in
Oregon's advanced teaching competencies during
their program of study.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Initial Teaching License and admission to a Continuing
Teaching License program, or consent of the department
chair.
Credits: 1 semester hour.
ED 520B Professional Portfolio II
Content: Supports candidates as they develop a portfolio of
evidence demonstrating they have acquired the
skills necessary for recommendation for an Oregon
Continuing Teaching License. Includes presentation
of the portfolio begun in ED-520A.
Prerequisites: ED-520A.
Restrictions: Initial Teaching License and admission to a Continuing
Teaching License program.
Credits: 1 semester hour.
Elective Courses
A full list of education courses is available elsewhere in this catalog.
Graduate Departments and Programs of Study