Education: Curriculum & Instruction (MA)

The Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction is a course of study designed for educators who wish to strengthen their understanding of curriculum theory, integrated curricula, the role of technology in curriculum, curricula and global issues, and the ways in which action research can be used to shape more effective curriculum. This degree is intended for candidates who already have initial licensure. Candidates who are not planning to obtain a teaching license may also obtain this degree.

Students completing the master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction will demonstrate their successful realization of the following learning outcomes:

• Philosophy and Educational Organizations - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will have a comprehensive understanding of the philosophical, historical, social, political and cultural understanding of schools and society.
• Curriculum - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will understand that curriculum should be relevant, engaging, challenging, personalized, and integrative for the learner. They will know how to select, adapt and reflect on theories and engage in reflective practices in light of curriculum standards, theories, models and learners.
• Instruction - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will understand the principles of instruction, know a wide variety of teaching strategies and learning theories, and incorporate relevant technologies while teaching core concepts, skills of inquiry, problem posing/solving, collaboration, and communication to facilitate student learning.
• Assessment and Evaluation - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will analyze and understand the various roles of multiple types of assessments for monitoring, evaluating and responding to student learning; they will understand, develop, use and critique formal, informal, and performance assessment techniques, including local, state, and national assessment systems to improve student learning. Assessment practices will emphasize Proficiency-Based Systems (Vermont Act 77) where students are instructed and assessed based on pre-determined expectations of what the student will know and be able to do.
• Research - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates, as critical consumers of educational research, will appreciate the role of educational research for informing practice, will develop the skills to conduct classroom research, and will collect and analyze data, and formally share their research findings.
• Diversity - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will understand human diversity as a valued component of educational systems; understand how to appropriately engage with diverse population; effectively structure learning experiences with diverse population; and effectively engage with diverse populations of students, parents, and colleagues.
• Subject Knowledge - Castleton University Curriculum and Instruction program graduates will demonstrate their knowledge of the content they teach through content coursework included in the degree and ongoing analysis of their work in connection with the Vermont Core Teaching Standards.

The Education Department is committed to developing research skills in graduate students, promoting professionalism as scholar practitioners, who are well versed in current educational theory and practice. Masters candidates will implement change in their own current practice and develop the skills to change future practice.  The skills range from an introductory overview of methods employed in research in education as the first course, to specific instruction in framing research questions within the candidates' course of study, qualitative and quantitative data collection and management, writing initial chapters of the thesis, and specific guidance through the final writing of the thesis.

By supporting the content courses of candidates' study with research, candidates in this program will work together, consider questions that arise in other areas of teaching, and meaningfully integrate their specialization in the fabric of their work in K-12 schools.

Candidates for the Master of Arts in Education: Curriculum & Instruction are required to take the following combination of required courses and electives: