A total of 36 semester credits are needed to complete the Master of Education in Teaching and Learning program. Thirty (30) semester hours are completed in the 20 required program weekends. The additional 6 elective/ transfer credits may be transferred into the program prior to starting the program or completed during enrollment in the M.Ed. Program.

Elective/transfer credits taken prior to starting the M.Ed. program will be considered for transfer if they meet the following criteria:

• they were taken from an accredited college or university;
• they were completed within five years from the time participation began in the learning community;
• they were taken for a grade (B- or higher is accepted);and
• they were graduate level.

Once official transcripts of these courses are received and approved by the program, an unofficial transcript from the M.Ed. program will be sent directly to you. This transcript will list the course(s) accepted and the total number of credits applied toward your 6 elective/transfer credits. Credits taken after the start of the program must be taken only through Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. If you enter the program needing 3 or more elective/transfer credits, you will need to enroll in a Core GPDE course

(GPDE 5000-5005). Theses courses are specifically designed to support and reinforce key areas for growth in teacher professional development and are central to the M.Ed. program vision and concepts.

Core Course numbers, titles, credits, and descriptions:
GPDE 5000 Assessment to Promote Understanding & Achievement
(3 cr.) Practicing educators gain an understanding and proficiency in creating and implementing assessments that promote student achievement and understanding. Learners research and design formative assessments to guide student learning and their teaching. Aligning assessments to instructional outcomes and planning serves as a focus of the course. Learners also develop an understanding of selfassessment and apply that understanding to their teaching and their students learning.

GPDE 5001 Creating a Learning Community in Your Classroom
(3 cr.) Practicing educators examine the instructional strengths and advantages of intentional relationship development in the classroom. Learners connect the research related to building learning communities in their classroom to enhance student achievement. Learners also examine how community-building impacts student receptivity to and capacity for learning, classroom assessment, environment, and instruction. Practicing educators incorporate research, best practices, and shared learning to develop a community of learners in their own classrooms.

GPDE 5002 Effective Instructional Strategies
(3 cr.) Practicing teachers explore research-based instructional strategies that promote student achievement and understanding. The focus of the course includes translating the research-based strategies into practice. Learners incorporate instructional strategies that meet the diverse needs of students in today’s classrooms. The course also challenges learners to align their instructional strategies to their curricular outcomes and assessments.

GPDE 5003 Instructional Design to Promote Understanding and Achievement
(3 cr.) This course provides a framework for designing student learning that is engaging, active, and purposeful for learners and teachers alike. Course participants learn how to determine specific overarching learning outcomes for the students in their classrooms. With this information as a framework, course participants learn about and use the three stages of the backward design process to plan or revise a teaching unit for use in their classrooms. Participants concurrently learn ways to integrate district, state, national,and/or content area standards into their curriculum planning process without sacrificing content or the students’ involvement and enjoyment in learning.

GPDE 5004 Explore Your Content: Teaching for Understanding
(3 cr.) Practicing classroom teachers explore essential content knowledge and skills to promote student achievement and maintain student motivation/engagement. Educators analyze content standards to identify major concepts, align teaching and learning with long-term goals, and devise strategies to assess student understanding. Through an analysis of their teaching content, course participants have the opportunity to enhance content knowledge and focus their curriculum to better meet the needs of their students.

GPDE 5005 Building a Professional Learning Community
(3 cr.) Learners explore the research and best practices connected to building professional learning communities in their schools. Course participants gain understanding and insight about the perils of teacher isolation and the instructional strengths and advantages of teacher collaboration regarding instruction, classroom management, assessment and professional growth. Learners develop a professional learning community based on inquiry, collaboration, reflection, and coaching.