Teaching Foci

Learning Disabilities & Special Education

EPSE 317 prepares prospective teachers to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. The course describes the kinds of special needs that students might bring to instructional contexts, and assessment and instructional practices that support a wide range of student needs within inclusive classrooms.

EPSE 526 is a graduate level seminar focused on specific learning disabilities. This course reviews research and theory related to assessment and intervention that supports children, adolescents, and adults with learning disabilities.

Cognitive and Developmental Psychology

 EPSE 306 is a course that assists prospective teachers to understand the developmental needs of their students. This course focuses specifically on how developmental issues affect adolescents in classrooms and schools.

Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative

EPSE 481 introduces students to the variety of research designs (quantitative primarily, but also qualitative) used by educational researchers to investigate educational questions. The course assists students to read and interpret research reports, and provides a solid foundation for students wishing to conduct educational research (formally or as part of their practice).

EPSE 595 is a graduate level seminar focused on qualitative research methodologies commonly used to investigate educational questions. Students learn how various research approaches (e.g., ethnography, case studies, phenomenology, grounded theory) can be employed to address research questions and gain specific expertise in a method of their own choosing.