Winthrop University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education has unveiled two new master’s degrees aimed at better fitting the needs of today’s educators at all levels and environments.

Teacher Leadership

Launching this summer, the Master of Education in Teacher Leadership will offer two different add-on endorsements:

*Teacher Leadership, which will emphasize the empowerment of educators in leadership and advocacy for their students, as well as issues related to teaching and learning;
*Gifted and talented education/or project-based learning, which will offer teaching and learning experience for classroom teachers and other educators in curricular or instructional positions.

“It is hoped that we build leaders in the classroom who can affect change on behalf of faculty and students,” said Mary Slade, graduate program director and professor of education. “This may lead to positions in the school such as, but not limited to, lead teacher, instructional leader, curriculum/instruction director, professional developers, etc.”

Coursework includes classes on professional leadership and mentoring; using data to improve teaching and learning; advanced educational psychology and more.

Faculty and school leaders researched teacher retention trends and assessed the needs of current and future educators to design and implement the new program. The program is also aligned with the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

The application deadline for summer is May 15, 2019.

Learning Design and Technology

For the Master of Education in Learning Design and Technology, Marshall Jones, graduate program director and senior director of learning technologies and graduate studies, looked no further than Winthrop’s very successful four-course concentration in educational technology.

“While our educational technology concentration largely served educators in K-12 environments,” Jones explained, “this program was designed to be a comprehensive program that would be appropriate for educators not only in K-12, but also in higher education, corporate training and other places where professional educators work. ‘Learning Design and Technology’ is a moniker more and more educational technology programs are taking.”

In conversations with those educators, Jones said faculty saw the need for more complete preparation, as well as one that was more concentrated and focused. The result:

*A 30-hour program versus typical 36-hour programs; students can complete the work in five concurrent semesters.
*The ability to work full time and take classes: most of the classes are online with one meeting per semester and optional on-campus help sessions in the evenings.

The program is currently enrolling students, with a fall 2019 launch date.