Online master’s programs help teachers hone specialized
leadership and educational skills
Today’s teachers face a growing number of challenges from federal mandates to time-consuming state initiatives. Add in students with special needs, and a day in the classroom becomes even more challenging. Earning a Master of Education degree can give educators the skill set, experiences, contacts and training to balance these often-competing demands. Luckily, a number of universities offer excellent online programs with master’s degree specializations for education in ESL, autism, gifted and talented, and special education to help educators become leaders in educating these special populations.
Helping ESL students succeed
Roughly 10 million students in the U.S. use a primary language other than English, and they represent the fastest-growing student population. ESL is a master’s degree specialization for education that gives teachers more tools to nurture these English learners and helps other educators do the same. Courses in these online programs often cover topics like literacy for English language learners, diverse learners, understanding language learning and methods for teaching ESL.
Educating students on the autism spectrum
Children with autism disorders present unique challenges for teachers because they often have special communication, behavioral, social, and educational needs. In addition, their learning abilities span a wide spectrum from severely challenged to very gifted. An M.Ed in Teacher Leadership with a specialization in Autism focuses on understanding the needs and learning styles of these students and often covers subjects such as Autism and applied behavior analysis, introduction to autism spectrum disorder, models of behavioral intervention and behavior assessment.
Challenging gifted and talented students to excel
Balancing the social, educational and behavioral needs of several dozen students can make addressing each individual student’s needs difficult. This can be especially true for identifying and encouraging high-ability students who require more advanced instruction. A gifted and talented master’s degree specialization for education imparts many of the skills teacher leaders need to help these students thrive. Typical courses include student expectation and motivation, unique needs of the gifted learner, foundations and issues in gifted learning, and models of gifted and talented curriculum.
Embracing special education students
Adapting general education for students with a wide variety of learning, emotional, and physical abilities often takes a team of teachers, aides, parents, and specialists. Educators with a master’s degree specialization for special education gain the skills and knowledge needed to guide these teams and address the needs of their own special education students. Subjects covered in these online master’s degree programs include topics like instruction modification for the atypical learner, survey of exceptional learners, behavior modification of disabled learners, and the instructional process for the exceptional learner.
Helping students with special needs learn to thrive in their schools and communities is uniquely rewarding for many educators. Teachers with a master’s degree with a special education focus can help lead their classrooms, peers, schools and districts to satisfying success.
Sources:
https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/ALL%20IN_%20NEA%20ELL_AdvocacyGuide2015_v7.pdf
https://nagc.org/page/National-Standards-in-Gifted-and-Talented-Education
