Education Leveling Courses for TVI Program

If an applicant to the TVI program does not have a degree in education, he or she will be required to take two education courses, one on reading methods and one on math instruction skills, and a required overview of exceptionalities. The three courses listed below are offered at UMass Boston. If it is not convenient for you to take on-campus courses at UMass Boston, then you can look for comparable courses at a college or university closer to home, using the following course descriptions to guide you. You should always clear the courses with the program coordinator to be sure they will fulfill the education leveling requirement. It is not necessary to transfer these courses into your program at UMass, but you must provide an official transcript to the TVI program showing that you have successfully completed your Ed Leveling requirement.

EDC G 646: Understanding Reading: Principles and Practices

This course introduces theoretical and instructional issues in the development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It engages participants in reflective, critical consideration of students' diverse needs in the acquisition of literacy. Strong emphasis is given to assessment-driven instruction in a comprehensive literacy program requiring eight hours of daytime field experience. Topics include a study of oral language as it affects emergent literacy development via use of the running record; literacy lesson planning; strategies for beginning reading and writing; classroom management issues related to responsive, differentiated literacy instruction; and ideas for strengthening the home-school connection. A consistent focus is the teacher's role as a knowledgeable decision-maker and skilled practitioner in facilitating literacy learning in a caring, principled, respectful manner.

EDC G 668: Mathematics Thinking Skills-Elementary

(offered at UMass Boston spring semester)
This course examines content knowledge and methodologies for teaching mathematics to Elementary School students. Primary emphasis is given to the development of the number systems; the decimal system; the use of technology and various manipulatives; the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of integers, fractions and decimals, and their rationales; and the relationship of elementary mathematics and various curricula to more advanced mathematics. Lesson planning, assessment, mathematics curricula, and making mathematics lessons and concepts accessible to all students are discussed. The course is intended to help the prospective elementary school teacher see elementary school mathematics education as an integral and fundamental part of a student's overall mathematical education.

SPE-G 621: Introduction to Disabilities for Educational Professionals

(offered at UMass Boston in both spring and fall semesters)
This course focuses on the physical, cognitive, behavioral, and psychological aspects of the atypical developmental patterns of children and adolescents with varying disabilities. Emphasis is given to the conceptual frameworks for understanding normalcy, including cultural, racial, ethnic and linguistic expectations, family, community, and peer group norms, and gender roles and stereotypes within the context of today's urban schools. Legal definitions of disabilities are stressed as well as the range of learning differences within typical development. This course includes a fieldwork component