COORDINATOR: DR. SHANA V. HARTMAN
The Master of Arts in English Education (9-12) provides teachers with an intimate learning environment of small classes and one-on-one collaboration with professors. This program includes thirty semester hours in
professional and content area studies. It leads to a recommendation for graduate-level NC Teaching License for those who possess initial licensure in 9-12 English. Graduate students who do not have initial licensure may obtain the degree but not the graduate-level license; however, obtaining initial licensure while completing graduate coursework is possible for qualified applicants. Students must be teaching some aspect of the discipline of English in a real-world context in order to complete the requirements of this program. Many of the graduate students in the program attend and present at local conferences, join important professional networks (ex. National Writing Project), and become teacher leaders and liasons between their schools and Gardner- Webb University. Notable courses include "The Teaching of Writing" and "Young Adult Literature."
Admission requirements are the same as those for entry into other master’s degree programs in the Graduate School at Gardner-Webb with these additions:
1. Applicants for the MA in English Education are required to submit a writing sample. This sample must be one of the following: (1) a documented research essay of 2000 or more words on a literary subject, presented in MLA format, and incorporating at least three works beyond the primary work, or (2) appropriately documented detailed lesson plans for a unit of literary study. This writing sample can be something the applicant has written previously for an academic assignment. The essay must be
submitted electronically in Rich Text Format, either by email or on a disc (a hard copy may be submitted in addition, but the electronic copy is required).
2. Applicants must submit a 250-word Statement of Purpose that addresses the following: their reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in English Education, any areas of teaching secondary English that interest them, and their particular interest in the Gardner-Webb M.A. in English Education program. The
Statement of Purpose must be submitted electronically in Rich Text Format.
3. Students without substantial undergraduate coursework in English should expect to be required to take undergraduate courses prior to admission in order to obtain background needed to be successful in graduate study in English. Students who do not meet these standards will be evaluated on an individual basis.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Master of Arts in English Education (9-12) is to support the professional development of teachers of English who contribute to the community in which they teach through effective communications skills, through understanding and appreciation of literature of diverse cultures, through understanding of the importance of critical and independent thinking, through action research, and through knowledge of and reflection on effective teaching practices and strategies, including the use of appropriate technology.
GOALS
The goals of the program, in accordance with State Department guidelines, are that participants will: 1. Increase content area knowledge through various literature courses which recognize the scope and
diversity of literature and its origins as well as the importance of a variety of skills in literary criticism and critical analysis.
2. Become better writers and teachers of writing through increased understanding of the writing process and of rhetorical principles.
3. Understand the importance of research, theory, planning, practice, and reflection in curriculum development and in the teaching of English.
4. Apply research to real-world experiences in order to improve classroom practice through action. 5. Develop the ability to be peer leaders as a result of their instructional expertise, knowledge of learners,
research expertise, and ability to connect subject matter and learners.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. Professional Requirements (6 semester hours)
ENED 690/691/692 The English Teacher as Researcher 3/1/2 SH B. Methodology Requirements (6 semester hours selected from courses below)
ENED 681 Seminar in Current Issues and Methods of Teaching English 3 SH ENED 683 The Teaching of Writing 3 SH
ENED 685 Reading/Writing Connection 3 SH
C. Content and Curriculum Requirements (18 semester hours selected from courses below) ENGL 555 Special Topics 3 SH
ENGL 611 Seminar in British Literature 3 SH ENGL 613 British Literature: Selected Authors 3 SH ENGL 631 Seminar in American Literature 3 SH ENGL 633 American Literature: Selected Pieces 3 SH ENGL 651 Literature: A World Perspective 3 SH ENGL 671 Literary Theory 3 SH
ENGL 673 Contemporary Trends in Literature 3 SH ENGL 675 Young Adult Literature 3 SH
D. Capstone Experience and Products of Learning (0 semester hours credit) Professional Reflections Portfolio
1. Each course in the M.A. in English Education program with an ENED prefix includes assignments for the Professional Reflections Portfolio. Usually these assignments ask students to develop teaching plans which involve applying aspects of the course’s content in their teaching situations, with the use of technology encouraged when appropriate.
2. English 690/691/692, The English Teacher as Researcher, culminates in a formal report of an action research project. The action research report is also a part of the portfolio.
3. At the end of the program’s course work, students are asked to reflect on and synthesize what they have learned with what they do in their own classrooms. They select two areas of content knowledge (from among the six ENGL courses they have taken) and write teaching guides or publishable unit plans in which they apply this content knowledge to their teaching situations.
4. Portfolios are presented to English faculty and graduate students and evaluated by a faculty committee to determine the student’s worthiness to be awarded the M.A. in English Education degree.
M.DIV/M.A. IN ENGLISH OR ENGLISH EDUCATION DEGREE
Gardner-Webb offers a combined M.Div./M.A. in English or M.A. in English Education degree. For details about this degree and for the policy on dual degree programs, see the Master of Divinity section of the catalog.
Dual degree students must apply to the School of Graduate Studies as well as to the School of Divinity, following the admission requirements of the respective programs, and be accepted to each in order to pursue both degrees. Also, when academic policies and standards differ between the two schools (e.g., grades required for maintaining good academic standing and for graduation), the policies and standards of the appropriate school apply to the respective portion of the dual degree.
Click here to view the courses for English Education.
Course Descriptions
English
ENED 681 SEMINAR IN CURRENT ISSUES AND METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH
3 semester hours
Focus is on addressing particular, contemporary concerns of practicing English teachers while infusing students with new ideas and enthusiasm about standard English-teacher concerns: literature, grammar, language. Attention given to significant current issues such as assessment and incorporating technology into the English class. High level of student participation required.
Prerequisite: undergraduate teaching methods course or permission of professor accompanied by additional reading assignments.
ENED 683 THE TEACHING OF WRITING
3 semester hours
Theories, research, and practice in the teaching of writing.
ENED 685 THE READING/WRITING CONNECTION IN SECONDARY ENGLISH
3 semester hours
Study of theoretical and practical bases for integrating the teaching of reading and writing in the English curriculum. Focuses on the processes of reading and writing about literature.
ENED 690/691/692 ENGLISH TEACHER AS RESEARCHER
3/1/2 semester hours
Emphasis on qualitative and classroom-based research methodologies, culminating in a significant action- research project using the student’s teaching community as the laboratory and students as the subjects. Students should register as soon as possible in their graduate program, but preferably after taking ENED 681, 683, or 685. In ENED 690 students will meet with the professor initially to discuss readings on classroom-based research methodology and then will design and propose a project. Research is conducted during the time period in which the student is enrolled in ENED 691. If more than one semester is needed for conducting a meaningful research project, a grade of IN is assigned until research is completed (no more than two semesters). ENED 692 leads to preparation of a formal written report of the research project.
Prerequisite: for ENED 690-permission of professor; for ENED 691-ENED 690; for ENED 692-ENED 691. ENGL 555 SPECIAL TOPICS
1 to 3 semester hours
The study of selected themes, theories, and developments in literature and the English language. Topics vary according to student interest and needs.
ENGL 611 SEMINAR IN BRITISH LITERATURE
3 semester hours
Topics in British literature, with emphasis on group participation and presentation. ENGL 613 BRITISH LITERATURE: SELECTED AUTHORS
3 semester hours
Focuses on selected authors in British literature who have contributed to distinctive developments in literary form, theme, and style.
ENGL 631 SEMINAR IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
3 semester hours
Topics in American literature, with emphasis on group participation and presentation. ENGL 633 AMERICAN LITERATURE: SELECTED AUTHORS
3 semester hours
Focuses on selected authors in American literature who have contributed to distinctive developments in literary form, theme, and style.
ENGL 651 LITERATURE: A WORLD PERSPECTIVE
3 semester hours
Focuses on literature other than the traditional British and American canon as expressions of diverse cultures. ENGL 671 LITERARY THEORY
3 semester hours
A survey of theories of literature and criticism with particular attention to recent theories and application to reading and teaching. Includes coverage of historical development of theory.
ENGL 673 CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN LITERATURE
3 semester hours
Focuses on contemporary development of the creative genres, with primary emphasis on fiction. Particular emphasis on works by women, indigenous people, and minority groups whose contributions to literature have been recognized only in the relatively recent past.
ENGL 675 YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
3 semester hours
An in-depth examination of the field of young adult literature. Includes examining practical and creative applications of course content in order to enhance the study of literature in the secondary classroom.
ENGL 690 THESIS I
3 semester hours
Composition of a prospectus for a research and analytical thesis on a subject appropriate to the degree. ENGL 691 THESIS II
3 semester hours
Development of a research and analytical thesis on a subject appropriate to the degree. After the student takes ENGL 690, this course must be taken in successive semesters until the thesis is complete.
Prerequisite: ENGL 690