Lori Garratt ’11
5th Grade Teacher, Canandaigua Elementary School
Jack West
Assistant Director of Recruiting and Admissions
Thanks for your interest in Roberts! I can help answer any questions you have about the program and the admissions process. Feel free to schedule an appointment with me below or call or text me at 585.454.9597.
Standard Completion Time
16 months full-time, 28 months part-time | Hybrid
Program Credits
45
Cost Per Credit
$811
Accreditation
AAQEP
A Master’s degree from Roberts Wesleyan College in s Early Childhood and Special Education offers an excellent advantage. With a profound need for teachers in the early childhood classroom today, many young children benefit from coaching and early intervention.
Early childhood programs require trained educational professionals who offer positive behavior support, supporting students with grace and patience. If you want a teaching license that allows you to be a part of community organizations that support children, childcare centers for learners with special needs, and the formulation of new alternative learning programs, a master's degree is an essential asset.
The Early Childhood and Special Education program is highly selective andwelcomes learners with the requisite patience and desire to support and teach young children. We require a bachelor's degree with a GPA of no lower than 3.0 out of 4.
We offer financial aid to 75% of working professionals and full-time students enrolled in our master's degrees. The Roberts Wesleyan College seeks to remove barriers to allow access to a quality education.
Our Early Childhood Special Education master's degree equips baccalaureate graduates with evidence-based practices and field experiences they can use in early childhood classrooms and intervention programs.
The Early Childhood and Special Education program consists of four terms and students can complete courses in a hybrid format. Half of the courses in the program are provided asynchronously online and the other half are face-to-face courses that meet at the Roberts Wesleyan College main campus.
As a student, you can expect to learn the following per term.
Your first term features core courses that will familiarize you with the foundations of lesson planning, literacy, and special education. You will learn to identify teaching strategies that work in various contexts in different schools. You will formulate unit and lesson plans that conform to New York State Learning Standards.
The diversity of student backgrounds forms a defining characteristic of every New York elementary and higher education program. Your first term will teach you the foundations of culturally responsive teaching.
Your second term will expand your understanding and application of literacy and mathematics methods of instruction, assessment in special education, and proactively managing the learning environment . You will learn how to differentiate instruction, adjusting your lesson plan to your students' results from various assessments aligned with New York State standards..
In your third term, you will learn about the cognitive, physical, and emotional development.
Also, you will learn to work with families and caregivers of children enrolled in early childhood programs from birth to age seven. Additionally, you will learn to use programs and applications to support instructional technology and adaptive needs.
Finally, you will complete a Master’s Project that connects research to your practice as an educator.
The final term in all Roberts Wesleyan College degree programs focuses on applying pedagogy and content knowledge in the classroom through student teaching. This phase supports continued development of teachers by providing experience through daily practice in the school and classroom. .
A Capstone Seminar will allow you to thrive in various classroom environments using real-time situational analysis and role-playing scenarios with educators. You will learn to adjust to school cultures, laws, and changing professional ethics.
The final courses in your program feature supervised teaching experiences with college faculty members and school based mentor teachers.
The Early Childhood and Special Education program requires the completion of the following workshops, tests, and seminars before earning a New York State certification:
Lori Garratt ’11
5th Grade Teacher, Canandaigua Elementary School
Nicole Mathis '15
Special Education Teacher, Rochester City School District
Jacob Russell ’15
5th Grade Math/Science Teacher, Plato Academy in Clearwater, FL