Academic Programs

• M.A. in Educational Innovation
• Overview
• Admission Requirements
• Degree Requirements for:
• Elementary Education
• Secondary Education
• Secondary — Fast Track
• School Improvement
• Consciousness-Based Educator
• Licensure
• Faculty

• Academic programs
• Accreditation
• One course per month
• Active learning
• Professors who care

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M.A. in Educational Innovation

A New Concept in Graduate Study

The M.A. in Educational Innovation is a new concept in graduate study that combines the best of eastern study of the science and technology of consciousness with the best of western social science education research — one could say the best of subjective and objective approaches to teaching and learning.

Specifically, it combines the science and technology of Consciousness-Based education, which includes knowledge and strategies for making knowledge meaningful and comprehensible to young students, with the best evidence-based strategies from social science to support high levels of achievement among young students.

Together the two areas of knowledge support the novice or veteran teacher in creating a classroom with meaningful learning, low stress and high achievement.

Educational innovation

The program focuses on educational innovation mainly in the realm of teaching and learning, with a secondary focus on school-wide reforms oriented toward boosting achievement and intellectual performance. Candidates in the program become familiar with the full range of innovation being tried in today’s schools, and they then add new strategies to their repertoire as quickly as they can integrate them.

New knowledge and technology

The goal of the program is to develop the candidate as a person and as a professional. Transcendental Meditation, one of the key technologies used in the program, has been shown to increase creative thinking, intellectual functioning, and holistic brain functioning — ideally suited to the demands of teaching. Other significant knowledge or technologies include

• new knowledge of unified theories in physics, physiology, and neuroscience for a new foundation to education;
• new digital technologies for teaching and learning;
• new designs of learning that connect all knowledge to an interdisciplinary framework based on personal experience; and
• new strategies for building community.

Four options

The M.A. in Educational Innovation offers students four options, leading to the same degree, though with different tracks for different career paths:

• Elementary Education (with a K-6 Iowa license to teach) — 2 years

For individuals who would like to teach at the elementary level. The license obtained is an Iowa license but this license can be used to gain teaching credentials in most of the 50 states of the U.S. See course requirements

• Secondary Education (with a 5-12 Iowa license to teach) — 1.5 years

For individuals who would like to teach a secondary level subject, such as math or English, grades 5-12. The license obtained is an Iowa license but this license can be used to gain teaching credentials in most of the 50 states of the U.S. See course requirements

Candidates who have been in the workforce for at least three years may apply for this option in a “fast track” format, which includes a year-long internship in place of student teaching. The fast track format requires a bachelor’s degree in a teaching field and more than three years of work experience in a related field.

• See course requirements for the fast track option
• Compare the fast track with the standard track
• Consciousness-Based Educator (with TM Teacher Training) — 1.5 years

For individuals who would like to be able to teach Transcendental Meditation in the context of schools. This program can be combined with one of the licensure programs to lead to both a teaching license and authorization to teach Transcendental Meditation. The TM Teacher Training course is offered by a separate affiliate of the University and has its own costs and admissions process. See course requirements

• School Improvement — 1 year

This option is for individuals who already have licenses or who do not wish to become licensed to teach in public schools. It includes all of the core courses in educational innovation, plus greater depth of exposure to innovation in schools and the opportunity to write a capstone paper to explore in depth a design or a strategy for school improvement. See course requirements

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