Curriculum and Courses
The Master of Education in Teacher Leadership (MTL) at Elmhurst requires the successful completion of 12 courses for a total of 35 semester hours.
The curriculum encompasses three core areas of study, elective courses and a capstone seminar, which include the 18 semester hour requirements for the Illinois teacher leader endorsement. This endorsement requires a master’s degree.
Licensed teachers complete coursework in assessment, collaboration, school culture, professional development, leadership, advocacy and research. Clinical coursework is distributed across the program for real-life application opportunities. Students include elective coursework toward additional endorsements (special education, ESL or bilingual).
Required Courses
Teacher Leader courses (five courses, 15 semester hours)
- MTL 521 Building Professional and Community Relationships through Collaboration
- MTL 528 Examining Issues and Trends in Teacher Leadership
- MTL 536 Linking Assessments to Learning
- MTL 538 Improving School Climate and Learning
- MTL 597 Promoting Professional Development for School Improvement
Research courses (two courses, 6 semester hours)
- MTL 591 Applying Action Research in Education
- Capstone Seminar
- MTL 598 Capstone: Seminar in Leadership, Innovation and Critical Inquiry*
Advocacy courses (choose one course; 3 semester hours)
- MTL 532 Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom
- MTL 544 Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching English Language Learners
Elective courses (choose four courses; 12 semester hours)
Research elective courses
- MTL 513 Analyzing Reading Foundations
- MTL 552 Using Educational Research to Improve Practice
Teacher Leadership elective courses
- MTL 518 Promoting Social Justice Through pK-12 Multicultural Literature and Media
- MTL 522 Integrating Literacy Across the Content Areas
- MTL 530 Special Topics in Instruction
- MTL 534 Implementing Technology and Multimedia Tools to Enhance Learning
- MTL 541 Special Topics in Administration
- MTL 542 Using School Law for Advocacy and Leadership
- MTL 580 Comparative Studies—Travel
Special Education (LBS1) Track elective courses
- MTL 535 C&I Learners with High Incidence
- MTL 532 Teaching & Learning in Div. Classroom
- MTL 537 Learners with Lo Incidence
- MTL 514 Characteristics of Learners w/Disabilities
- MTL 524 Educational Assessment LwD
ESL/Bilingual Track elective courses:
- MTL 569 Linguistics for Second Language Learning
- MTL 587 Assessment of ELLs
- MTL 544 Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching ELLs
- MTL 558 Foundations of Teaching ELL
- MTL 579 Methods and Materials for Teaching ELLs
- MTL 592 Bilingual Action Research
*All graduate students complete a capstone seminar in the final fall or spring term prior to graduation. During this seminar the final capstone research project is completed with the assistance of a faculty advisor chosen by the graduate student and the faculty instructor for the seminar.