This master's degree has 30 units and takes between two and three years to complete. Other elective courses may be substituted for the elective courses listed below with the approval of the program director.

*May be repeated with program director approval.

ED 775: Seminar in Learning Theory (3 units)

This course addresses the question: "What is learning?" through a survey of contemporary writing that ranges from Piaget to discovery learning and from information processing to the roots of whole language. In each case, students are encouraged to focus on practical classroom applications.

ED 779: Values in School and Society (3 units)

This course focuses on a cultural, historical, philosophical and/or social analysis of schools and schooling as a basis for developing an understanding of the educator's role as a change agent and as a basis for personal and professional decision making. The university's philosophy and values as expressed in the Fresno Pacific Idea and their implications for schools and society will provide one perspective for such analysis.

MED 712: Integration of Math and Science: Math Connections (2 units)

This course focuses on the integration of mathematics and science primarily from the content of mathematics. In it the big ideas of mathematics shape the content, and science investigations provide the arena for application. Five major themes are emphasized in this series: number sense and operations, geometry and spatial sense, patterns and function, data sense and probability and rational numbers and proportions. The course supports building competence in basic skills and discovering patterns in mathematics in a problem solving, investigative environment. Opportunities to construct knowledge, to solve motivating and instructive puzzles and to explore meaningful, real world applications are many and varied.

MED 786: Topics in Math Education (2 units)

MED 798: Project/Thesis Proposal (1 unit)

Involves completion of a proposal for the project or thesis. Instruction is tutorial and reviews procedures, along with development of a conceptual overview of the process of formulating and completing a thesis or project.

MED 799: Project/Thesis - Integrated Math/Science (3 units)

Supervised project or thesis in the field of integrated mathematics/science education. Instruction is tutorial and will result in a completed project or thesis.
** Master of Arts Thesis/Project Handbook

MSE 710: Integration of Math and Science: Science Connections (2 units)

MSE 786: Topics in Mathematics (2 units)

MSI 762: Earth Science Concepts (3 units)

This course will give the teacher a comprehensive understanding of the basic principles of geology, meteorology and astronomy. It will include the nature of minerals/rocks, geological processes, geological maps, weather, climates, and stars and planets. Lectures, labs and field trips will be included.

MSI 763: Physical Science Concepts (3 units)

Designed for K-8 teachers who are not science majors, this course explores in depth the key concepts and big ideas of physics and chemistry: mechanics, properties of matter and energy. Includes lectures and labs.

MSI 764: Life Science Concepts (3 units)

Designed for K-8 teachers who are non-science majors. Provides an overview of important concepts in biology, zoology and ecology. Includes both lectures and labs.

MSI 786: Topics in Science (2 units)

MTH 721: Puzzles and Problem Solving (2 units)

This course introduces K-8 teachers to the field of recreational mathematics through a variety of mathematical problems and puzzles and helps them become better problem solvers. In addition, the course highlights some of the mathematics inherent in puzzles and shows teachers ways to integrate various puzzles and interesting math problems into their mathematics classrooms.

MTH 726: Math Perspectives (2 units)

This course focuses on the growth of mathematical ideas in the areas of geometry, number and data sense. Overarching these three content areas is a strong emphasis on problem solving.

MTH 743: Arithmetic of Rational Number System (3 units)

This course will have as its focus the development and application of the natural, whole and positive rational number systems. These are the number systems that K- 6 arithmetic is all about. An understanding of how these systems develop, beginning with a foundation in set concepts, is important to an understanding of the what and why of the arithmetic and related mathematical concepts that are part of the K-6 curriculum. Additional emphasis will be placed on problem solving, exploration and applications involving the various sets of numbers.

MTH 751: Informal Geometry (3 units)

This course places strong emphasis upon the acquisition of the language of geometry. The big ideas of shape and dimension provide the umbrella under which can be found the specific concepts and relationship of geometry that are the content of the course. The course can be summarized by the following goals: (1) to visualize geometric figures through manipulatives, identification within a set of figures, drawing, construction and seeing in the real world; (2) to classify geometric figures by sorting according to selected attributes, comparing and contrasting figures, by identifying a figure from oral or written descriptions and to develop and use a definition of a figure; (3) to analyze geometric figures and relationships by explaining how figures and parts are related and interpreting the meaning of a geometric situation; (4) to discover and formulate generalizations by posing and answering "what if" questions, by continuing patterns and discovering generalizations from seeing many examples; (5) to prove and disprove generalizations by giving reasons why something is always true and showing counterexamples to show a generalization to be false.

MTH 753: Concepts of Algebra (3 units)

The course offers an in-depth study of the underlying concepts and relationships of algebra that build bridges from arithmetic to algebra. An exploration of four distinct ways to conceptualize algebra leads to an understanding of algebra as generalized arithmetic, as a study of procedures for solving certain kinds of problems, as the study of relationships among quantities and as the study of structures. The exploration is designed to lead students to a deep understanding of the various uses of variables, of elementary functions, their graphs and associated notation, of the relationship between problems and equations representing those problems, of solving both linear and quadratic equations and of the real number system as an extension of the rational numbers. Special emphasis is given to proportional reasoning and the Pythagorean relationship.

MTH 755: Probability & Statistics (Middle School Emphasis) (3 units)

This course is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who have the usual mathematical background required for a single subject credential. The course approaches probability and statistics from an experiential, informal, activity-based point of view. Hands-on activities and experiments relate empirical and theoretical probability. The statistics are focused on descriptive statistics that include some intuitive ideas from inferential statistics.

MTH 786: Topics in Mathematics (2 units)