College of Education

Program of Study

All students are required to complete the CORE program and each student will also have an Individualized Program Plan. This plan is tailored to each student's needs and will be developed by students and their advisor.

Coursework and experiences in a student's plan are directed toward the culminating project, portfolio, and professional development plan that aligns with our METL goals and the five core propositions of the National Board. Each student is required to take the 36 credit hours as they are presented in the model below.

Core 1 (6 credit hours)

The Cohort Core consists of the courses ED530 and ED531: Foundations in Effective Teaching and Learning, Levels I and II. These courses are offered as a combined course in the month of June. These should be taken early in the program, before the accumulative of 9 credit hours.

Every graduate student that enters the METL program participates in the summer cohort. This intense, six credit hour experience that is designed to immerse students in learning about educational research, related areas of educational thought, and to build community among students and faculty. In addition to the June courses the cohort group reconvenes in mid-August and again in January to revisit ideas, and to support ongoing work in their individual plans of study.

Core 2 Curriculum Concepts and Issues (6 credit hours)

Curriculum Concepts ED 504
Issues ED 569

Core 2 & 3 Individualized Program Plan (15-18 credit hours)

15-18 hours in coursework that meets your professional goals and correlates with your individualized mind map and plan that you created with your advisor.

Core 3 Leadership and Teacher Research (6 credit hours)

Leadership ED 658
Teacher Research ED 535

Core 4 Culminating Thesis Project

The Masters in Effective Teaching and Leadership program culminates in a thesis project designed and executed by the student. The purpose of the thesis is to have first hand experience with research in the classroom in order to gain knowledge in a specific area of interest that that benefits personal teaching, leadership and research capacity and promotes the education and the well being of children and families.

Another option for a culminating project is to work toward National Board certification. NBPTS is a non-profit, independent organization, whose purpose is to improve student learning in America's schools by developing a new system of advanced, voluntary certification for elementary, middle and secondary school teachers. The NBPTS has established high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, and will Board-certify teachers who meet these standards.

Transfer Credit

Students may transfer no more than 12 graduate credit hours from accredited colleges and universities with these stipulations:

  • The transfer courses cannot be older than seven years by the time the student would graduate from the Butler University Effective Teaching program.
  • The courses must be at the graduate level.
  • The courses must have been taken for a letter grade, and the grade must be an "A" or "B".
  • The assigned academic advisor must approve the transfer of credit.
  • The student must complete the proper paperwork to transfer the credit (The paperwork is available from the Graduate Studies Office in JH 246 or the Registration and Records Office in JH 107).

National Board Certification

Up to 8 hours of graduate credit within the framework of a student's Butler graduate degree can be used towards National Board Certification. This graduate credit will be completed in CORE 2 & 3 within the Individualized Study of Growth. All other policies regarding transfer credit to Butler apply.