EdTerps Learning Academy - Special Education and School Counseling Programs

The EdTerps Learning Academy provides formal and informal training and professional development opportunities that encompasses current evidence-based research and practice related to instruction, policy analysis, counseling, and human development.

Mentoring and advising are an essential part of the program. Students meet with faculty and the academic program director to ensure that educational goals and career learning and development goals are met. Students should contact:

• Dr. Jessica Diaz McKechnie, jmdiaz@umd.edu

Overview

The Post Master’s Certificate in Supporting Immigrant Students for Professional School Counselors (Z171) is a 12 credit, 4-course graduate program that equips Professional School Counselors with specialized skills to work with students of families who have recently immigrated to the United States and specifically Prince George’s County.

• Provides purpose and structure to directly respond to the complex needs of immigrants and refugees resettling in the County.
• Can be completed in twelvemonths of continuous part-time enrollment. See Designation of Full-time/Part-time Status.

Program Features

• Courses address the specialized and complex needs of preparation for Professional School Counselors as it pertains to immigrant and/or refugee students.
• Curriculum provides knowledge and skills to address helping students and families manage trauma, post-traumatic stress, culture shock, and poverty. Promoting students’ health, well-being, English language acquisition, academic achievements, and socioemotional growth and development.

Registration Overview

• See the sample plan of study, below. Students should use this as a guide to develop a plan with the academic program director. 
• Actual course offerings are determined by the program and may vary. Students should note if a course has a pre-requisite or co-requisite.
• Specific class meeting information is posted on University of Maryland’s (UMD) interactive web service services, Testudo. Once on that site, select “Schedule of Classes,” then the term/year. Courses are listed by academic unit. 
• The program uses specific section codes for registration, which are listed on the sample plan of study. 

Sample Plan

Plan of study offers courses one semester/session at a time, consecutively. The four 3-credit courses are offered each round, consecutively, with two offered in Summer Session (one per 6-week session). As such, the courses do not fall into the same designated "semester." There are no pre-requisites and coursework does not build upon a specific course. Students enter into the program at any point and complete one 3-credit course at a time.

Courses

Below is a listing of all program courses. For a detailed course description, that includes pre-requisites or co-requisites, see EDCP and TPLP.

Overview

• Features a blend of in-person and online learning.
• Instruction provided by UMD faculty and professionals in the field.
• Uses the semester academic calendar with classes held during fall and spring semester (16 weeks each) and Summer Session (two 6-week sessions).

 In Person Learning

• Instructors present dynamic and interactive seminar-style instruction. 
• Classes are held at an off campus site, TBD, offering a focused, distraction-free learning environment.
• Students enrolled in a program that features in-person instruction are required to submit the University’s Immunization Record Form prior to the first day of their first semester/term. See Health Requirements.

Online Instruction

• Using advanced audio and video technology, UMD’s online learning environment delivers dynamic and interactive content.
• Featuring convenience and flexibility, online instruction permits asynchronous or synchronous participation.
• Students attend lectures virtually (e.g., use of video technology, such as Zoom).
• Online lectures (lecture, slides, presentation, and Q&A interactions) are recorded and video-archived for student review.

Upon successful completion, graduates will have mastered the following competencies:

• Enhance knowledge of (a) English language acquisition and cross-cultural teaching approaches and (b) grasp how differences between the US and other nations’ educational counseling systems require modification of evidenced-based counseling practices in the US to meet specific and unique immigrant student and family needs.
• Accelerate immigrant student educational, career, social, emotional, and personal skills development through individual counselor-student meetings.
• Gain insight into how county immigration policies have influenced (a) immigrant student and family well-being, growth, and development, and (b) subsequent post-high school career paths, as a basis for modifying policies to enhance current and future students’ equity of access to and benefit from county services.
• Describe (a) diverse immigrant family cultural and family dynamics, (b) build trust and partnerships with families, and (c) deliver culturally appropriate counseling interventions.
• Increase sensitivity to how the diversity of immigrant students- especially intersecting identities of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, ability/disability, culture, sexual orientation, and immigration status – must be considered in crafting counseling strategies maximizing health mental health, acculturation, and achievement.