Mathematics Education Master’s Degree - Wayne State College Nebraska

Math Education MSE program overview

Enhance your teaching, leadership, and classroom instruction skills for math education. In the Curriculum and Instruction MSE program, you will explore instructional theory and new approaches to curriculum design that meet the needs of today’s elementary and secondary schools. The Math Education program is heavily focused on math, and specifically how it can be connected and taught in the classroom.

Licensure: This program is designed for teachers who are already certified in this content area as an opportunity to go deeper into their specialty while simultaneously earning a master’s degree. This program does not meet initial certification/licensure requirements through the Nebraska Department of Education. It has not been determined if this program meets requirements for all other states. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Nebraska, please check that state's licensing board to determine their licensing requirements. Learn more about state authorization, licensure, and reciprocity.

Student learning outcomes for the MSE Curriculum and Instruction program:

Analyze literature to improve educational practices.
Develop learning environments that promote student achievement.
Cultivate professional relationships with all stakeholders.
Utilize evidence-based inclusive practices to develop meaningful learning experiences for students.

Download program handbook (PDF) View program courses

Math Education MSE program of study

Students must complete the MSE Curriculum and Instruction core and math education focus area courses. Up to 12 credit hours may be transferred in from another regionally accredited graduate institution and applied toward a degree. Credit that has been applied toward an earned degree will not be accepted except for courses that are part of the core requirements. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a total of 36 credit hours are needed to graduate with this degree.

Additional admission requirements:

A B.A. or B.S. in Mathematics or Mathematics Education, or a teaching certificate in secondary mathematics.
Completion of the calculus sequence (Calculus I, II, and III).
Completion of 9 additional hours of mathematics courses numbered 300 and above is strongly recommended.
Completion of a mathematics proof course preferred.

Credits: 3
Description: Beginning graduate students will develop a practical knowledge and application of basic types of research, as well as basic research tools and skills that will be helpful to them throughout their program. Graduate students will create a research plan and write a review of literature (paper). Students will create appropriate survey and interview questions, develop a beginning understanding of educational statistics, and the process for developing a research proposal including Institutional Review Board requirements and application processes.
Credits: 3
Description: This class is designed to acquaint students with the latest research related to instructional theory, and further, to create opportunities for teachers to try new instructional approaches. The course surveys systems that teachers may use to assess the pros and cons of various instructional approaches.
Credits: 3
Description: A course designed to examine the principles underlying the development of a PK-12 public school and post-secondary program curriculum. Emphasis on methods of determining priorities, objectives, scope and sequence and organizational patterns. The roles of state and local involvement will also be examined.
Credits: 3
Description: Philosophies and theories underlying the American educational system. An analysis of the differing philosophies of education and their implications for education in a democratic society.

Math education focus area courses (24 credits)

Credits: 3
Description: Integral domains, fields, polynomial rings over a field. The mathematical similarity between the ring of integers and the ring of polynomials as well as the study of extension fields.
Credits: 3
Description: This course is designed to study the theory behind calculus. The goal is to deepen the understanding of the construction of real numbers, sequences and series, limits, continuity, and convergence with an emphasis on their relation to derivatives and integrals. Participants will find much of the content relevant to concepts included in functions, sets of numbers, and properties of graphs.
Credits: 3
Description: Euclidean geometry theory is the focus of this course with an exploration of various non-Euclidean geometries such as taxicab and hyperbolic. Connections to high school geometry are emphasized.
Credits: 3
Description: This course provides a survey of topics from counting and graphs, to modeling and algorithms. Discrete mathematics provides a foundation for fields such as data structures, algorithms, logic, set theory, and number theory. Participants will find much of the content relevant to concepts included in probability, sets, and problem-solving.
Credits: 3
Description: This course explores current trends in mathematics education and teaching. Emphasis will be placed on learning theory, different curricular models, the teaching of mathematics, and assessment.
Credits: 3
Description: Probability and statistics concepts commonly taught in high school are explored alongside the underlying theory. Topics include sampling distributions, estimation and inference for means and proportions, linear regression, analysis of count data, exploratory data analysis, and basic study design. Various software and calculators are used to analyze the data from one, two, and more samples.
Choose two courses from the following:
- MAT 520 Number Theory (3 credit hours) – An exploration of different kinds of numbers and their relationships. Topics may include modular arithmetic, prime numbers, divisibility theorems, Diophantine equations, congruences, Fermat’s Little Theorem, quadratic reciprocity, continued fractions, and cryptography.
- MAT 535 History of Mathematics (3 credit hours) – This course surveys the historical development of mathematics. Critical thinking from different perspectives will be emphasized to learn about the context of discovery of different topics. Famous problems and mathematicians will also be explored.
- MAT 555 Seminar in Real Analysis II (3 credit hours) – This course is a continuation of MAT 554 Seminar in Real Analysis I and includes topics such as infinite series and integration theory. Prerequisite: MAT 554 Seminar in Real Analysis I.
- MAT 661 Probability and Statistics for Teachers II (3 credit hours) – A continuation of MAT 660, including further mathematical development of confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, correlation, regression, and multivariate methods. Prerequisite: MAT 660 Probability and Statistics for Teachers I.
- MAT 682 Topics in Mathematics (3 credit hours) – Various topics in mathematics will be explored. Topics may include: topology, complex analysis, sets and logic, ring and field theory, differential geometry, and/or chaos and fractals. Students may enroll in this course more than once as long as the topic to be covered is different each time.