Master of Education / Visual Function in Learning Program
Pacific University offers a program especially designed for optometrists who wish to extend their knowledge of the learning process with an emphasis on students with reading difficulties.
The curriculum allows individual optometrists to proceed through the thirty semester-hour program at a pace best suited to their own needs. The program is administered by the College of Education with course offerings from both the College of Education and the College of Optometry.
The objectives of the Visual Function in Learning program are:
- To develop a knowledge base concerning the role that visual factors play in learning disability diagnosis and remediation; fundamental theories of cognition, learning and language development; the major diagnostic theories in reading and related prescriptive techniques; decision making systems, service delivery models and program management within educational organizations, and to become aware of the varied constituencies that public schools must satisfy.
- To develop skills in research, diagnosis, therapy and case management within a multi-disciplinary setting.
Curriculum
| Section | Area I: Education (14 semester credits) | Credit Hrs |
|---|---|---|
| Required Education Courses (10 semester credits) | ||
| EDUC-565 | Seminar: Educational and Optometric Connections | 1 |
| EDUC-631 | Reading Assessments and Techniques | 3 |
| EDUC-632 | Perspectives on Reading | 2 |
| EDUC-635 | Language and Literacy Development | 2 |
| RDNG-640 | MEd/VFL Field Practicum and Seminar | 1 |
| RDNG-641 | MEd/VFL Case Study Practicum and Seminar | 1 |
| Education Electives (4 semester credits) | ||
| EDUC-570 | School and Society | 2 |
| EDUC-427 | Psychology of Reading | 2 |
| SPED-505 | Exceptionalities | 2 |
| EDUC-633 | Literacy and English-Language Learners | 2 |
| EDUC-316 | Child and Adolescent Literature | 2 |
| EDUC-638 | Developing Literacy in the Content Areas | 2 |
| EDUC-508/544 | Integrated Methods II: Reading and Language Arts | 4 |
| Area II: Optometry (6 semester credits) | ||
| Required Optometry Courses (4 semester credits) | ||
| OPT-744 | Visual Problems That Relate to Learning Difficulties With Lab | 3 |
| OPT-765 | Seminar in Multidisciplinary Service | 1 |
| Optometry Electives (2 semester credits) | ||
| OPT-743 | Neurorehabilitative Optometry | 2 |
| OPT-790 | Vision Ergonomics Research Seminar | 2 |
| OPT-956 | Independent Study | 2 |
| Area III: Foundations of Research (4 semester credits) | ||
| OPT-560 | Evidence Based Optometry | 1 |
| EDUC-670 | Introduction to Professional Inquiry | 1 |
| EDUC-671 | The Scholarship of Teaching | 1 |
| OPT-791 | Thesis: Orientation and Planning | 1 |
| Area IV: Education Research Project (6 semester credits) | ||
| EDUC-596 | Educational Research Project | 6 |
For More Information
Contact Person (Forest Grove): Ann Matschiner, MEd/VFL Program Coordinator
Email:matschal@pacificu.edu
Phone: 503-352-1461
Contact Person: Diana Watkins, Assistant Director of Graduate & Professional Admissions
Email: teach@pacificu.edu
Phone: 503-352-1435 or 877-722-8648 ext. 143