The content below explains my time in the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University. The courses are listed in chronological order and explain what each course is about as well as what I learned from each course. It also attempts to tie-in each course with those before and after it show how I applied my learning.
As a point of reference: EAD is an acronym for Educational Administration, TE is an acronym for Teacher Education, ED is short for Education, and CEP is an acronym for Counseling Educational Society and Special Education.
As a point of reference: EAD is an acronym for Educational Administration, TE is an acronym for Teacher Education, ED is short for Education, and CEP is an acronym for Counseling Educational Society and Special Education.
Fall 2016
EAD 861: Adult Learning
Instructor: Dr. William Arnold EAD 861 was instrumental in teaching me the different educational theories associated with Adult Learning. The class began with a discussion of andragogy and the demographics of adult learners. It later moved into different paradigms and barriers to learning such as silenced learners and the disruption that occurs among adult learners. It also introduced me to the use of case studies to create application to issues in my own context practices. These case studies prepared me for future EAD classes that focused on my learning contexts and how to assimilate learning into them. |
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TE 845: Language Diversity and Literacy Instrument Assessment
Instructor: Dawn Marie Ezzo TE 845 fit well within my own context practices as it discussed language learning among English Language Learners (ELLs). The class introduced me to ethnographic language studies within linguistics. It helped me to understand the linguistic connections within my own family and those in my students’ families as well. For example, this lesson helped me understand how different dialects in Korea affect language learning. It also was the first MAED class in which I used technology. The use of technology was a good introduction into what needed to be used in my portfolio. |
Spring 2017
ED 800: Concepts in Educational Inquiry
Instructor: Dr. Steven Weiland This course introduced me to the idea of hypermedia in literacy and how to use it in my work. The course also used specific word limits to foster concise and clear writing and learners. A reader can see its influence on me in this website’s use of hyperlinks as well as its use of concise language. The class taught me to shorten large concepts into smaller essays. Concepts discussed included ethnography and what biographical knowledge can predict exceptional learners. The class also taught me the difficulty completely self-directed classes as it was a challenge to stay on pace in such a class. |
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TE 846: Accommodating Differences in Literacy
Learners Instructor: Lance Wheatley This course was helpful in designing educational practices that helped me become a better classroom teacher for my middle school students. In this class, I was able to help a former student named “Martin” get better at retaining English vocabulary. This was also the first class that I participated in that a “meta-class”. By this I mean that the principles of the class were mirrored in our educational practices. We discussed how to create good assessments and then used those principles to inform the creation of our three part Language Learner Projects. |
Summer 2017
EAD 877: Program Planning and Evaluation in Post-secondary Education
Instructor: Dr. Bill Arnold This was an extremely difficult class for me as it dealt with a number of concepts that weren’t part of my understanding prior to this class. Planning and evaluating programs for learning in diverse educational contexts were important parts of the class but I had little exposure to theories of power and how to leverage stakeholders. The class also used authentic learning experiences that learners may encounter in the future to prepare the learners for professional settings. From this class I learned how to be precise in my goals and to make hard choices about how to assess and evaluate programs and their levels of success. This helped me in later EAD classes which also dealt with program development. |
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TE 848: Writing Assessment and Instruction
Instructor: Scott Jarvie TE 848 was when technology first began to become part of my writing. I moved beyond formal writing experiences to show different forms of writing, including work in different media. We worked to create (and recreate) authentic writing that fit the differentiated needs of learners and away from the traditional five paragraph essay. The iterative nature of the class allowed learners to take chances in their work and then polish their work to create more effective and authentic writing. Of special interest to me was my Prezi about skilled ELLs, as it allowed me to create writing that was substantive but engaged readers in multiple ways. The class also helped me to try different forms of writing, such as poetry, that I typically don't use. |
Fall 2017
CEP 813: Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning
Instructor(s): Spencer Greenhalgh and Colin Gallagher CEP 813 helped me expand upon the principles in TE 848 to use assessment but only in writing but in other subjects as well. The class taught me how to construct quality assessments but also the concepts of ongoing assessment. CEP 813 also taught me how to make a rudimentary website that could use showcase my work, which was invaluable to my work in ED 870. This blog allowed me to learn how to create work that was visually stimulating as well as educational. Finally, the class allowed me to create work that used technology to learning, such as a minecraft learning experience. |
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EAD 863: Training And Professional Development
Instructor: Dr. John Dirkx The class began with theoretical knowledge, such as the sociocultural contexts of learning and Magolda’s Epistemological Reflection model. The former helps explain how adults learn in new work environments. The latter explains how college learners grow as thinkers. The class later the expanded to the creation of training programs that fit within my practice contexts. Later work in the class involved making policy papers for learner's work contexts that built upon this theoretical knowledge. Examples of learning included the creation of an assessment in one my practice contexts that built upon my work in CEP 813 and EAD 877. |
Spring 2018
EAD 866: Teaching in Postsecondary Education
Instructor: Dr. John Dirkx The class began by discussing specific theories of adult education such as power in the classroom and active –student centered learning. The class continued the EAD program’s focus on practical experience by having learners create assessments of learning as well as curricula to meet the needs of adult learners that fit the learners’ practice contexts. In my case, this meant assessing an upper level class as well as designing a new curriculum for a class in one of my contexts. Each project built upon the next, culminating in he creation of a cohesive educational philosophy. |
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ED 870: Capstone Portfolio Course
Instructor(s): Dr. Matthew Koehler, Brittany Dillman, Spencer Greenhalgh, and Sarah Keenan-Lechel The final class of my masters focused on creating a portfolio of my learning that required a great deal of reflection on my part. It also focused on assessment principles as I had to assess the work of others as well as my own. Each module created feedback which led to more and more refinement of the work and better knowledge of how to construct an educational portfolio using Weebly. This iterative process created better transfer of learning as well as better outcomes. |
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