Annotated Transcript
Graduate Courses
When looking back at the time spent in this graduate program and the work done in that time, I am so grateful for all of my instructors. This is my attempt to summarize each course and I what knowledge or experience I have gained from them.
TE 802 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice I
Fall 2013
Joyce Parker, David Stroupe, and Kristin Mayer
This course was the backbone of my teaching. We spent time making lesson plans, teaching lessons, reflecting on those lessons, and making better lessons. We discussed how to approach science in an engaging way for students that went beyond memorizing facts. Spending this much time on the fundamentals of teaching was strenuous but absolutely worth it. Anytime I sit down to lesson plan, I think back to this course.
TE 803 Professional Roles and Teaching Practice II
Spring 2014
Samantha Caughlan
This class prepared me for the technical aspects of becoming a teacher. This ranged from resume building and job searching to general classroom management and parent communication. The aspect I enjoyed about this class the most were the discussions I had with future teachers in different subject areas and school districts. The importance of learning how to communicate among other teachers from different backgrounds in a constructive matter has helped me succeed more than anything. Teaching can be a daunting task and impossible without the help of others.
TE 804 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II
Spring 2014
Joyce Parker, David Stroupe, and Kristin Mayer
TE 804 was an extension to the course I took the previous semester. We continued to focus on lesson planning and reflecting on those lessons, but we relied on each other’s feedback instead of the instructors. The instructors were focused on teaching us how to work together using different professional learning community protocols so that we would be discussing teaching challenges in a worthwhile manner. This class set the foundation of how to work with other teachers.
ED 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Summer 2016
Steven Weiland
Concepts of Educational Inquiry was about reflecting on education through multiple perspectives and philosophies. Understanding how educators and philosophers once thought of education and seeing how it has evolved over time was a major part of this class. I found it particularly interesting to compare what my thoughts about education were to some of the great educators of the present and past. Doing this allowed us to think about and adapt our own philosophy of teaching. Comparing this philosophy of teaching to what actually happens in the classroom is a great way reflect on my instruction.
TE 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Summer 2016
Shannon Prince
The term “literacy” extends beyond reading novels and doing English assignments. In the broadest sense, literacy is the ability to communicate. This is important in all content areas and it is every teacher’s responsibility to not only teach their content, but how to be literate within that content. In science, that can mean teaching students how to analyze research articles to how to effectively communicate their findings from an experiment they ran. Through collaborative work, I was able to discover many techniques and strategies that can help students boost their literacy.
EAD 822 Diverse Students and Families
Fall 2016
Sean Williams and John Yun
As a teacher that came through Michigan State University’s education program, teaching with the understanding that students and families come from different backgrounds was central in our studies. This course goes further into that idea and describes how systemic racism and individual prejudices affect our teacher and educational system as a whole. The most important idea that I pulled from this course is that being blind to the differences that our students come in with is not enough; we must become aware of the diverse nature of our student body and meet them where they are in order to maximize their learning.
EAD 824 Leading Teacher Learning
Fall 2016
Melissa Usiak
I see myself helping other teachers improve their practice as I continue my teaching career. This course directly helped me with that vision. Leading teacher learning is a powerful way to impact student learning and understanding how to effectively do this can make a huge impact on a school district. From exploring how teachers learn best to considering logistical hurdles, I believe this class gave me the foundation to become a stronger leader within my school.
EAD 801 Leadership and Organizational Development
Spring 2017
William Arnold
This course allowed me to view the organization that I teach within with a different perspective as well as analyze the role I play within it. I learned that many of the challenges that organizations face can only be solved if we view the makeup of the organization as objectively as possible. If we do this, we may see deeper issues within the organization that need to be solved in order address the initial challenge. Being a leader is about bringing these issues to the surface while maneuvering through the political and authoritative structure of your specific organization.
EAD 866 Teaching in Postsecondary Education
Spring 2017
John Dirkx
Pedagogy is the study of teaching. This course is an extension of pedagogy called andragogy. Andragogy is the study of teaching specifically adult learners. Teaching in postsecondary education (anything beyond high school) is similar to teaching at the high school level, but as I found in this course, there are a few differences the learners come in with that should be considered as well as what the goals of instruction should be; transitioning the learner to become a more self-reliant learner is a big one.
EAD 877 Program Planning and Evaluation in Postsecondary Contexts
Summer 2017
William Arnold
TE 877 served as an intense introduction in program planning. This included how to build a program from the ground up while considering the goals of the program within a specific context. Context can include but is certainly not limited to how your organization is structured, where your participants are coming from as a learner, and the resources that are available to you. Based on the title of the course, you might also correctly assume that evaluation is a large part of program planning and it indeed drives the adaptability and sustainability of a program. This course was centered on program planning within a postsecondary context, but many of the principles apply to secondary education as well.
ED 870 Capstone Seminar
Summer 2017
Matthew Koehler
This capstone course was the culmination of all of my hard work throughout my Master’s program. I was able to reflect back on the courses I have taken and present my experiences in a way that is accessible for others. This online portfolio is the product of this final capstone course and in a sense, my entire graduate program. I am proud of the work I have done and I hope you gain something from exploring my work.