Below are the courses I completed during my time in Michigan State University's Master of Arts in Education program.
Summer 2014
EAD 801: Leadership & Organizational Development | Deborah McFalone This class explored various types of leadership and ways in which those types are experienced. Assignments ranged from mock-memos, to essays, to exploratory research projects. We read fascinating books, such as James M. Kouzes' The Truth About Leadership, and Lee G. Bolman's Leading With Soul. Books such as these, paired with TED talks and engaging dialogue with fellow classmates about authentic leadership, created a wonderful class experience. This course set the tone for the rest of my MAED experience, because once I learned that authenticity is the key to framing anyone's experience (in anything, really), my perception of leadership and education fundamentally shifted.
EAD 861: Adult Learning | Dr. William Arnold In Adult Learning, the focus was placed on learning development in adults. Continuing education, higher education, and work-focused education were central to this course. One mock scenario tied much of the content together--a problem regarding the drooping attendance in an introductory continuing education course. By approaching this setback from various perspectives, I gained knowledge and insight into how tricky, multifaceted situations can be handled effectively. Also in this course, I wrote an in-depth paper on MoMA's Meet Me at MoMA program.
EAD 867: Case Studies in Educational Leadership | Eric Jessup-Anger, Aleece Sisson, & Gina Vizvary This course was quite possibly the most challenging class I took throughout this entire Master's program. Every few weeks, we were given around 20 readings to complete. Then, one week into the cycle, we reflected upon the readings with classmates in a group forum. Following that, a case study was provided, and we were then to discuss the scenario with classmates in a small group while citing the readings from that cycle. Finally, we individually posited our solution to the proposed issue in a paper, followed by a reflection of how we perceive we did throughout that given unit. The quick turnaround time, in and of itself, was challenging! That, compounded with the importance and weight of each reading in coordination with each scenario, made the class hard and worthwhile. This was a condensed summer course, so the pace was intensive (but incredibly rewarding).
Fall 2014
CEP 818: Creativity in Teaching & Learning | Punya Mishra & Rohit Mehta Throughout this class, notions of creativity were explored in ways pertinent to my own experience as an educator. I created a weebly site detailing each module of this course, which ranged from thoughts on my "creative space" to exploring nuanced aspects of creativity such as modeling and abstraction. By completing projects based on my core topic, nature-infused early childhood education, I was able to make each discrete component of creativity pertinent to my then-current work as an educator. As a final note in this course, each student created a tweet-length elevator pitch for their creative platform. Mine was as follows, "Nature-infused early childhood edu has its roots in creativity. Help your child grow their edu trunk strong, and allow them to truly bloom!"
EAD 860: Concepts of a Learning Society | Steven Weiland & Graham McKeague This class dove into the notion of what a "learning society" is, and with that, what preconceived notions people bring when joining into the all-encompassing learning society. Experiences in medicine, piano-playing, technology, and Chinese language were examined. This course was particularly engaging because of how multi-faceted it was. The subject matter within the overarching idea of the learning society led us to critically analyze various ways and forms of learning.
ED 800: Concepts of Educational Inquiry | Steven Weiland & Nathan Clason In this class, we focused on theories and methods of education, leadership, teaching, and learning. This course was particularly formative, as I had a pre-existing interest in progressive education and was thrilled to learn about the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Incidentally, I was in connection with the school about a job opportunity around the same time that we studied this content. As a former kindergarten teacher myself, learning about Vivian Paley and her teacher research was both fascinating and inspirational.
Spring 2015
CEP 800: Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings | Danah Henricksen, Diana Campbell, & Sarah Keenan Throughout this course, we studied factors that affect one's learning, whether internal or external. We studied misconceptions quite a bit, which lent and interesting lens to my experience in the kindergarten classroom. The culminating project I elected to complete was a video of student interviews (plus their own creative drawings) about map misconceptions. We had not studied it in class prior, but I was curious to see what each student perceived USA to look like when flat on paper. It was hilarious and fascinating!
EAD 871: Collegiate Contexts of Teaching & Learning | Ginny Jones What a neat class. We studied diverse factors in higher education, and compounded those studies by relating them to current events and articles. bell hooks' Teaching to Transgress was a core text in this course, and a riveting read. At the end, we completed a project faux-proposing a new Liberal Arts in Practice component to a small liberal arts college. This class was pragmatic, insightful, and informative overall.
EAD 876: Budgeting & Finance in Higher Education | Brendan Cantwell This class focused on the various public and private funding models while explaining why college costs so much. A key aspect was learning the difference between cost and price. Cost being the overall costs for the college itself, price being the amount students pay (taking into account the discount rate). Was an informative class, and especially helpful since I am now in an Office of Admission!
Summer 2015
ED 870: Capstone Seminar | Matthew Koehler, Sarah Keenan, Spencer Greenhalgh, & Chris Seals This course is the synthesis for our Master of Arts in Education journey. Each week, we completed a new post on our portfolio website to showcase all that we've accomplished over our terms. This acts as a professional compilation, and an educational one, too. I hope you enjoy the comprehensive fruits of my labor! Thanks for taking the time to read on.