Graduate Coursework at Michigan State University
Below you will find a summary of the courses I took at Michigan State to complete my Master of Arts in Education. My area of concentration is P-12 School and Post-Secondary Leadership. Included with each course description, you will find a sample of my work for each of my classes. If you would rather not download the document, right click on the file and click "open in new window."
Spring 2009
EAD 861 Adult Learning
Dr. John Dirkx with Julie Brockman
My first course was a perfect introduction to what online learning can produce: a rigorous reading list, group projects, case analysis, and lots of student interaction and reflection. We developed a better understanding of learning and development in adulthood and what implications this knowledge holds for educating adults in higher, adult, continuing, and work-based education settings. I've included here my capstone paper from the course which talks about the characteristics of adult learners and the different theories of adult learning.
adult_learning_capstone_project_ead_861.pdf | |
File Size: | 221 kb |
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Fall 2009
ED 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Dr. Steven Weiland with Nate Clason
This self-paced, required, foundational course for the MAED degree is organized around four domains of educational inquiry, interpretation, and criticism: classroom-based or teacher research, theories of intelligence and the curriculum, history and biography, and ethnographic participant observation and reflection. I learned much here about the debate over educational reform from many perspectives. I've included an essay here comparing the ideas of Howard Gardner and E.D. Hirsch Jr relating to what should be taught and how it should be taught.
essay_comparing_gardner_and_hirsch.pdf | |
File Size: | 48 kb |
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Spring 2010
EAD 864 Adult Career Development
Dr. Steven Weiland
Dr. Weiland's self-paced online courses are full of suggested reading of hyperlinked resources which encourage the student to explore many themes relating to the course topics...so much so it is easy to find oneself spending many hours surfing through all the resources! Another of his signature course designs is to assign many enjoyable books and films relating to the theme of the course. Adult Career Development focused on the structure of careers, theories of career stages, and also key developmental features of work across the life cycle. The assigned film Mr. Holland's Opus focused on how a crisis often forces individuals to reassess the meaning of their career. Below is my essay describing one of Mr. Holland's crisis' and how that affected his career development.
a_crisis_of_adult_career_development.pdf | |
File Size: | 53 kb |
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Fall 2010
EAD 860 Concept of a Learning Society
Dr. Steven Weiland with Nick Sheltrown
Another of Dr. Weiland's self-paced courses, instructor Nick Sheltrown and I explored what is meant by the "learning society." Through film and print we identified primary domains and activities of the learning society in their historical, social, economic, and cultural contexts; and the experiences and views of individuals living and working in the learning society. Below is an essay exploring the learning style of Erin Brockovich, the unorthodox paralegal who exposed the company PG&E of covering up toxic levels of Chromium 6 affecting the health of many of the community's residents.
learning_style_of__erin_brockovich.pdf | |
File Size: | 47 kb |
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Fall 2010
EAD 801 Leadership & Organizational Development
Dr. Gerald Jennings
This highly interactive course explores leadership as the challenge of helping members of organizations learn, gain new capabilities and reach improved outcomes. Most of the work relates to P-12 leadership and using the Interstate School Leader's Licensure Consortium standards (ISLLC) in order to work through case problems. I developed this leadership beliefs concept map to represent my personal strategies for successful leadership.
leadership_beliefs_concept_map.pdf | |
File Size: | 137 kb |
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Spring 2011
EAD 850 Multicultural Education
Dr. Reitumetse Mabokela
Here we examined multicultural education using a three-prong approach: the history of ethnic/racial groups in the U.S., the development of a personal multicultural perspective, and classroom strategies to work with diverse students and curricula. I highly recommend the book "A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America" by Ronald Takaki. It is a highly readable alternative history of America through the eyes of those who have been discriminated against since the birth of the nation. Featured below is a badge project I developed for Girl Scout leaders working with adolescent girls aged 11- 13 who are interested in learning about the growing middle eastern culture in Southeast Michigan from the perspective of girls from that culture.
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Spring 2011
CEP 813 Electronic Portfolios for Teaching & Learning
Dr. Patrick Dickson
I found this course to be most exciting as it forced me to move outside my comfort zone into the world of digital media. The electronic portfolios we created are meant to showcase ourselves as educators and represent our student's work in a new medium encouraging self-expression. It is meant to encourage students and others to gather their authentic work and share it with a worldwide audience. My website below showcases my work in a community college continuing education department, as well as my work to create options for older students to return to the classroom.
View my website
View my website
Summer 2011
EAD 867 Case Studies in Educational Leadership
Dr. Marilyn Amey
Dr. Amey's course flew by in eight weeks as we engaged both individually and in groups to analyse case studies relating to modern day dilemmas in higher education administration. This course method and the accompanying research provided opportunities to delve deep into the issues as opposed to skimming the surface of the probem, which allowed for more critical analysis of the effectiveness of the possible solutions. Attached here is my analysis of a multicultural conflict in a tight-knit university town.
case_analysis_of_multicultural_conflict.pdf | |
File Size: | 160 kb |
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Summer 2011
EAD 882 Education in the Digital Age
Dr. Steven Weiland
For a student like me who is new to the study of technology in education, this class really opened my eyes to the possibilities for self-directed learning in the digital age. In class we identified what core competencies today's students need to be competitive in the digital age; how we relate to information provided by digital means; and how to manage digital overload. Below is an assignment which defends the merits of using new media such as YouTube, Wikipedia and Blogs as a method to enhance or create instructional materials in a community college.
merits_of_digital_technology_in_teaching.pdf | |
File Size: | 170 kb |
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Fall 2011
ED 870 Capstone Seminar
Dr. Matthew Koehler
As the final course in my master's program, the capstone seminar is designed to be both a reflection on our learning in the program and as a tool each of us can use to showcase our work in education. Each student creates a web-based portfolio that presents a well-organized representation of their work and thinking in the program. Lucky for me I had already conquered the electronic portfolio, so I was able to spend the majority of my time in the course reflecting on my journey more than on learning to build a simple website. I invite you to click on the link below which will take you to the home page of this website.
View this website
View this website