ANNOTATED TRANSCRIPT
This page includes a detailed outline of the 10 courses I have completed in order to earn my Master of Arts in Education degree.
Fall 2017
Dr. John Dirkx
EAD 863: TRAINING ANDÂ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
My first course in the program, this learning experience sparked my initial interest in the area of workplace teaching and learning. When we think of education, we often think of K-12 classrooms and higher education. In this course however, we explored the purposes of training and professional development, learned about adult learning theories that drive best practices, and practiced designing, facilitating, and evaluating training. My favorite part of this course was discovering and practicing different strategies for successfully engaging adult learners with workplace training and professional development.
Spring 2018
Dr. John Dirkx
EAD 866: TEACHING IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
With a specific focus on teaching in the context of higher education, this course explored various themes on the topics of adult learning, instructional design, engaging and motivating learners, and assessing learning. This course opened my eyes to the countless strategies for teaching, as well as the assumptions and beliefs that need to be considered when making pedagogy choices. The assignments in this course allowed me to reflect on what works best for me as an adult learner, and inspired me to create lessons that give learners autonomy, opportunities for active learning and dialogue with their peers, and clear learning goals to work toward.
Summer 2018
Dr. Steven Weiland
EAD 800: CONCEPTS OF EDUCATIONAL INQUIRY
This self-paced course served as an examination into the big picture definition of education. The assignments pushed me to explore the factors that shape my own perspective of education, and allowed me to discover the unique views of other people around the world. Engaging with media such as books and movies opened my mind to the experiences of learners in other cultures, and offered me the chance to reflect on my observations and practice as an educator. I learned the strengths and limitations of autobiographical inquiry, and how every individual’s perception and experience with education is different.
Fall 2018
Dr. Riyad Shahjahan
EAD 861: ADULT LEARNING
Through readings, discussions, writing assignments and various media resources, this course offered a fascinating exploration of who adult learners are, why they learn, how they learn, and the relationship between learning and development. This course took a unique approach to understanding adult learning through critical thinking and the examination of seemingly simple, but nuanced concepts. After watching the film Departures and reviewing its portrayal of non-western adult learning, I gained a newfound appreciation not only for critical theory and power relations in learning settings, but also the art of creatively communicating ideas through Medium.
Spring 2019
Mr. Bret Staudt Willet & Dr. Liz Owens Boltz
CEP 817:Â LEARNING TECHNOLOGY THROUGH DESIGN
While it may not seem like it, the term "design" is actually directly applicable to the work that educators do. Through the five phases of the Design Thinking process, this course helped me understand the connection between design and education, and inspired me to practice empathy with learners. I especially enjoyed the wildly creative activities that forced me to think outside the box and re-frame my thinking about problems related to learning in my professional context. This class challenged and inspired my way of thinking about instructional design and learning in general, and the Design Thinking process certainly stuck with me.
Summer 2019
Dr. Steven Weiland
EAD 864:Â ADULT CAREER DEVELOPMENT
As a Career Advisor, I was quite excited to register for this course. While I began this class with first-hand experience with the nuances of career development, the course allowed me to examine several case studies and autobiographical narratives which opened my eyes to new perspectives on the topic. From teachers and doctors to CEOs and commercial fishermen, we examined various cases of unique career journeys, which ultimately led me to the conclusion that every individual has a different way of finding satisfaction in their work. The in-depth inquiry and study of career development from countless perspectives was fascinating and impactful, especially for me as a Career Advisor.
Fall 2019
Dr. Anne Heintz & Ms. Marissa Zhu
CEP 820: TEACHING STUDENTS ONLINE
Even prior to the events of 2020, online education had been growing in popularity and advancing rapidly. Exploring the benefits and shortcomings of online and blended learning formats, this course was my first experience with formal instructional design concepts. Creating an online course module in a Learning Management System (LMS) was challenging, but it offered me an incredible behind-the-scenes view of the design decisions from the other courses in my program. I enjoyed reflecting on what has worked best for me as an online learner, and how I can implement that into my online course module design.
Spring 2020
Dr. Gabriel Serna
EAD 876: BUDGETING ANDÂ FINANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Deviating from the themes of the other courses in my program, this class focused on the finance, budgeting, fiscal, and resource management (economics) of higher education. The content served as an interesting introduction to these concepts and helped me understand the power that budget decision makers hold at educational institutions and the critical decisions they are faced with almost daily. I was most excited to learn about the assumptions and biases that influence leadership decisions, especially as it relates to tuition cost, staffing, and institutional growth. This course was eye-opening and, while I was certainly out of my comfort zone with the learning material, I felt like I learned some crucial financial concepts for budgeting and finance in higher education.
Summer 2020
Dr. Chris Sloan & Ms. Alison Keller
CEP 813: ELECTRONIC ASSESSMENT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
This class introduced me to the foundational theories of assessing student learning, and helped me understand the differences between assessments for learning, as learning, and of learning. While there are countless methods of digital assessment that exist, this course allowed me to play with various assessment resources and tech tools to figure out what works best. Designing creative assessments was fun for me, and ultimately I learned the importance of using games for learning, and allowing students opportunities for meaningful feedback from their instructor and their peers.
Fall 2020
Dr. Matthew Koehler & Aric Gaunt
ED 870: CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO COURSE
The capstone course served as the final course in my Master of Arts in Education program. The course served as a synthesis of everything I learned in my degree program. I had the opportunity to reflect on everything that I learned, as well as give and receive feedback from my peers. I especially enjoyed the chance to reflect on my personal and professional goals and build an outstanding website to showcase my accomplishments.