Spring 2009 Courses
EAD 866 Teaching in Postsecondary Education
Teaching in Postsecondary Education enhanced my understanding of effective teaching in the collegiate environment. I was very excited to take this course because it was my introduction to concepts and various teaching philosophies. Not only was the course content interesting, but the design of the course site was easy to navigate which increased my motivation for learning. Throughout my graduate education, I have come to value the various designs of online courses.
The Courage to Teach (Palmer, 1998), McKeachie’s Teaching Tips (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006) and Learner-Centered Teaching (Weimer, 2002) were the required course text. Together, these authors revolutionized my concept and practice of teaching. Palmer’s expression of vulnerability in teaching eased some of my nervousness about entering the classroom as an instructor. After reading this book, I began to accept the fragility associated with my practice. For instance, I offer students my whole self through sharing personal narratives and demonstrating openness in intellectual expression. Both McKeachie and Weimer discussed the importance of enabling students to take ownership in the course development process through having a voice in the required assignments. Therefore, I identified opportunities in which I could be flexible and design activities focused on increasing and sustaining learner engagement.
As a required assignment, three other students and I had to facilitate a lesson on experiential learning for our peers in an online environment. Immediately, I thought the task was impossible because the nature of experiential learning is to create physical interaction among students.The virtual learning environment was a perceived barrier. However, our group successfully accomplished the task by designing a learning experience highlighting the implementation of problem based learning in Replubic Polytechnic in Singapore. We chose to explore experiential learning from an international perspective to broaden the conversation on the subject.
Featured Work: The first two documents are related to the same assignment. As a small group, my colleagues and I taught a lesson on experiential learning. I reflect on my individual contribution to the team in the second document. My Teaching Philosophy is a collection of principles that guide my practice as an educator.
References
McKeachie, W. & Svinicki, M (2006.) Mckeachie’s teaching tips: strategies,
research and theory for college and university teachers. Houghton Mifflin
Company: Boston
Palmer, P. (1998). The courage to teach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Weimer, M. (2002). Learner Centered Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lesson Plan For Experiential Learning Unit.pdf | |
File Size: | 73 kb |
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Experienal Learning Reflection-1.pdf | |
File Size: | 69 kb |
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Teaching_Philosophy.pdf | |
File Size: | 82 kb |
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ED 800 Concepts & Educational Inquiry
What is epistemology? I had never even heard of that word before taking this course and suddenly I was being asked to define it. It was even more daunting to consider my own epistemological development. This theory provides insight on how one comes to define individual truths. The process of analyzing how I had come to form opinions about the world and education forced me to face my personal assumptions and bias. Reflecting on my developmental process revealed to me that I mostly associate education with financial freedom. All of the messages I had heard about education were focused on “getting a good education so that you can get a good job.”
I am not placing a positive or negative value on this perspective, it is simply what I have been taught. Pursuing my Master’s degree has allowed me to define my own perspective about the purpose of education. While I still view education as a means to an end, I do enjoy learning for the sake of learning.
Scholarly research is centered on creating new knowledge. In that regard, designing a research project was one of the required course assignments. I felt that our level of development was premature for this type of assignment. However, I can honestly say that knowing the process of research design helped me to become more critical in evaluating articles and research projects.
Great research begins with curiosity and inquiry, which translates to burning questions. Experience and knowledge are prerequisites for being able to create innovation. I do not think I grasped this concept until the course ended. I had to realize that the ability to bring something new results from mastery. The question for myself then became, “what are you mastering?”
Featured Work: The paper, My Personal Pursuit of Knowledge is a reflective account exploring how I have come to develop my values and beliefs of education.
The paper, African-American Male Involvement On Campus is research project design to identify factors that prevent males from participating in campus organizations and leadership positions.
What is epistemology? I had never even heard of that word before taking this course and suddenly I was being asked to define it. It was even more daunting to consider my own epistemological development. This theory provides insight on how one comes to define individual truths. The process of analyzing how I had come to form opinions about the world and education forced me to face my personal assumptions and bias. Reflecting on my developmental process revealed to me that I mostly associate education with financial freedom. All of the messages I had heard about education were focused on “getting a good education so that you can get a good job.”
I am not placing a positive or negative value on this perspective, it is simply what I have been taught. Pursuing my Master’s degree has allowed me to define my own perspective about the purpose of education. While I still view education as a means to an end, I do enjoy learning for the sake of learning.
Scholarly research is centered on creating new knowledge. In that regard, designing a research project was one of the required course assignments. I felt that our level of development was premature for this type of assignment. However, I can honestly say that knowing the process of research design helped me to become more critical in evaluating articles and research projects.
Great research begins with curiosity and inquiry, which translates to burning questions. Experience and knowledge are prerequisites for being able to create innovation. I do not think I grasped this concept until the course ended. I had to realize that the ability to bring something new results from mastery. The question for myself then became, “what are you mastering?”
Featured Work: The paper, My Personal Pursuit of Knowledge is a reflective account exploring how I have come to develop my values and beliefs of education.
The paper, African-American Male Involvement On Campus is research project design to identify factors that prevent males from participating in campus organizations and leadership positions.
My Personal Pursuit of Knowledge.pdf | |
File Size: | 80 kb |
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African-American Male Involvement On Campus.pdf | |
File Size: | 423 kb |
File Type: |
EAD 965 Diversity in Postsecondary Education
Initially, taking a doctorate level course was very intimidating because I was not sure of my ability to perform at this level. Unlike my previous courses in the HALE Program, there was only one expected product for the entire semester. It was quite intimidating to know that passing or failing the course depended on one assignment. Each student was required to develop a final product of 20 pages addressing a course theme; with one requirement that it lived beyond the course.
Initially, I contemplated designing a research project analyzing the participation in graduate education programs among African American male graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). I reconsidered the proposal after evaluating the scope of the project. Considering my goals before starting the HALE Program, I designed a college preparatory and mentoring program for African American male high-school students. While there are many programs of this nature in existence, I focus on a multi-layer approach requiring collaboration between secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. See the PowerPoint presentation below for an overview of the program.
After studying the academic pipeline literature, I knew that minority access to higher education was an area of diversity that I wanted to focus on. Becoming more aware of the rates in which African American and Latino students participate in higher education as opposed to their white counterparts motivated me to really think critically about access. I made the conclusion that improving access begins during secondary school. If students are not prepared for college during high school, the likelihood that they will attend an institution of higher learning diminishes greatly. Therefore, I see the need for more collaboration between secondary schools and higher education institutions. After vocalizing this perspective in class, I was often challenged by my colleagues on whether or not higher education institution should be involved in students’ academic preparation. In order to ensure diversity in postsecondary education, the paradigm shift of collaboration has to occur.
I can also remember vivid dialogue on the benefits of affirmative action in admissions and the value of race-neutral admissions policies. After much contemplation, I think affirmative action in higher education is most beneficial to high-academically achieving minority students. Realizing Bakke’s Legacy (Marin & Horn, 2008), was instrumental in helping me form a comprehensive perspective on this topic. Furthermore, I do not think race-neutral policies are effective in developing a heterogeneous learning environment. There is not an effective proxy for race. The challenge becomes administering policies that are fair and equitable to all students.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the course because it challenged me to evaluate current topics from a scholarly and practical perspective.
Featured Work: The following Total Knockout PowerPoint presentation gives an overview of the college preparatory program I created for the course.
Initially, I contemplated designing a research project analyzing the participation in graduate education programs among African American male graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). I reconsidered the proposal after evaluating the scope of the project. Considering my goals before starting the HALE Program, I designed a college preparatory and mentoring program for African American male high-school students. While there are many programs of this nature in existence, I focus on a multi-layer approach requiring collaboration between secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. See the PowerPoint presentation below for an overview of the program.
After studying the academic pipeline literature, I knew that minority access to higher education was an area of diversity that I wanted to focus on. Becoming more aware of the rates in which African American and Latino students participate in higher education as opposed to their white counterparts motivated me to really think critically about access. I made the conclusion that improving access begins during secondary school. If students are not prepared for college during high school, the likelihood that they will attend an institution of higher learning diminishes greatly. Therefore, I see the need for more collaboration between secondary schools and higher education institutions. After vocalizing this perspective in class, I was often challenged by my colleagues on whether or not higher education institution should be involved in students’ academic preparation. In order to ensure diversity in postsecondary education, the paradigm shift of collaboration has to occur.
I can also remember vivid dialogue on the benefits of affirmative action in admissions and the value of race-neutral admissions policies. After much contemplation, I think affirmative action in higher education is most beneficial to high-academically achieving minority students. Realizing Bakke’s Legacy (Marin & Horn, 2008), was instrumental in helping me form a comprehensive perspective on this topic. Furthermore, I do not think race-neutral policies are effective in developing a heterogeneous learning environment. There is not an effective proxy for race. The challenge becomes administering policies that are fair and equitable to all students.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the course because it challenged me to evaluate current topics from a scholarly and practical perspective.
Featured Work: The following Total Knockout PowerPoint presentation gives an overview of the college preparatory program I created for the course.
Total Knockout.ppt | |
File Size: | 313 kb |
File Type: | ppt |