Annotated Transcript

This page provides descriptions of the courses I took while enrolled in Michigan State University's (MSU) Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program. The courses are listed chronologically and grouped by semester. The course names, instructors, and a brief description of my experience are included. Each course title is linked to MSU's official course description for further information.

TE= Teacher Education CEP= Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education

ED= Education EAD= Educational Administration

Spring 2017

TE 848

Writing Assessment and Instruction

Instructor: Amy Croel-Perrien

The first course of my MAED program began with a challenge to "practice what I preach" as a writing instructor. With each new writing instruction strategy I learned about to introduce to students, I was asked to try my hand at the assignment as well. I learned about new genres and writing exercises and created a collection of my own writing that I have continued to develop since completing this course. In this course, I completed a teaching project on writing conferences, composed technology research exploring writing resources, and explored narrative writing through a genre exploration project.

TE 849

Methods and Materials for Teaching Children's and Adolescent Literature

Instructor: Dr. Bena Hartman

This survey course gave me the tools to move beyond simply introducing a text to my classroom, and engaging in a conversation about the intentions of book selections and how to integrate a story into a topic of study. We examined several examples of children's literature in a variety of genres to become more familiar with relevant authors, themes, and conversations. One of the main goals of this course was to help students become active participants in their shared journeys with literature and to connect with characters representing them.

Fall 2017

ED 800

Concepts of Educational Inquiry

Instructor: Dr. Steven Weiland

This course was self-paced and divided into six units. We explored foundational concepts of inquiry, such as psychological, philosophical, biological, historical, biographical, autobiographical, and ethnographic. Each unit centered around a theme of inquiry with texts and media to complement the theme. At the end of each unit, I wrote an essay in response to a prompt. The course called for an intense level of introspection, and I explored topics from the philosophies of John Dewey to the integration of technology in my own life.

TE 846

Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners

Instructor: Lance Wheatley

This course provided me with detailed methods to tailor towards individual learners. Not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace, so this class explored the ways to reach students who need more individualized instruction in the classroom. In this course, I completed a Literacy Learner Analysis project where I performed a case study with a student and suggested targeted learning goals, instruction, and assessments, then analyzed the results. I learned new strategies to accommodate for differences in learners and gained resources to assist me in planning for future learner differences.

Spring 2018

EAD 801

Leadership and Organizational Development

Instructor: Dr. BetsAnn Smith

In this course, I learned about the major leadership types, particularly examining adaptive leadership. We analyzed case studies, discussed readings and issues through weekly Zoom meetings, submitted reflections, and completed final products examining specific school leadership models. For my final project, I wrote a research paper on School Leadership Teams and the benefits the bring to schools. From this course, I gained a deeper understanding of the differences between leadership and management, and the importance of developing new leaders in classrooms and schools.

EAD 850

Issues and Strategies in Multicultural Education

Instructor: Dr. Riyad Shahjahan

I learned more about my own personal institutions and privileges in this course. This approach to multicultural education was eye-opening and so much more than teaching educators to select representative texts. We broke down the lenses we use to see the world and exposed our own discriminatory blindspots. I learned more about myself, but also how to help others see social injustices and fight for equity in education, not simply equality. I wrote several papers critiquing educational and societal norms and created a multimedia project examining the race, gender, and sexuality of a character in a popular film.

Fall 2018

TE 845

Language Diversity and Literacy Instruction and Assessment

Instructor: Shannon Prince

This course began with an examination of my own literacy heritage, where I learned more about my own origins and dialect. We then examined the differences in literacy learners and various methods of instruction and assessment through regular small group meetings, where we discussed readings and prompts. We practiced self-reflection and examined our educational journeys. The course ended with the development of individual projects, and I created a workshop to share with other educators on the use of writing conferences in class.

CEP 800

Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings

Instructor: Dr. Diana Brandon

Exploring the psychology of learning helped me to understand why and how we learn. In this course, we explored the major concepts of educational psychology through a series of intensive modules with readings, lectures, and discussions. I completed several self-reflections, as well as analyses of learning in schools and other settings. With a choice of final products to submit, I chose to develop my personal theory of learning and philosophy of learning, enlightened by the material covered in this course.

Spring 2019

EAD 866

Teaching in Postsecondary Education

Instructor: Dr. John Dirkx

In this course, through six modules, we used articles, books, hypermedia links, videos, and discussion forums to learn about postsecondary teaching. The course began with deep reflection on our own perceptions of teaching and learning, and this discussion continued to help us examine the path to creating self-directed leaners in postsecondary education. We learned about the importance of considering the knowledge and skills adult learners bring to learning environments, as well as what motivates and engages them. We submitted a case study observation of another teacher, developed a course curriculum and syllabus, taught a group of adult learners, participated in weekly discussion forums, and turned in learning logs for each module.

ED 870

Capstone Seminar Course

Instructors: Dr. Matthew Koehler and Aric Gaunt

This course was the perfect way to end my time in the MAED program. I learned how to build a website to showcase my work and worked with others to improve my work through the submission of videos on FlipGrid and sharing on Zoom. Most importantly, I was given the opportunity to reflect on my learning over the course of my graduate work and create a product to display my lifelong learning journey. I hope to use this portfolio as a professional tool for many years to come and as an artifact of my work at MSU.