Changes

I recently finished up the first module of the KEISIE M.Ed program, and have feeling quite pleased with myself. The grades were good, and the content had given me a lot to consider. Despite my initial reservations about the religious content, I finished the module satisfied that I had just completed a module about education, rather than a module about religion.

After completing the final assignment and exam, I spent some time reflecting on what I had accomplished in 10 weeks…

• 20 course readings
• 50+ additional readings
• 5 short assignments of 1-2,000 words
• 1 large Group assignment
• 1 large individual assignment
• 2 exams

The real question is, did it feel like more or less than I would expect from a quality course of instruction? At first it felt like more. A lot more! With the new baby in the house, and the new job, I was worried that I had taken on too much. As this was really just a ’sample’ of the course, I really should have thanked Dr. Bottiger and re-enrolled when I was better prepared to do the work, but I have never been one to give up so easily!

Whilst these outside pressures did undoubtedly make the workload seem increased, I have since come to the conclusion that my perceptions were reality. The work was indeed more than I would have expected. At first! The content was structured so that there was a clear progression. At first, I was doing a lot of additional reading, yet by the mid-way point (when the first large assignment was introduced), my reading had dropped significantly as I was able to call upon past readings to supplement my arguments. New readings were reduced to around 4 or 5 per assignments, and most of my citations were pulled from older course readings, or works I had already used.

So, in the first few weeks, the readings were significant, and coursework was light. Towards the end, readings were lighter and coursework was increased. As a result, the course was well balanced and very well structured. I can only guess that the same could be true when I am sitting 2 or 3 courses together – I would expect significant overlap between courses that would allow me to complete courses with less reading, which will then enable me to concentrate on the increase in assignments.

So what does this have to do with change? Well, the time has come for me to officially enrol as a student. Dr. Bottiger sent me out a copy of the course catalogue (which you can now download from the front page of the KEISIE website), and I have noticed a LOT of change! Whilst you can often expect some changes with a new organisation, (and indeed I was told to expect some by Dr. Bottiger) the amount of change to the programs on offer is much higher than I could have anticipated.

For the M.Ed course, there are not numerous options available. The choice between the Department of Educational Administration and the Department of Teaching and Instruction decides the core courses (either admin or teaching based).

When I enrolled on the course, I expected to be completing 3 religious modules, 1 of which dealt with religious content, and the other 2 on Religion in Education. For the M.Ed from the Dept. of Teaching and Instruction, the requirement has been dropped to 1 religious courses, and that is the course I have already completed, the one dealing explicitly with education. As I have already completed one of these, it leaves me just 1 to complete. As much as I enjoyed the previous course, I am looking forward to focusing on the educational courses, as I am an educator looking to become better at his job!

So, the core courses I must complete are:

• SOC 6525 Culture and Education
• EDU 6250 Comparative Issues in Education
• EDU 6700 Introduction to Educational Theory
• REL 6601 Philosophy of Religious Education (completed)

Now I must choose my Major. I wish to study International Language, and so I must study two courses that are considered the core of my selected area:

• EDU 6005 Principles of Teaching
• EDU 6020 Curriculum Theory and Design

Then I get to supplement my area of concentration with and 2 of the following(bold indicates my my likely choices):

• EDU 6400 The Teaching of Language
• EDU 6405 Applied Linguistics
• EDU 6410 Second Language Teaching Strategies
• EDU 6415  Strategies for Teaching Reading
• EDU 6440  The  Adolescent L earner

And then there are 2 course electives.

• PSY 6800 Educational Psychology
• EDU 5350 Educational Interaction with Parents and Officials
• EDU 6030  Effective Classroom Practices
• EDU 5910 Problem Solving in Education

The catalogue indicates that it is possible to take any one of a number of courses from the School of Psychology, so I am tempted to change to Child Psychology, to help me better understand my daughter, or perhaps social psychology.

After all of that, I will be writing a These. Ouch! To be honest, I am afraid of this, but I do have some good ideas for research, and I have a few contacts who could help me out.

The previous incarnation of the Graduate School, whilst offering good value, was limited and there was some course content that I was settling for in order to get access to the courses I really wanted to study. The new catalogue shows that there is a much greater vision for the school, and allows Students to personalise their degree to their needs.

A quick summary of the courses offered (this was a quick count, so I may have missed one or 2 from the Education courses):

• 3 Business courses
• 70 Education courses
• 5 Information Technology courses
• 9 Psychology courses
• 10 Religion courses
• 7 Humanities courses

Impressive!