{"id":1703,"date":"2019-07-26T16:53:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T16:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=1703"},"modified":"2025-02-07T11:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T16:41:12","slug":"masters-of-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/26\/masters-of-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Masters of Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1703_ecb947-d2 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08\"]{font-size:1.5rem;line-height:30px;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;color:#808080;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1703_fe4a06-08\">How five students turned homework into WilmU\u2019s newest graduate degree Masters of Education<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large wp-image-6986 size-thumb_704x484\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-720x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15083\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-720x480.jpg 720w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>From left: Dr. Kathi Brown, Marietta Dantonio-Madsen, Dr. Bryan Steinberg,<br>Heather Horowitz, Dr. Nina Buchanan, Dr. John Gray, Christina Asroff, Pamela McGee<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning by doing is key to any educational experience.&nbsp;For five doctoral candidates in Wilmington University\u2019s College of Education, the learning by doing involved in a recent class project sparked the creation of the university\u2019s latest graduate degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Master of Education in Higher Education program, the first degree of its kind in Delaware, is also the first WilmU degree to be developed, start to finish, by WilmU students, says assistant professor Dr. Nina Buchanan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you look at WilmU\u2019s mission, our courses are supposed to be practical and career-focused,\u201d says Dr. Buchanan, who chairs the Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership program in which the students enrolled. \u201cWhat could be better than applying their coursework to an actual project? I can\u2019t think of a better way to get students engaged in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching How to Teach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The M.Ed. in Higher Education, scheduled to launch at WilmU Brandywine and online this fall was designed to offer a type of training that\u2019s often overlooked by university education departments: how to teach and manage at the college level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important training, not just for those seeking career advancement in higher education, but also for the rising tide of industry professionals who become course instructors in their areas of expertise without the benefit of previous academic experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou see it all the time, brilliant people with advanced degrees in many fields who\u2019ve never taken a course on how to teach,\u201d says Marietta Dantonio-Madsen, one of the doctoral students who created the degree and an associate professor and Humanities chair at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. \u201cI fear we\u2019re doing a disservice to college students if we don\u2019t offer these new instructors the opportunity to learn the best methods and processes for teaching and evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized size-medium wp-image-6988\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-02-340x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15084\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-02-340x480.jpg 340w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-02-177x250.jpg 177w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-02.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Marietta Dantonio-Madsen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That opportunity necessitates a unique course of study \u2014 one that hadn\u2019t been available at WilmU or elsewhere in the region, the students found \u2014 since teaching college students requires a different skill set than teaching in elementary or secondary schools does. \u201cThe way we teach is different, the environment is different, and the expectations are different,\u201d says doctoral student Pamela McGee, an assistant clinical professor in Drexel University\u2019s College of Nursing and Health Professions in Philadelphia. \u201cThe master\u2019s in Higher Education is very different from a master\u2019s in K-to-12 education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developing an M.Ed. in Higher Education had been on the College of Education\u2019s to-do list for a number of years. It was one of the curriculum revision tasks suggested to Dr. Buchanan upon her arrival at WilmU in October 2016. And it became a ready-made opportunity as she prepared to teach her Curriculum Leadership in Higher Education course (EDD 7108) during a seven-week block in Fall 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the course\u2019s original lesson plan called for Dr. Buchanan\u2019s five doctoral students to assess the effectiveness of an existing course, she decided instead to ask them to outline a proposal for a master\u2019s in Higher Education, from which she and her colleagues could build a degree program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCurriculum creation is very siloed,\u201d she says, \u201cand I don\u2019t like to work in silos. Since this was a small group, and they\u2019d been studying together for two years, it was a great opportunity for them and for me. I thought, \u2018I\u2019ll bet it\u2019ll be a lot different than anything I can come up with.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized size-medium wp-image-6987\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-03-340x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15086\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-03-340x480.jpg 340w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-03-177x250.jpg 177w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-03.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Pamela McGee<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She had some ideas and a framework for the proposed course but otherwise left them with the latitude to innovate. \u201cThat was totally a curveball,\u201d says McGee. \u201cI\u2019d worked with curriculum committees before, but I\u2019d not been in charge of the product. At first, it looked like a lot of work \u2014 which we were not getting paid to do \u2014 but the further along we got, the more it became a really good creative process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Applying Their Abilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The five students brought five different perspectives, informed by their diverse professional backgrounds, to the project. \u201cIt was like having an all-star team,\u201d says Heather Horowitz, who directs student engagement and new student programs for Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. \u201cEveryone had a huge piece of the puzzle, so we could divide and conquer with what we brought to<br>the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the students\u2019 range of experiences in higher education inspired their decision to build the proposed master\u2019s degree out of four related certificate programs, which they\u2019d also sketch out. \u201cWe each took our own specialties and baked them in,\u201d says Dr. Bryan Steinberg. \u201cEach certificate is one of our skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft is-resized size-medium wp-image-6989\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6989\" style=\"width:300px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Dr. Bryan Steinberg<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As the former senior director of WilmU\u2019s Information Services department, Steinberg led the management-, budgeting-, human-resources- and decision-making-focused Administration in Higher Education certificate. \u201cI live on the administrative side, so out of all the members of our cohort, I probably learned the most about developing a curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dantonio-Madsen and McGee,both seasoned college-level educators drafted the Teaching in Higher Education certificate, which covers best practices for conveying information, utilizing technology and measuring outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horowitz channeled her student management experience into the Student Affairs in Higher Education certificate, which highlights learning assessment and legal issues. And Christina Asroff, a media technologist in the Educational Technology department of WilmU\u2019s College of Experiential and Online Learning, compiled the Foundations of Higher Education certificate\u2019s overview of the past and present of the academic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce we planned the certificates, they were a road map to the master\u2019s,\u201d says McGee. The Foundations certificate makes up the core of the degree. Earning either the Administration, Student Affairs, or Teaching certificate denotes the degree\u2019s specialized concentration. The program concludes with a capstone project. Each of the five-course certificates can also be earned as a standalone credential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creating the certificate programs and the degree they support involved the selection of WilmU courses that fulfilled the objectives of the master\u2019s degree, the writing of course descriptions for those that didn\u2019t yet exist, the planning of faculty hires and an institutional introduction for the degree program, among other team efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was like Lego bricks,\u201d says Dr. Steinberg. \u201cWe\u2019re stacking and stacking and then, all of a sudden, we\u2019ve got a building here. The learning we got from this project was beyond anything in a classroom, and it turned into something real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Proposal to Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAround week five or six of the course, I knew they were on to something,\u201d says Dr. Buchanan. \u201cI gave them autonomy, and they gave me results that surpassed what I\u2019d expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the students completed the master\u2019s degree proposal and their curriculum leadership course in Fall of 2017, Dr. Buchanan suggested they present their project before College of Education Dean Dr. John Gray and Dr. Kathi Brown, the college\u2019s director of Advanced Programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized size-medium wp-image-6990\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-05-340x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15088\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-05-340x480.jpg 340w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-05-177x250.jpg 177w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-05.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Christina Asroff<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Their response was enthusiastic. \u201cIt was exciting to see the students recognize what others might need and how they might benefit from the program,\u201d says Dr. Brown. \u201cI remember their energy and their active engagement in the process \u2014 those are essential ingredients for the growth of any new idea \u2014 and I loved that they were open to all kinds of feedback; that they were willing to think and explore creatively, and yet with a real purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we went beyond what was expected of us, which is why Nina brought our proposal to Dr. Gray and Dr. Brown,\u201d says Asroff. \u201cThey could see we were serious about what we created \u2014 they were blown away by how serious we were. Dr. Gray believes highly in experiential projects like this one. This fit his model for what learning should be like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adds McGee, \u201cDr. Gray told us he\u2019d been trying for a long time to get the faculty to agree on the content for a master\u2019s in Higher Education. What we did in seven weeks, he said, they couldn\u2019t do in more than a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drs. Gray and Brown encouraged the students to keep working on the proposal, in particular exploring the demand for and fiscal viability of the degree program. The extracurricular efforts earned them the practical experience hours their doctorates required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As WilmU employees, Steinberg and Asroff had access to the University\u2019s market research data to determine industry trends and tapped University administrators for their insights on development and budgeting. Chief Financial Officer Heather O\u2019Connell and Controller David Lewis of the Financial Affairs Department were especially informative, they note, on the inner workings of program funding at WilmU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the end of the Spring 2018 semester, they\u2019d presented their proposal to WilmU\u2019s Academic Council \u2014 a roundtable of all the college deans that reviews curriculum matters \u2014 which in turn recommended it to President Dr. LaVerne Harmon and her executive team. The M.Ed. in Higher Education received final approval from the Faculty Senate in December of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy first impression of the students\u2019 work was very positive, as the initial proposal had good research to support the concept,\u201d says Dr. Jim Wilson, vice president for Academic Affairs. \u201cRight from the start, I saw this particular program and the related certificates as a needed area of study for our students. The students designing this degree have had an amazing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Education in Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thrilled, I\u2019m impressed, I\u2019m proud,\u201d says Dr. Buchanan, the M.Ed. in Higher Education\u2019s acting program chair. \u201cFrom concept to academic approval, the students carried it all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized size-medium wp-image-6991\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-06-340x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15089\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-06-340x480.jpg 340w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-06-177x250.jpg 177w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/08_feature_COVER_masterseducation_body-06.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Heather Horowitz<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The degree\u2019s first courses are being scheduled through the 2019-2020 school year. The first graduates of the four-semester or seven-block program might cross the commencement stage in May 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Steinberg, who defended in March a doctoral dissertation examining industry standards for project management and applying them to higher education, walked in WilmU\u2019s May commencement exercises at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other four students \u2014 Asroff, who\u2019s been measuring online students\u2019 engagement with multimedia technology; Dantonio-Madsen, who\u2019s studying the cultural and spiritual roots of healing arts projects while painting a mural with local Native Americans in Dover; Horowitz, who\u2019s exploring the resilience and emotional intelligence of female first-year students; and McGee, who\u2019s assessing faculty stability among nursing education programs \u2014 are expecting to wrap up and defend their dissertations this summer, with an eye on graduating in January 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After which, Dr. Buchanan will have the names of five potential course instructors who know her new master\u2019s degree program inside and out. \u201cI would love for them to be teaching this,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re very invested in it. They feel like it\u2019s their baby.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How five students turned homework into WilmU\u2019s newest graduate degree Masters of Education Learning by doing is key to any educational experience.&nbsp;For five doctoral candidates&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[78,645],"class_list":["post-1703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-magazine","tag-college-of-education-liberal-arts","tag-magazine-summer-2019"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":78,"label":"College of Education &amp; Liberal Arts"},{"value":645,"label":"Magazine Summer 2019"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Eric Mumford","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/eric\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":78,"name":"College of Education &amp; Liberal Arts","slug":"college-of-education-liberal-arts","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":635,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":90,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":645,"name":"Magazine Summer 2019","slug":"magazine-summer-2019","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1202,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15090,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1703\/revisions\/15090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}