Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College reached a historical high this year as its online master’s degree programs climbed the rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Online Graduate Education Programs. Overall, the college ranked No. 8, jumping four spots from last year.
“Many masters programs position students to enter into well-defined roles,” says Steven Zuiker, associate professor. Zuiker is the program coordinator for the Master of Arts in Learning Sciences program at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and is sharing how the program provides a unique pathway to success in the education field. “But learning sciences flips the script. It positions graduates to create leadership roles and change the way education happens, and offers tools to disrupt and improve the norm.”
America does not have a shortage of licensed teachers. It does, however, have a shortage of people who want to teach.
High pressure. Low pay. Little encouragement. More responsibilities heaped on each year. These are a few of the reasons the profession is bleeding personnel.
But that could change if educational institutions consider systemic and structural approaches that spark imagination, encourage collaboration and improve outcomes for both teachers and students.
At Karen Harris’ first teaching job, in a fourth grade class in West Virginia, the students asked her why she cared so much about them because they were “bad kids” who were unlikely to finish high school.
Fifty years later, Harris is still moved to tears when she recalls those students, the children of coal miners.
“Many good things came out of that,” said Harris, the Mary Emily Warner Professor of Education in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.
Searching for equity-centered change agents: An investigation of family and community engagement in teacher evaluation frameworks
By: Linda K. Mayger, The College of New Jersey and Kathleen Provinzano, Drexel University
Published in: Education Policy Analysis Archives, Jan. 18, 2022
Cristóbal Rodríguez, associate dean of Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement and associate professor, offered insight to moneygeek.com on the financial constraints many Latino communities experience. “My observations about financial disparities that Latino communities face are largely based around educational attainment levels related to economic opportunities, as well as access to wealth development opportunities,” Rodriguez says.
Over the last 10 years, U.S. teacher preparation programs have reported shrinking enrollment, according to CNN. The role and demands being placed on teachers have changed, in part due to the pandemic. Many educators are leaving teaching because of burnout or covid-related issues. Others are or simply not entering the profession due to all that is asked of a teacher.
Mentoring is key in the professional development of graduate students. Every year, ASU’s Graduate College recognizes outstanding faculty members for commitment to the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar communities through mentoring excellence, devotion to professional development and career advancement, and fostering inclusive and collaborative academic environments.
Maria Hesse, professor of practice at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, was a featured guest on the podcast, Transfer Nation Talks. The episode, Sharing Student Stories, centered around transfer advocates and things to consider when sharing a transfer student’s story.
Carrie Sampson, assistant professor (lead author) David Garcia, associate professor (co-author) |