CEP 820 Teaching Students Online

Dr. Anne Heintz - Dr. Elizabeth Boltz

The timing of this course was impeccable due to its relevance during the lockdown period. It helped me integrate my new learnings in my online teaching practices. It came spot on despite my advisor being against the idea of starting the program with this course. In the COVID19 pandemic period, when online teaching has become a highly demanded field, and the main solution to continue education, I have learned how to transform my brick-and-mortar classroom into an online classroom, adapted to the needs of my students. During this course I developed an online ESL course module catering for grade 4 students of the french school system. I also learned about a variety of education digital tools that facilitate the online teaching process, about accessibility and universal design for learning, as well as other the special considerations that we need to account for when teaching online.

ED 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry

Dr. Steven Weiland - Dr. Nathan Clason

This was one of the first classes I took in the program. As the title of the course indicates, this course raised my awareness on the different aspects of education and made me reflect on a sample of them. Starting from the beginning of education, studying its philosophy and history, moving on to looking at it from a teacher’s research perspective based on classroom experiences and reflections, then to the different ethnographic contributions they bring to it through autobiography, after that through different biographies in history and finally reflecting on our minds and the curriculum of education. The process was done through extensive readings and video watching, namely Vivian Paley's book The girl with the Brown Crayon, and the movie The Whale Rider directed by Niki Caro. I wrote six reflection essays and left the class thinking about the contemporary education challenges that we are facing in our times and what changes we can do to keep progressing.

CEP 813 Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning

Dr. Bret Staudt Willet

In this course I learned the real objectives of assessments and the many forms they can come in. I understood better the assessment process, the importance of feedback and the fact that it is an integral part of this process. Designing an assessment is a delicate procedure that involves many factors. A good design can be achieved when meeting all those requirements. Its main purpose is to help the students reach their learning objectives, and to help the teachers to better adapt their teaching/assessment processes to the learners particular needs. This course raised my awareness on the importance of clearly stating the objectives of an assessment, giving prompt feedback to learners and modifying my plans to better adapt to my students particular needs, all the while ensuring equity and equal accessibility to all the students. Throughout the course I designed my personal assessment design checklist that serves as a reminder tool to think more critically and improve assessments. I am a person who believes in continuous assessment and learning through fun activities. I think that this approach will bring out the best in the students. This has been confirmed through the learning that I have acquired from this course .

This course made me also reflect on the different characteristics that affect the students performance in an assessment, and that can only make the assessment results more reliable. Factors like equity, bias, accessibility etc.

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design

Dr. William Bork - Dr. Anne Heintz

This course introduced me to design thinking, and its five steps as per the Stanford Design thinking model: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test. I realized the importance of each of the 5 stages of design thinking are. Although some of them are applied in my daily life, without calling design thinking, I learned the importance of empathizing before framing the problem, and the feedback in the testing stage.

I realized that designing a solution is not only about coming up with an idea and testing it: It is only when you really understand the root cause/problem through empathizing with the concerned audience and when you actually define the primary root cause of the problem that you can generate effective solution ideas.

It is a never ending dynamic and interactive process, a work in progress that requires testing, failing, getting feedback and improving. It is only when you try and sometimes fail, that you learn. Many times, unsuccessful attempts lead to much more successful new ideas.

We are all designers! I left the course realizing that design thinking is a lifestyle that can be applied not only in an educational context, but in every challenge/problem faced in life. It is a fantastic way to really understand a problem, find the root cause that is triggering it and work on the most appropriate remedy for it.

CEP 841 Classroom and Behavior Management in the Inclusive Classroom

Dr. Troy Mariage

The main theme of this course was understanding students behaviors and the reasons behind them for better behavioral intervention and classroom management. I learned about the impact of adults behavior on the younger ones, which made me realize the importance of an educator's behavior in class and the great impact it can have on students. I learned about Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and its effect as a long term solution rather than negative punishment and reprimanding, Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA), and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP).

I reflected on my classroom practices and the changes I can make to create a positive learning environment and help students with behavioral issues through preventive measures, thereby ensuring more effective instructions.

CEP 842 Content Area Instruction for Students with Mild Disabilities

Erin Hamilton

In this course, not only did I discovered the challenges an educator faces in content instruction to an inclusive class, but I also understood the benefits that inclusive classrooms bring to students with mild learning disabilities. I was introduced to the principles of teaching content classes to inclusive classrooms through differentiated instruction and integrating adaptations and accommodations to cater for students' learning difficulties. I also learned about evaluating students' progress in an inclusive classroom. I understood the prerequisites for the success of an inclusive education and the major roles that all stakeholders of the learning community play in this process, namely parents and educators.

TE 845 Language Diversity and Literacy Instruction and Assessment

Dr. Patricia Edwards

In this course I learned about the relation between literacy instruction and heritage. I was exposed to various cultural backgrounds, experiences and the societal impact on language learning, more precisely on English Language Learning. I explored the challenges and stereotypes that learners sometimes face due to their ethnicities and cultures and looked at the situation from an educator's perspective, through studying Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory. I delved into my own family's language heritage and lineage and how it evolved over time. I ended the course by creating my personal language heritage project. I was able to establish similarities and build on the differences with cohorts and learned how to benefit from them in my instructional approach.

CEP 801A Collaboration and Consultation in Special Education

Dr. Eunsoo Cho

This course taught me the importance of collaboration and consultation between all stakeholders of students' with learning difficulties (Educators, school professionals and parents). I learned about the school contexts that call for collaboration and consultations: problem-solving team meetings for Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS), including RTI and Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), individualized education programs (IEP) meetings, transition planning, and co-teaching and professional development teams. I examined the benefits of communication and interpersonal skills in special education context. I understood the role the special educator plays vis-a-vid the families and the IEP process and was exposed to various co-teaching models and the secrets of designing effective co-teachign lesson plans.

CEP 800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings

Ronald Houtman

CEP 800 was a great course that centered around how learning occurs and how habits are formed. In this course, I explored how learning happens in schools and more importantly in other settings. It presented the importance of the link between the classroom and the external community. I learned about affinity spaces, formative assessment, project-based learning, backward design. I was introduced to different learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and social learning. I ended up creating my personal theory of learning that I see best fit to our contemporary world and educational needs. Additionally, we explored the power of habit in the learning process and the challenges we face to change certain habits.

ED 870 Capstone Portfolio

Dr. Matthew J. Koehler

The Capstone project was the final stop of my MAED program. I was able to reflect on my practices as a learner and an educator. I went through all the courses that I have done throughout the program and contemplated what I have taken away with me from each of them. I also prepared my digital portfolio and thought about the my goals and how they evolved from the past to what they would be in the future. This course made me think about my next steps and prepared me to plan for them. In a nutshell it depicted the impact that the MAED program made on me and the changes that it brought on me throughout the experience.