Fall 2016
ED 870 Capstone Seminar: 3 Credit Hours
Professor M. Koehler
A portfolio exhibition course meant to incorporate all aspects of one’s online Master’s of Arts in Education program. Themes and topics included cohesive participation on online class discussion and the generation of an interactive online web portfolio. This class has taught me how I might best represent what I've learned at Michigan State to potential future employers.
KIN 857 Promotion Positive Youth Sport Development: 3 Credit Hours
Professor D. Gould
A course concerning how coaching and mentoring in youth sports might yield positive results for young athletes. Topics include best practices for motivating youth athletic participation and best practices for coaching youth athletics, especially by age group weighed against intensity of competition and level of instruction. Themes include problems within youth athletic motivation, misrepresentation of purposes in youth athletics and adult misconduct in youth athletics. This class has taught me appreciation and understanding of developing young athletes.
Summer 2016
EAD Leadership & Organizational Development: 3 Credit Hours
Associate Professor W. Arnold
A course concerning how groups (businesses, corporations, teams, etc.) are organized and how this organization and the leadership practices behind it shape a group’s successes or failure. Topics included cohesion, operational goals and communication between upper, middle and lower management and ground level employees/ organization members. Themes included individual versus group motivations and the psychology of effective organizations. From this class I developed a better understanding of "top-down" organizational structure and message integration across organizational staff.
Spring 2016
EAD 861 Adult Learning: 3 Credit Hours
Professor J. Dirkx
A course concerning the different approaches available, and best practices for, the education of adults. Topics included the socio-economic, cognitive, technological aspects of education that aid and hinder individuals engaged in adult learning, as well as the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed developmental disabilities in adult learning populations. Themes of the class included changing demographics of and research in adult learning, as well as changing cultural reasons for continuing adult education. This class helped me develop an understanding of the many different motivations for adults continuing their educations, as well as an appreciation for the many ways in which adults can be engaged to learn.
KIN 854 Legal & Administrative Issues of Coaching: 3 Credit Hours
Instructor Atkinson
A course covering the legal responsibilities of administrators and coaches at the high school and collegiate levels with special attention paid to actionable negligence in athletic administration choice. Topics included dealing with issues of student and/ or student athlete behaviors (i.e. bullying) and adherence to Title IX. Themes included fair and equitable practices in athletic administration and issues of health and safety in athletic facilities. From this course, I learned how one might navigate the many legal issues that might plague an athletic program.
Fall 2015
ED 800 Concepts in Educational Inquiry: 3 Credit Hours
Professor S. Weiland
A course examining aspects of education that, built around educational theory, practices or traditions, promote equity or inequity in learning concepts. Topics included the methodology of learning practices in a broad array of subjects, and how there are useful or not useful in education today. Themes included changing learning practices in the face of changing social, philosophical or psychological environments and the role of intensive individual learning research on the broad community of learning over time. I studied the many different practices in learning, across age groups, genders, etc. in this course.
KIN 855 Psychosocial Bases of Coaching: 3 Credit Hours
Instructor A. Driska
A course examining the responsibilities of athletic administrators, coaches and those who operate youth athletic programs, focusing on scientific examination of data relating to the condition of youth sports. Topics included psychological responsibility of youth coaches and safety in coaching environments. Themes included best practices in equality for youth athletics and principles for leading and mentoring amateur athletes. This class taught me that psychology, in conjunction with methodology, can be most effective in education.
Summer 2015
KIN 856 Physical Issues of Coaching: 3 Credit Hours
Instructor Riewald
A course examining the actual physical functions of athletics for athletes while engaged in the exertions of sport. Topics included conditioning and strength training practices in athletics and proper execution of physical function for best and safest applicable effect. Themes included biological function and performance enhancements. The class reinforced my conceptual understanding of physical education.