Last week I wrapped up my first semester in the MAT program at GSU. In all, it was a successful term during which I learned more about the program and what to expect throughout my time as a graduate student here. Something unique for students seeking this degree is that we’re admitted as part of a cohort and will work through the core classes as a unit. The cohorts officially begin in the summer, comprising Spring and Summer applicants/admissions, so those of us who started in Spring had an extra semester to get some requisites out of the way.
I mentioned in my first post that I was in part interested in teaching math and science because I was excited about the opportunity to study higher level mathematics and science content. I stressed a bit over GRE scores because I was concerned the admissions committee would think I couldn’t possibly be able to teach the subjects with an English background or able to keep up in the classes because I didn’t have a relevant undergraduate degree. My fears were unfounded and after this term I suspect that they were greatly so. It seems that those pursuing a teaching degree, at least up to the middle school level, are not expected to demonstrate interest or comprehension in upper level subject matter. My first disappointment I’ll share here was in the lack of challenging content classes the program will offer me. The main goal, I see now, is to make sure teachers are proficient up to the level of the middle school subjects, at the grade level, but not really beyond that point. And the program is only four semesters long, so there isn’t much time to work in any extra classes that would be more challenging.
I don’t think it’s a huge deal or something that would have completely deterred me from the program had I been privy to it in advance, but I do wish I was able to fulfill my intrinsic desire to achieve a higher level proficiency. And I think that this program will probably not be something that will enable me to pursue teaching mathematics or science in a high school one day, should I want to do so. The reason I say this is because a degree that would cover secondary teaching requires an undergraduate degree in the field and more extensive upper-level coursework, both of which are absent here for me at least. But I will say I can appreciate the necessity of ensuring that each potential teacher will have mastered these different content levels so they are prepared to teach the subjects in schools. The program certainly achieves that and so anyone who is worried they’ll be lost in a master’s program without a strong history in math should not be deterred or discouraged; take the master’s-level prerequisites and you’ll get the foundation you need. Truly, my interests are only secondary and altogether irrelevant to the end-goal of teaching and earning a living. They were just a trifling interest I had hoped would be fulfilled while I am a student.
My experience in the science class was less “dramatic,” you might say. I took the Earth science portion for middle school teachers. While in practice it was a little disorganized, bouncing back between the two professors teaching it, it was ultimately full of content and provided a broad introduction to the field. We have to show that we’ve taken courses in Life, Physical, and Earth sciences to become certified. I think this half of the content areas have more depth than the math, but that may just be a matter of the difference in the subjects. Middle school level math is relatively easy for me, whereas these general science subjects cover much more ground. There was also consideration worked into the syllabus for planning a lesson to students, which was helpful for someone who has never taught anything or prepared anything for students.
In addition to my math and science classes, I took two classes online, which was a new experience for me. Most departments don’t seem to offer online classes at GSU, but the necessity in the College of Education is readily apparent once you consider that many of these students are already professional teachers or are at least working adults. I appreciate it was less time I’d have to get covered by a sitter. These classes can be a little tricky, however. One class I took was on teaching the diverse array of students with disabilities. It was fascinating, overwhelming, and wonderfully planned out by the professor. She clearly has taught the class for a while and is comfortable in the online environment. In addition to the text, she supplied notes and links for information on the internet for each chapter, and she broke up any monotony with alternative assignments like a movie review or even a video lecture. I discovered it is important for these instructors to make the content engaging. After all, the students in some ways do require more self-discipline of doing the reading because we don’t get to go to a lecture to get exposure to the material. My experience in this course was excellent and I feel like I got what I would expect to get out of any course.
This contrasts sharply with my other class, which was on the psychology of learning. The instructor was rude, unavailable, unprepared, and in general uninterested. I would assume students would think an online class might be an easy A, but until I took this class it never occurred to me an online course might be “easy money” for an instructor. She was truly terrible. I’ll refrain from digressing my personal gripes and coming off as a whiny student. But I now ask other students for their experiences with specific online courses and instructors before blindly signing up for them. It’s not worth risking another situation where I’m stuck in a class that I’m not getting any more out of than if I’d just read the text book and with an instructor who I quite frankly lost sleep over despising and resenting. Though I will go through this journey largely with a group of peers entering the program when I did, the content classes are mixes of students at different places in the program and so many have lots to say about the different courses. (For example, I learned that the IT course, which can be taken as the elective, is basically a busy work course on learning how to make word documents and power points. I dropped that one before it starts this summer and will probably take an on-campus math class instead to assuage my malcontent vented earlier.)
Though some of my expectations for the program have been adjusted, one that will not be is my high level of esteem for the GSU professors, who are awesome. They are, collectively, the best reason to go here. Perhaps this is part of why my disappointment in the one instructor was so frustrating and disconcerting. In a few weeks we start the cohort, classes from 8 am to 3 pm Monday through Thursday for seven weeks. Right now I’m enjoy the break while looking forward to a summer that will prepare me for student teaching in the fall and get me excited about my future as an educator.
Return to the Blackboard 