Annotated Transcript
~The following outlines the course work I completed
to earn my Master of Arts in Education (MAED)
through Michigan State University.~
Fall 2014
Click the course number in the circle for Official MSU Course Descriptions
Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport
- Dr. Daniel Gould
Sports create a highly influential platform for coaches as they seek to facilitate healthy athletic development of competence and character. This course helped me to mold my own coaching philosophy as it outlined how to keep winning in perspective and focus on the moral development of athletes. In exploring coaching education programs and leadership development courses, I developed a network of resources to help me continue striving for coaching excellence. Seeking to promote positive youth development, I was able to take a look inside my own coaching experience and begin to define why I coach, why I coach the way I do and how I define success within my program.
"Begin with the end in mind and die empty." ~Aeneas Williams
Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning
- Dr. Evelyn R. Oka
Teachers with a passion for learning are commonly confronted with a classroom full of students who do not share that passion. This course takes a mutidimentional approach to motivation as it addresses behavioral, cognitive-developmental and intrinsic motivation models that can be used to develop intervention strategies for students who lack motivation to learn. I was able to use my own classroom to identify challenges as I learned new ways to conceptualize and promote motivation. Focusing on how self perceptions and teacher beliefs affect success, I developed my own repertoire of strategies for addressing negative attitudes towards learning.
"Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do."
~ John Wooden
Spring 2015
As a coach, I am responsible, and can be held liable, for the athletes and facilities within my care. In defining risk management, outlining legal basics and requirements, and determining responsibility for coaches and administrators, this course brings into focus the serious legal aspects and safety concerns that affect athletic programs. I developed a critical eye capable of assessing the risk in various situations and managing administrative issues while positively promoting the goals of my program. I was able to recognize potential risks and consequences for not following protocal in regards to facilitating a safe and secure environment for my athletes.
"Hindsight is wonderful but foresight is better,
especially when it comes to saving life or some pain." ~Willliam Blake
Educational inquiry lies in multifaceted domains based on philosophy, research, observation, history and theory. Bringing to it your own experiences, this course provides a foundation for discussing the role of education and its purpose within our own contexts. I was able to look critically at various forms of hypermedia while developing autonomy through the unique, self-paced format. I came to understand education as a living, breathing organism affected through the "transformative" process of teacher inquiry applied in an educational setting.
"We do not learn from experience...
we learn from reflecting upon experience." ~ John Dewey
Summer 2015
Optimizing performance while promoting healthy development is a goal of most coaches. In this course, I discovered how anatomy/physiology, biomechanics, strength and conditioning principles and nutrition are interconnected concepts that combine to produce results and impact athletic performance. I was able to apply these concepts directly to my athletes, see results in action and reflect on how to implement these skills into my coaching philosophy. I developed the tools to take what I was researching in class and translate these ideas into practical application that will enhance the success of my program.
"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys
to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic
and creative intellectual activity."
~John F. Kennedy
Students face developmental challenges throughout their growth and learning as a result of various contextual barriers within their social environment. Through understanding risk and protective factors while fostering resilience and competence, teachers can design, implement and evaluate intervention plans to aid these students in reaching success. This course allowed me to conceptualize the many factors that can inhibit a child's learning and development through the application of psychoeducation intervention focused on prevention and treatment. I developed a theory-based plan to increase school engagement in minority students at-risk of dropping out.
Fall 2015
"Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn.
Students who aren't, come to school to be loved."
~Nicholas A. Ferroni
True athletic development begins with a moral coach grounded in solid sociological, psychological and instructional principles. This course takes a coaches perspective and looks at holistic athletic development from the foundations of coaching ethics, interpersonal communication practices, athlete motivation and confidence. Through reflection and observation, I developed my own coaching philosophy that stretches beyond the physical to use mental skills training and goal based communication to enhance performance.
"A good coach will make his players see what they can become
rather than what they are." ~Ara Parseghian
Change does not come easy and within the context of educational organizations, it also does not come quickly. This course looks at organizational development from a leadership perspective that seeks growth and positive change. I was able to critically look at my organization and determine the best approaches to seek change while identifying the leadership's response to and engagement in changes for the sake of advancement. I gained a deeper understanding of my own leadership capabilities by analyzing and understanding a challenge, identifying alternatives to that challenge and making appropriate decisions.
Spring 2016
"The secret to change is to focus all of your energy,
not on fighting the old, but on building the new." ~Socrates
From the moment we are born until the day that we die, we are constantly learning, evolving and adapting our mental processes. Whether intentional or accidental, focused or instinctive, learning is affected by our previous knowledge, based on our contexts and perspectives, and represents our motivations. I developed an understanding of my expertise through making connections and recognizing habits within my own learning constructs. I was able to determine concepts that may hinder or support learning in my students while creating lessons that focus on experience to drive cognitive, emotional and behavioral development.
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember.
Involve me and I learn.." ~Benjamin Franklin
The final course requirement for this degree entails creating a meaningful enhibition of completed coursework to develop an online presence that can be used for networking and sharing. Reflecting upon the my experience in grad school has allowed me to put my learning into perspective and align my goals with my current focus. This portfolio serves to display my learning by showcasing artifacts from various courses, outlining my future learning goals, explaining my teaching philosophy as well as displaying many more pages that give viewers a glimpse into my experiences as a lifelong learner, educator and coach.
