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Masters of Education in Secondary Education Self-Study

Brief History of M.Ed. in Secondary Education-Continuing Professional

The M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Continuing Professional) degree program has been a long standing program of the College of Education (CoE). In 2000, this program was substantially revised by a secondary faculty committee with input from the elementary faculty, and then formally approved by the department faculty. The new program was approved by the CoE Curriculum Committee, then by the University Curriculum Committee. The current program of study is delivered throughout the state. Indeed, there are many cohorts of M.Ed. in Secondary Education students in Phoenix as well as students located in many other locations who take course work in face-to-face or on-line formats in a more traditional program. Some flexibility exists within the program of study with the provision that course substitutions can be made to address unique student learning goals, course availability, and employer requirements with the approval of the advisor. With the advent of the on-line format, students in other states and countries also enroll in this degree program or take courses for professional development.

During the 2009-10 academic year, many secondary content areas began to offer content-specific advanced degrees in secondary education. The migration of secondary program offerings and the overall reduction in education-related programs during the economic downturn has significantly affected the overall enrollment of the M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Continuing Professional) degree program. From a high enrollment period of over 200 enrolled candidates, the program enrollment has steadily declined. Recent curricular revisions have reduced the number of credit hours required to earn the M.Ed. in Secondary Education degree in an attempt to make the degree more attractive to teachers and other educational professionals.

Program Description

The Master of Education in Secondary Education prepares professionals for employment in leadership roles within public, private and charter secondary schools for grades 7-12. This program is for continuing secondary professionals; it does not lead to certification. Students normally complete their program of studies for this degree within 18-24 months of starting their course work. Students may choose to finish their course work with either a capstone experience or a thesis option; however, it is rare for a student to choose the thesis option.

M.Ed. in Secondary Education-Continuing Professional

Program Learning Outcomes1. Commitment to students

and their learning.2. Knowledgeable of subject

matter and how to teach it.

3. Responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

4. Think systematically about their practices and learn from experience.

5. Contribute as members of learning communities.

Enrollment in the program is contingent upon a student having a 3.0 GPA in their prior undergraduate course work and valid certification in secondary education. The current program of study is listed below. Recently, the secondary education faculty members streamlined the program of study by reducing the number of credit hours required for degree completion from 36 down to 30 hours, to be taken through curricular committees in Fall 2013. This change was initiated to make the program more succinct and competitive with other programs around the state.

Core Area Class RequirementsI. Introduction to Graduate Work

All students must take the following required class: EPS 605 Applied Educational Psychology

Students must take one of the following classes for 3 credit hours: EDR 610 Introduction to Research EDR 611 Action Research EPS 525 Introduction to Statistics

II. Professional Education Courses

Students must take three or four of the following classes for 9-12 credit hours:

ECI 521 Questioning Strategies ETC 547 Classroom Technology Applications ECI 593 (titles vary) ECI 599 (titles vary) ECI 569 Instructional Problems in Jr. High and Middle Schools ECI 603 Assessment of Students ECI 652 Gender Issues in Education ECI 671 Content Area Reading ECI 696 Professional Problems of Teachers

III. Foundations of Schooling

Students must take one of the following classes for 3 credit hours: EDF 500 Cultural Foundations of Education EDF 630 Foundations of Education Law EDF 670 Philosophy of Education EDF 671 History of American Education EDF 672 Comparative Education EDF 673 International Education EDF 677 Education Sociology

IV. Curriculum Construction

Students must take one of the following classes for 3 credit hours: ECI 666 Problems in Secondary School Curriculum ECI 675 Principles of Curriculum Construction

V. Major Field Students must take three to four classes (9-12 hours) in a content commonly taught in public schools, or endorsement courses in reading, special education or technology.

VI. Closure Students must take one of the following classes for 3-6 credit hours: ECI 698 Capstone Experience ECI 699 Thesis (Generally requires one semester residency in


the fall, spring or summer. If this option is chosen, the student needs to take less credit hours in areas II or V.)

All of the classes for this degree, except for the thesis class, are offered on-line during the major academic semesters (fall, spring) as well as during the summer sessions. The move to on-line delivery was made in 2000 to meet students’ needs across the state, as well as assist practicing teachers earn their master’s degree while working full-time. In addition, on-line course offerings allow students from throughout Arizona to participate in courses each semester to continue their professional development. This wide variety of student with varying backgrounds and experiences enhances the overall class experience for all students. With the ease of participation in on-line classes, more students are involved in the spring and fall semesters as they no longer have to wait to take classes during their non-contracted summer breaks as in the past.

Background Information

Enrollment

Degree-seeking Headcount of M.Ed. Secondary Education - Continuing Professional Students (PAIR data)

Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 20110

50

100

150

200

250

Enrollment

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Over the last seven years, enrollment in the Secondary Education Master’s Program has declined significantly. From enrollment figures for the fall 2003 to fall 2010, the number of graduate students enrolled in the program has decreased by 75%. This decrease has occurred


not only on the Flagstaff campus but across the entire statewide system as well. The reasons for this decrease are likely varied. Graduate degrees are no longer a requirement for recertification through the Arizona Department of Education. Teachers must only continue their professional development in some format, documentation 135 of professional development hours to satisfy recertification requirements. Compensation for teachers with advanced degrees has also been “frozen” on pay scales during the economic downturn. Graduate tuition has seen steady increases in the last three years as the university seeks a way to offset decreasing levels of state funding, while NAU’s tuition and fee schedule remains advantageous when compared to private degree granting institutions in Arizona like University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University, earning a graduate degree has become an increasingly expensive proposition. A student registering for the master’s degree in secondary education as a candidate in the NAU extended campus system student, pays several hundred dollars more per credit hour than was the case at the time of the previous program review. Each of these factors is likely contributing to the enrollment declines noted in this program of study.

Tracking the enrollment declines, the number of faculty members who contribute to the M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Continuing Professional) degree program has similarly declined. From 2003 to 2006, the program had eight secondary faculty members on the mountain campus who delivered courses for both the BSED in Secondary Education and the Masters with Secondary Education (both for the certification and the continuing professional programs) and one faculty member located in the extended campus system. In 2007-09, the T&L added two tenure-track faculty members in secondary education, Dr. Christine Lemley and Dr. Joseph Wegwert, but lost one faculty line due to a resignation/relocation. After the 2008-09 academic year, the number of faculty members in the secondary education program has declined, primarily due to retirements and attrition. For 2011-12 year, the secondary education program is served by five faculty members; four on the Flagstaff campus and one on the extended campus system.

Secondary Faculty Tenured/Tenure-Track and Non-Tenure Track

Secondary Faculty

FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12

Tenured/Tenure-Track

5 5 6 6 6 6 5 4 4

Non-Tenure Track

4 4 4 4 5 3 2 2 1

TOTAL 9 9 10 10 11 9 7 6 5Note: FY10 CSTL moved to CEFNS. One tenure-track and one non-tenure track faculty member lines were transferred to CEFNS with the program realignment. Other reductions in secondary faculty lines in secondary education have been a result of attrition through retirement. Looking at the enrollment trend, the faculty to enrolled students ratio has remained fairly stable (2006-7 = 130/10 or 13:1; 2011-12 46/5 or 9.2:1).


Graduation RatesM.Ed. Secondary Education Degrees Awarded by fiscal year (PAIR data)

Campus FY 04 FY 05 FY 06 FY 07 FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12Flagstaff 8 12 17 5 3 4 2 1 4

Online 3 5 1 0 0 6 0 2 0

Community 74 58 61 47 44 43 34 26 26

Yuma 3 3 4 1 1 1 2 1 1

TOTAL 88 78 83 53 48 54 38 30 31

Program Diversity and Student Engagement with Diversity

Although the numbers overall have declined in the program, it is interesting to note that the percentages of males have remained about the same and have actually increased except during the Fall of 2008. The number of Hispanic graduates has also increased, perhaps due to changing demographics across the state.

Northern Arizona University is committed to diversity, especially ethnic diversity in its student population. Both college and university goals speak to this. Increasing our student population in this degree, especially in regard to our Hispanic and Native American Students, is desired as the state demographics continue to fluctuate and increase in regard to the Hispanic K-12 student population (census data indicate 44.8 % Hispanic population under the age of 5 in 2012).

Number of Enrolled Students by Gender:Gender Fall 03 Fall 04 Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Fall 10 Fall 11Female 124

(69%)136

(66%)109

(71%)89

(68%)74

(67%)67

(94%)52

(68%)47

(70%)30

(65%)Male 57

(31%)70

(34%)45

(29%)41

(32%)36

(33%)34

(6%)25

(32%)20

(30%)16

(35%)TOTAL 181 206 154 130 110 101 77 67 46

Number of Enrolled Students by Race and Ethnicity:Race/Ethnicity Fall 03 Fall 04 Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Fall 10 Fall 11African American

4 (2%) 7 (3%) 8 (5%) 6 (5%) 2 (2%) 2 (2%) 0 1 (1%) 0

Asian American

3 (2%) 4 (2%) 0 3(2%) 6 (5%) 3 (3%) 2 (3%) 0 0

Hispanic 15 (8%) 17 (8%) 11 (7%) 9(7%) 8 (7%) 8 (8%) 9 (11%) 6 (10%) 6 (13%)Native American

8 (4%) 6 (3%) 4 (3%) 2 (1%) 1 (1%) 2 (2%) 1 (1%) 0

White 148 (82%)

165 (80%)

126 (82%)

106(82%) 92 (84%)

85 (84%)

61 (79%)

57 (86%)

38 (83%)


International 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1%) 1 (2%)Other/Not Specified

2 (1%) 6 (3%) 5 (3%) 4 (3%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 2 (3%) 1 (1%) 0

Two or more 1(1%) 1 (>1%) 0 0 0 2 (3%) 1 (1%) 1 (2%)TOTAL 181 206 154 130 110 101 77 67 46

M.Ed. in Secondary Education Self-Study Summary

What is the relationship of the M.Ed. in Secondary Education program to NAU’s mission and strategic goals?

The M.Ed. in Secondary Education program prepares professionals with the skills to be effective educators in their school districts (CoE Goal 2 Scholarship and Inquiry). Graduates of the program are prepared with the content knowledge necessary to function effectively in their role as teachers and leaders in their education setting (CoE Goal 1 Leadership in Arizona). There is a major emphasis within the program on working with underserved populations, particularly Native Americans (NAU Goal 6 Commitment to Native Americans, CoE Goal 4 Serving Native American Students) and Hispanics (CoE Goal 5 Serving Latino/a Students). Additionally, the curriculum integrates components of global diversity (NAU Goal 4 Global Engagement, CoE Goal 7 Globalization). Courses elaborate on these globalization goals and the interconnectedness of our worlds. Additionally, global experiences are offered to graduate students in multiple programs.

What is the quality of the program?

Since 2003, graduates of the M.Ed. in Secondary Education are employed throughout the nation, but specifically in Arizona at middle and high schools. These recent graduates continue to serve their school districts with renewed knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Many use their expertise to become teacher leaders and peer coaches within their districts. The quality of the program is assessed across several dimensions: core faculty teaching courses in the program of study, student evaluations of courses taught in the most recent academic year, faculty contributions to their discipline, the diversity of candidates in the program, results of assessment activities, surveys of candidate perceptions, and contributions to the university, state, and region.

Core Faculty

The M.Ed. in Secondary Education program relies on the expertise of faculty from three different departments within the College of Education. The Department of Teaching and Learning provides the core faculty members for the program who teach over half of the hours required for this degree program. The other fifty percent of the program hours are taught by colleagues from within the College of Education (faculty from Educational Leadership,


Educational Specialties, and Educational Psychology) along with content area faculties from other NAU colleges. The following table presents information about the lead faculty members for core courses in the M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Continuing Professional) program.

M.Ed. Secondary Education Core Faculty

Rank M.Ed. Secondary Education Courses Taught

Gae Johnson Full Professor ECI 521 Questioning StrategiesPatty Horn Full Professor ECI 659 Instructional Problems in Jr. High and Middle

SchoolsLaura Michael-Blocher Senior Lecturer ECI 671 Content Area ReadingGretchen McAllister Associate

ProfessorECI 696 Professional Problems of Teachers

Joseph Wegwert Assistant Professor

ECI 666 Problems in Secondary School Curriculum

Sherry Markel Associate Professor

ECI 652 Gender Issues in EducationECI 675 Principles of Curriculum ConstructionECI 698 Capstone Experience

Sandra Stone Full Professor ECI 699 ThesisProfessors, as needed, update core course syllabi with new publications in the field. All courses for the Masters in Secondary Education Continuing Professional are offered every semester or every other semester, maximizing availability for students. All students are required to take ECI 698, the Capstone Experience, and also one curriculum class (ECI 675, ECI 666, or ECI 649). Data is collected for each of these classes through key assessments called signature assignments. Students create electronic portfolios of their key assessments during their program.

At the secondary education graduate degree level, the courses that had signature assignments were: ECI 675 and ECI 698. The assignment for ECI 675 Principles of Curriculum Construction was to create a curriculum document that constitutes a major unit embedded within a course. The majority of our students (Flagstaff, Phoenix, Rural and Tucson) met or exceeded all of the standards. The capstone course is ECI 698 Capstone Experience. Candidates create a public presentation that summarizes the most important learning that they gained from their Secondary Education, M.Ed. Continuing Professional degree. Candidates also critique three other students’ presentations. ECI 698 data was not available.

Out of 117 students, Spring and Summer 2012, all but one student exceeded the standard and the rest met the standard. One student who did not meet the standard from ECI 675 on “Subject Standard” only in the Spring; only one student did not meet the standard on “Subject Standard” only in the Summer.


Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation

Course Evaluations

Teaching evaluations for T&L classes in the past two years are depicted in the chart below (5 point Likert scale; 5 is Outstanding; 4 is Very Good). Our instructors are evaluated as very good to outstanding. Most of our graduate courses are offered on-line, though Extended Campuses offer some of our courses in person. Students appear to be very satisfied with the instruction in our Masters in Secondary Education program. Our response rate from students averages about 52%. Low student response rate is a concern since COE went to electronic methods of rating professors several years ago.

Most courses received over the 4 point mark (very good toward outstanding) on the following measures: “increased knowledge” and “course worthwhile”. This indicates satisfaction and perceived learning. The lowest ratings, ECI 603 (Assessment of Students), also recorded the lowest response rate and only one section was offered. However, responses to EDR 610 were also rated at 3.80 and 3.71, respectively, with a 50 % response rate in 28 sections. One might argue for all sections, are we asking the right questions? How can we increase response rates? It is also important to mention that a new course evaluation instrument is being piloted during the 13-14 academic year.

More data need to be examined in regard to these evaluations. Looking at part-time evaluations of instructors in comparison with full time faculty may yield important factors. Also, the comments on evaluations could lead to important conclusions. For example, students have added requirements/expectations for writing (style, consistent APA format, etc.) in graduate programs. Comments to professors and their department chair often specifically question the need for this stringency; are these frustrations of students reflected in various ways in the course evaluations? Conversely, are some of the courses perceived as less rigorous than desired and therefore scored lower? Further data mining may address these types of issues.

Introduction to Graduate WorkCourse Number and Title

Sections Taught

2011-12

Response Rate

(range)

Increased Knowledge

Course Worthwhile

EPS 605: Educational Psychology Applied to Learning

18 48%(18-100%)

4.19 4.17

EDR 610 Introduction to Research 28 50%(0-100%)

3.80 3.71

EPS 525 Introduction to Statistics 12 48%(26-65%)

4.43 4.42

Professional Education Core Course Sections Response Increased Course


Number and Title Taught 2011-12

Rate (range)

Knowledge Worthwhile

ECI 521: Questioning Strategies 2 29%(17-100%)

4.83 4.83

ECI 603: Assessment of Students 1 10% 3.00 3.00ECI 652: Gender Issues in Education 1 43% 5.00 5.00ECI 659: Instructional Problems in Jr. High and Middle Schools

1 43% 5.00 5.00

ECI 671: Content Area Reading 3 32%(13-50%)

4.39 4.63

ECI 696: Professional Problems of Teachers 7 40%(12-70%)

4.15 4.01

ECI 698: Graduate Seminar (Capstone) 10 30% 4.48 4.49

Foundations of SchoolingCourse Number and Title

Sections Taught

2011-12

Response Rate

(range)

Increased Knowledge

Course Worthwhile

EDF 500: Cultural Foundations of Education 9 40%(13-78%)

4.20 4.18

EDF 630 Foundations of Education Law 5 26%(6-52%)

4.26 4.23

EDF 670 Philosophy of Education 8 31%(0-56%)

4.24 4.09

EDF 671 History of American Education 8 52%(0-100%)

4.67 4.56

EDF 672 Comparative Education 3 43%(13-90%)

3.96 3.91

EDF 673 International Education n/a n/a%(%)

Not taught Not taught

EDF 677 Education Sociology 4 48%(33-67%)

4.43 4.32

Curriculum ConstructionCourse Number and Title

Sections Taught

2011-12

Response Rate

(range)

Increased Knowledge

Course Worthwhile

ECI 666: Problems in Secondary School Curriculum

2 50%(0-100%)

3.80 3.40

ECI 675: Principles of Curriculum Construction

7 35%(0-60%)

3.91 3.74

Closure/CapstoneCourse Number and Title

Sections Taught

2011-12

Response Rate

(range)

Increased Knowledge

Course Worthwhile

ECI 698: Graduate Seminar (Capstone) 10 30% 4.48 4.49

Faculty Contributions to Discipline or Profession through Scholarly, Creative or Professional Activity


Dr. Gae Johnson, full professor, has published articles on middle school learning in the areas of native language learning, special education, mathematics and science (2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003). She was awarded the David A. Williams Award for Innovation in Education in 2006. She has written several grants for the Arizona Teacher Excellence Coalition, 2003-2005), totaling $143,000. Dr. Johnson has presented at numerous international and national conferences including the Learning Disability Association International Conference (2010), the Hawaii International Conference on Education (2009), and the International Bilingual/Multicultural Education Conference (2006). She has also presented at regional and state mathematics conferences for the NCTM national organization. Dr. Johnson has served as President of the Arizona NCTM organization.

Dr. Patty Horn, full professor, has served as the director of the teacher induction program and Northern Arizona University (2005-11) and was the founding executive director of the Arizona K-12 Center (1999-00). She has published many books on professional growth and the practice of mentoring teachers (2011, 2010, 2006-09). Dr. Horn has presented papers at AERA (2008), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2006, 2007), and the National Staff Development Council Annual Conference (2005). She has been awarded numerous grants on improving teacher quality funded by the Arizona Board of Regents totaling over one million dollars (2006-10). She was awarded an $880,251 grant from the U.S. Department of Education (2004-07) and another $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education (2002-05).

Laura Michael-Blocher, who worked in the program for several years as a senior lecturer, brought 14 years of high school and middle school teaching experience to our students. She taught many workshops on reading in the content area and on technology. Ms. Blocher developed several courses for on-line delivery. She secured many literacy grants. She was awarded the Kappa Delta Pi International Program Award for Outstanding Website (2007), the Robert and Joy Crozier Leadership Award (2007) and the NAU’s College of Education Teacher of the Year (2007).

Dr. Gretchen McAllister, associate professor, is the coordinator of our C & I doctoral program. She is also the coordinator of the International Scholar Academy at NAU. Dr. McAllister is the former director of the Martin-Springer Institute at NAU (2005-2009). She has written several book chapters about research (2009) and also multicultural professional development for African American teachers (2002). She has written many articles about teacher preparation (2005), the role of empathy in teacher education (2002), and cross-cultural issues (2000, 2001). She has presented at international and national conferences such as the National Association for Multicultural Education (2008), The National Conference of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (2008), and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (2005). Dr. McAllister has been awarded the NAU President’s Award (2007), was a


visiting professor in Chengdu, China, and was nominated for the Commission on the Status of Women’s Outstanding Achievement and Contribution award.

Dr. Joe Wegwert, assistant professor, has his experience in secondary education history, political science, gender studies, and democracy. He brings 17 years of high school social studies teaching experience. He has published articles on exploring leadership, culture, and schooling (2003) and on democratic schooling (2002). He has numerous books chapters about citizenship (2011), GLBTQ youth and the hidden curriculum (2011), schooling and teacher education (2004). He has been awarding the LOUIE Teaching Award nomination (2009-10), and the Graduate School Academic Achievement Assistantship award (2002). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Haven Montessori School and on the Executive Board for Phi Delta Kappa at NAU.

Dr. Sherry Markel, associate professor, former chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning (2002-2007), has published articles on literacy (2010), graduate capstone experiences (2011), an international publication (2007), and the condition of education in Arizona (2004, 2005). Dr. Markel has written numerous grants regarding performance-based assessment ($49,687, 2005), electronic portfolios ($30,000, 2003), and technology integration ($300,000, 2001). She has presented at the ATMC conference (2009), the Professional development Schools National Conference (2008), and NCTM conference (2006).

See the Appendices file for faculty Vitas, as well as documentation for other publications, presentations, and professional activities of faculty teaching courses in the Masters in Secondary Education Continuing Professional.

Program Diversity and Student Engagement with Diversity

While all faculty members are of European American (White) heritage, student enrollment for T&L in 2011 consists of 28% students of color with the majority being Hispanic/Latino students (20%). Approximately one third of the students are men, and two thirds are women. In addition, many of the T&L’s faculty members teaching in this program infuse a multicultural, social justice, and diversity perspective in these graduate courses. Lastly, students engage with diversity on a variety of dimensions in the curriculum. For example, in our ECI 652 Gender Issues in Education and ECI 696 Professional Problems of Teachers classes, students are challenged to become engaged with issues of gender, race/ethnicity, and differences in cultural background and beliefs as these relate to schools and instructional practices.

Assessment


In 2010, an Annual Report on Degree Program Assessment of Student Learning was submitted to the NAU Office of Academic Assessment (OAA). This report delineated how student learning outcomes and program effectiveness is assessed through T&L’s signature assignments in ECI 675 and ECI 698. Student learning is also assessed through ongoing feedback in coursework and through final grading; and through informal feedback from professors and advisors.

The results of the June 2010 report indicated the following:

1. Faculty would like another year of data before making program decisions. Faculty will meet during the 2010-2011 year to review the signature assignments.

2. The Department of Teaching and Learning has attended to the process of making sure all faculty are having students complete the signature assignments and that all assignments are evaluated by faculty. This is an on-going need with our new assessment implementation. T&L wants to make sure all faculty members receive training support as well.

3. Students demonstrate knowledge and skills in core and foundational areas related to our signature assignment classes. At the secondary education graduate degree level, the courses that had signature assignments were: ECI 675 and ECI 698. An average of 90% of students earned As in ECI 675 Principles of Curriculum Construction and ECI 698 Capstone Experience. (Note: ECI 675 and ECI 698 grades include both our Masters in Elementary Education and Masters in Secondary Education students as both these classes are required for these two degrees.) The assignment for ECI 675 was to create a curriculum document that constitutes a major unit embedded within a course. The majority of our students (Flagstaff, Phoenix, Rural and Tucson) met or exceeded all of the standards. The capstone course is ECI 698. Candidates create a public presentation that summarizes the most important learning that they gained from their Secondary Education, MED Continuing Professional degree. Candidates also critique three other students’ presentations. ECI 698 data was not available.

Out of 117 students, Spring and Summer 2009, most students exceeded the standard and the rest met the standard, except for one student who did not meet the standard from ECI 675 on “Subject Standard” only in the Spring; only one student did not meet the standard on “Subject Standard” only in the Summer.

M.Ed. Secondary Education Grades


(Note: ECI 675 and ECI 698 grades include both our Masters in Elementary Education and Masters in Secondary Education students as both these classes are required for these two degrees.)

Course and Grade:ECI 675


A 343(90%)

272(92%)

225(90%)

151(89%)

19490%

236(93%)

147(87%)

109(96%)

82(86%)

B 27 17 20 15 16 13 16 2 9C 8 1 2 2 2 1 2 0 1F 3 6 2 2 4 3 4 2 4TOTAL 381 296 249 170 216 253 169 113 95

Course and Grade:ECI 698


A 284(91%)

315(88%)

309(89%)

275(89%)

220(92%)

278(93%)

210(95%)

153(93%)

114(90%)

B 25 32 30 11 12 18 8 10 12C 1 8 3 10 3 2 1 0 1F 1 3 6 3 3 2 1 1 0TOTAL 311 358 348 299 238 300 220 164 127

4. T&L is currently not collecting data on technology or dispositions. All students are meeting or exceeding the diversity standard for Spring 2009. No data was collected on diversity for the summer.

5. Overall, candidates are meeting professional standards in all areas where data was collected. T&L needs to make sure the data collected in the future for the spring and summer are the same categories. This was not the case this year. Faculty will review future data to see where the strengths and weaknesses are and how the T&L will address these.

6. T&L has a reflection piece for the capstone course, ECI 698. T&L has an exit survey. However, this data was not available for this report.

Student/Alumni Evaluations of Program


In 2008, T&L surveyed Alumni from the three secondary education programs: Respondents by degree programs: (N=95)BSED: 36 (38%)MEd with Certification: 28 (29.5%)MEd Continuing Professional: 30 (32%)

The data was not disaggregated by program. The following is a narrative summary of these three programs, including our M.Ed. Continuing Professional.

1. Alumni commented that the top three factors that influenced their decision to enroll in NAU was location, availability of the program, and cost. 52% cited Flagstaff as the Campus of Attendance.

2. 93% of respondents are currently employed with 75% in a position directly related to their NAU training. The most frequently cited subject matters areas in which they are currently teaching are: Sciences, English, History/Social Science, and Mathematics.

3. The Professional Standard areas alumni most frequently cited where they were most highly prepared are: Understand the central concepts of the subject area, communicate clear expectations for student learning, create lesson plans that align with state and district standards, and develop lesson plans appropriate for curricular goals.

4. The Professional Standard areas alumni most frequently cited as a low degree of preparedness are: Work with school administrators, work effectively with parents to support student learning, teach English language learners, and teach students with disabilities.

5. Alumni most frequently cited the following factors as a high degree of satisfaction: Length of program, faculty expertise and quality of instruction.

6. Alumni most frequently cited the following factors as a low degree of satisfaction: Quality of advising, test preparation assistance, and employment assistance.

7. On dispositional factors, 81% indicated they felt adequately or well-prepared in “developing a sense of confidence in their professional knowledge.” 85% felt adequately or well-prepared in “developing an empathetic and caring disposition for working with students.” 87% felt adequately or well-prepared for “developing


knowledge of the ethics of their profession.” 86% felt adequately or well-prepared for “developing an openness to new ideas in the profession.”

8. The three most frequently cited valuable experiences noted by alumni were: Student teaching, faculty, and class work.

9. Respondents were asked to rate their opinions regarding three summative program questions regarding the effectiveness of their program and their degree of satisfaction with it. 82% responded that their program’s curriculum effectively or very effectively prepared them for their professional field. 85% agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with their graduate program when they graduated. 78%, in reflecting on their satisfaction with their graduate program, agreed or strongly agreed that they were very satisfied.

Contributions of M.Ed. Secondary Education Continuing Professional Program

Contributions To the University: What is the relationship of the M.Ed. in Secondary Education Continuing Professional program to NAU’s mission and strategic goals?

The Masters in Secondary Education program contributes to the NAU mission for graduate programs and research. Graduate students are involved in many areas of campus life. Graduate students also contribute to the NAU mission through assistantships on campus. The coursework in the Masters in Secondary education prepares students to understand and engage in research, to understand school contexts and problems, and to renew content and curriculum pedagogy.

The Masters in Secondary Education program is most closely aligned with the following NAU strategic goal: 1. Learning-centered university; 3. Vibrant sustainable community; 6. Commitment to Native Americans; and 7. Innovative, effective, and accountable practices. With the on-line format, the program is able to meet the needs of students on-campus, throughout the state, across the nation and internationally as well. All students engage in learning-centered, innovative strategies and engage with each other through on-line discussions. Students learn through collaboration and issue/context-oriented education.

Commitment to diversity is demonstrated by the inclusion of Native American and Hispanic/Latino/a populations. While the number of students from diverse backgrounds has decreased across time, the program has dedicated significant to outreach to native and Hispanic populations. In 2003, T&L had 8% of enrolled students from Hispanic backgrounds and 2% from American Indian backgrounds. In 2005, the program noted a decrease in enrollment


from both groups which continues today. From anecdotal and survey information, it appears that this reduction is primarily due to economic factors. Recruitment of diverse students continues to be an emphasis of the program.

Contributions To the Community, State, and Region: What does the program contribute to the region, state or local community?

The contribution to the local community is primarily through support of our on-campus graduate assistantships. Some of T&L’s graduate assistants work in innovative, site-based secondary programs where the focus is on transformative education (i. e., ISTEP). Other students have the opportunity to work with undergraduate practicum and programs.

Program on-line students also have opportunities to impact their local communities through research and context- and problem-based learning as they pursue their masters’ degree while employed throughout the nation and world in the field of secondary education.

Plans for the FutureFuture improvements for the M.Ed. in Secondary Education-Continuing Professional fall into four broad categories: Students, faculty/staff, program enhancements, and program delivery system.

The Masters in Secondary Education program supports our COE strategic goals, particularly goals 1, 4, 5, and 7:

Goal 1: Maintain prominent leadership in Arizona in education and human services. T&L’s program prepares professional educators to promote learner success. T&L continually looks for ways to be innovative in our program so it can “develop education leaders who create tomorrow’s opportunities.”

Goal 4: Be a national leading college of education serving Native Americans. Because of the collaborative nature of our professors, T&L does increase Native American perspectives in its curriculum. T&L’s plans for the future include cultivating partnerships with Native American entities and to increase recruitment and retention of its secondary master’s students.

Goal 5: Be a national leading college of education serving Latina/Latino/Hispanic students. T&L has made excellent progress on this goal as noted by the increase in our


Latina/Latino/Hispanic students in all T & L programs. The T&L’s plans for the future include increasing diverse perspectives in its curriculum.

Goal 7: Increase global engagement. Even though T&L’s on-line program reaches global students, this is a goal, which T&L embraces for the future. T&L wants to increase opportunities for students and faculty to experience programs abroad and to also increase its global perspectives in curriculum.

Students:

Increasing our student population is a goal of the T&L. Additionally, recruiting a diverse student population is desired.

Faculty/Staff

Given the current level of program numbers, at this time, we see no increase in faculty number at the secondary level. Should there be an increase of student population, this could change. However, partnering with other faculty across departments and colleges may in order.

Program

It is important for us to develop content-specific degree paths such as middle school and reading for secondary education. It would be desirable to examine such paths with other departments, which offer secondary content-specific master’s degrees. This bridging of departments and colleges could potentially maximize faculty collaboration and highlight strengths of dual-type programs. Although more faculty may not be needed to initiate and implement such work, faculty time will be needed. Another option is leveraging current grant work across departments and colleges as a springboard for future collaborations and grant possibilities.

Reviewing the program based on course evaluations is in order. Also, surveying graduates of the program could yield important data from which draw important conclusions for improving the program.

Delivery System:

Like our other programs, we offer face-to-face and online options; we will explore hybridization and short course formats. We will explore markets outside Arizona to include, but not be, limited to, the western states.


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