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By on April 24, 2017 in Programs, Self-Assessment

Image by Wokandapix, pixabay.com

Many people dream of being a teacher, working with children and helping them to become successful individuals. While majoring in education, there are some key characteristics and tangible things that you will need. Each of these four items and qualities will help you to excel in your career as a teacher.

Communication Skills
As a teacher, you will interact with a wide variety of people. From the school security officer or police officer, to the principal and lunch personnel, knowing the staff in your school is crucial to being a successful teacher. In addition to communicating with your fellow teachers and the school principal, guidance counselor, and other staff members, you will also regularly communicate with the parents and caregivers of school kids. Excellent communication skills will be critical to success.

Required Education
Earning an online master’s degree in education prepares you to be a successful teacher. In many school districts, an online master’s degree in education is required in order to become a tenured teacher. By earning your degree online, you can fit it into your work schedule and still enjoy personal and family time. An online master’s degree in education can also help to boost your salary and job prospects.

Patience and Persistence
Some kids will not learn as quickly as others. A few of the lessons that you prepare may not be as effective as you had hoped. You will face these and other challenging situations in your daily life as a teacher. Patience will be key to working your way through them. You will also need to persist through the difficulties and keep on trying new things until you find what works.

A Passion for Learning
Great teachers have a passion for learning. They delight in watching others learn and seeing someone’s face change as a lesson “clicks”. You should have a lifelong passion for learning and discovering new things. Think outside of the textbook and consider some real-world ways to help kids learn. Your enthusiasm for the learning process will be evident to every child who walks through your classroom’s doors.

A degree in education will help to prepare you for what will happen in your classroom. Outside of your bachelor’s and master’s degrees, you will also need to develop or enhance some of your own personality traits. Enthusiasm, passion for your career, patience, persistence and excellent communications skills will take you a long way in your career as a teacher.

This article was contributed by guest author Rachelle Wilber.

By on November 23, 2016 in Academic Life
Image by Faustin Tuyambaze, unsplash.com

Image by Faustin Tuyambaze, unsplash.com

When starting out in college, many students struggle to find direction. A great degree can also make the difference between stagnation in the workplace and bountiful career advancements in new territories. Take a look at these four degree programs to increase your knowledge and carve out a future of leadership, innovation, and success.

Graphic Design
If you’re tech-savvy, a degree in graphic design may be just what you’re looking for. Propel your future into the technological world of computers and design with such a degree. You can use your specialized knowledge to develop various artistic endeavors for ads, design, and much more. At the forefront of innovation, a degree in graphic design provides students with practical skills that apply to many industries, from medicine to education. Formal training in graphic design promises a stable yet mentally stimulating career with limitless possibilities. Most graphic designers are always busy with new projects and ideas.

Public Administration Degrees
Public administration is a field that most people don’t think of when students investigate degrees of interest. Through this degree program, you’ll succeed as a leader in public service and government policy. Earning a degree in public administration is one route worth investigating. It’s no easy task to facilitate widespread change, but an online master in public administration degree program can give you the tools to manage civil servants and organize projects. From fundraising to urban planning, there’s no end to the possibilities this degree affords.

Marketing Analyst
With this kind of a degree, you would be analyzing market trends in the business industry. For those interested in this sort of thing, the possible applications for such a degree are endless. With entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy, you can push yourself to succeed. Pursuing an MBA or other business or marketing-related degrees can result in a wide variety of careers. From financial analysis to consulting, an MBA becomes the most valuable when combined with another area of expertise. This is especially true in the age of the internet, where managing a business is becoming more and more possible. Get ahead of the game with a degree that teaches you how to monetize your area of expertise in the global marketplace. Overall, business is a great choice for the entrepreneurial risk-takers of the world.

English
If you’re an eloquent speaker, an avid reader, or have an interest in writing, a degree in English could be for you. Whether you have a large vocabulary or not, well-suited writers are always valuable to every industry. Take a look at what other specific areas you might be interested in when it comes to the fields of English and writing. Many students choose to have an emphasis in literature, creative writing, or technical writing, just to name a few. Whether you’re studying the finer details of crafting a powerful speech, the distinguishing characteristics of poetry and prose, or you love technical details, English is a great field to go into for those that have in interest in it.

When it comes to establishing success that lasts, education is key. Taking the time to discover what’s right for you is paramount. With these four degree programs, you’ll have a sturdy foundation to grow your future and ultimately have a blossoming career.

This article was contributed by guest author Rachelle Wilber.

By on January 13, 2015 in Academic Life, Programs
Science Image by Sean Loosier, Flickr

Image by Sean Loosier, Flickr

 
 
The scientist and the writer could not be more different. The former is concise and rational, while the latter often verbose and artistic. Therefore, it should not be surprising that many science students, especially at the university level, shy away from any kind of intensive writing. Others still take every measure to avoid it entirely, painstakingly building their course schedules around classes that assess performance solely based on multiple choice examinations. Though this might be an alarming fact (considering that most of these young people are studying to become our future doctors and scientific leaders) it is not really that surprising.

Speaking from experience, to excel at any scientific discipline (at least in the classroom) you learn early on that memorization and mathematics are more important than coherent prose. You get marks for what you know, not how well you communicate it. One word answers are best, bullet points are rewarded and sentences unnecessary. Beware of being stylistic or using advanced syntax; these practices are likely to lower your mark regardless of whether or not they enhance your work.

You could argue that this lack of emphasis on writing is an inherent quality of the scientific study – and you would not be wrong. The humanities and social sciences by the very nature of their subject matter not only lend themselves more easily to written evaluations, but quite often they require it. Therefore, the ability to write, and write well, is unintentionally cultivated in students of these disciplines because it is often the key to getting higher grades. Complex arguments and new insights are almost impossible to assess using multiple choice questions, whereas you don’t need an essay to confirm that a biology major knows what the genetic material is (Answer: DNA).

Though a good explanation for this anti-writing trend in science, it by no means justifies it. Writing is an essential part of our existence, especially in the modern global society. Face to face communication will only get you so far, but to really have an impact you need to be able to clearly transfer your ideas to paper. What good is all of this knowledge if you can’t communicate it in a way that will get people to sit up and take notice? Many researchers are doing brilliant work and publish incredible findings on a regular basis, but their prose is so convoluted, confusing or technical that their genius gets lost in translation.

As a result, the term “scientist” has almost become synonymous with “poor writer”. While this is by no means true of everyone pursuing this profession, it is quickly becoming a stereotype. Though not fundamentally negative, this label is not one that should be allowed to persist and I commend the various educators that are personally making an effort to remedy the situation. However, a lot of the interventions come too late. By the upper years, students have become used to a certain style of assessment and they are reluctant to change. Academic writing needs to be a priority from the start in order to allow science majors a chance to improve and gain confidence in their ability. The importance of good writing should never be an afterthought.