College of Education News

Taking the leap to follow her passion

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Alumna Brittnie Morrison, ‘21, started at Missouri State University as a pre-nursing major.  

“As a first-generation student, everyone talked about how proud they were of me and how proud they were to say they were going to have a nurse in the family,” Morrison said.  

But in her third semester, she realized that she lost her passion for nursing.  

“I couldn’t help but feel like I was wasting my time and money working toward a goal I no longer cared about,” she said. 

She contemplated dropping out of college, but her job at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield took her in an unexpected direction.  

The switch to teaching 

As the semester progressed, Morrison learned that she loved working with kids. Her job became her escape from the stresses of college. 

“No matter how much stress I felt from my schoolwork, I always felt instant relief when I walked through the doors of the Boys & Girls Club,” she said. “That’s when I knew education was my calling.” 

Morrison changed her major to elementary education and began classes in spring 2019.  

“Once I changed my major, Missouri State became home,” she said. “I had my first practicum at York Elementary School. I walked out of the school and began crying because I knew I was in the right spot.” 

Morrison said that the professors in the College of Education went out of their way to make every student feel like they belong.  

“The passion they have for teaching is radiating,” she said. “There aren’t enough words to express how proud I am to be a bear.”  

Back to her roots 

Morrison completed her student-teaching and is now a fifth-grade teacher at the school district she went to for kindergarten through high school.  

“The Raymore-Peculiar community helped raise me,” she said. “I have so many amazing memories from Peculiar Elementary as a student, and now I get to make more as a teacher.”  

Teaching has been the most rewarding job she’s ever had. Her favorite part is building relationships with her students. 

“That’s truly why I teach. If I can make a difference in just one child’s life, then I am happy.”

Morrison feels that her time at MSU prepared her to be a successful teacher.  

“But it is tough. For anyone who is in an education program, I suggest they lean on their professors and peers,” she said. “They were always there for me when I needed clarification, and I am grateful for the experience.” 

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Carrying on the family tradition

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Lydia Otten transferred to Missouri State University after getting her associate’s degree in teaching at East Central Community College (ECC) near her hometown of New Haven, Missouri.  

She is majoring in elementary education and started her classes in fall 2022.  

Otten knew Missouri State was where she wanted to be after her first visit.  

“When I toured the campus, it already felt like home,” Otten said. “I had the feeling it was where I was meant to be.” 

Her parents attended Missouri State, and her father was also a transfer student from ECC. Otten said they influenced her decision to transfer to Missouri State because they loved their experience so much.  

From one great school to the next 

Though Missouri State felt like home, Otten was still nervous to transfer schools.  

“I had such a good time at ECC, and I was sad to leave because I loved their education department,” she said. “When I transferred, I was afraid the professors at MSU would be distant and wouldn’t want to get to know me.” 

Her professors proved her wrong after her first week on campus.  

“My professors are amazing and make me feel comfortable,” she said. “They want to get to know me, which is refreshing to see.”  

But her appreciation for Missouri State extends beyond the professors.  

“One of my favorite parts of the day is the walk to and from class and looking at the views,” Otten said. “And I have met and connected with so many people.” 

She added that her courses have been informative and exciting.  

“I’ve learned so much, and I’m excited to apply this information when I teach,” she said. “I’m also getting experiences I never thought I would have, like watching co-teaching in action.” 

Overall, Otten said she is thrilled with her transfer experience, and she is looking forward to the rest of her program.  

Lifelong dream on the verge of coming true 

Otten has always wanted to be a teacher. She loves the classroom environment and watching children have “a-ha” moments. 

“My mom is an elementary teacher, and she has been one of my biggest influences,” Otten said. “I was her teacher cadet in high school, and watching her in action was inspiring.” 

Otten wants to create supportive environments for her students, just as her teachers have always done for her.     

“I want to help my future students grow academically, but I also want them to have fun and know they are loved,” she said. “I cannot imagine doing anything else other than teaching.” 

Otten cannot wait to have her own classroom after she graduates in May 2024. She is grateful that her program at Missouri State allows students to practice their teaching alongside their coursework.  

“We aren’t just making lesson plans to make them. We’re also getting to teach them, and I’m so excited!”  

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MSU alumna goes above and beyond

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Christy Osborne, a recent graduate of Missouri State University who teaches at Central Park Elementary, was recognized for her outstanding teaching.  

She was awarded the Teacher of the Year for the Monett School District.  

Osborne graduated from Missouri State in May 2022 with a master’s in elementary education and a graduate certificate in dyslexia. She is currently in her 10th year of teaching third grade.   

Osborne’s colleagues nominated her for the award because she goes above and beyond for her students.  

Using her passion to help others 

Several years into her teaching career, Osborne believed she had more to learn to be the best teacher for her students. She enrolled in the master’s program while teaching full-time. 

However, during the beginning of her coursework, she did not feel driven. She felt that her priorities needed to be fully on her teaching career, so she put the program on hold.  

She later noticed that some of her students were showing dyslexic qualities and realized she did not have the training to teach them.  

“The students felt dumb, and they thought something was wrong with them,” Osborne said. “I knew I needed more specialized training on how to help these students realize that they are smart and help them succeed academically.” 

When she discovered that Missouri State had a graduate certificate in dyslexia, she rejoined the program. She thought it was what she needed to help the struggling readers she sees every day.  

“Once I heard about the dyslexia certificate, I knew I had chosen the right college and picked up right where I left off,” Osborne said.  

During the last year of her program, she put what she learned from her studies into practice and won Monett Teacher of the Year.   

Asking for help to become a better teacher  

Throughout Osborne’s teaching career, she learned the importance of asking questions. 

“One of the most challenging aspects when I began teaching was asking for help,” Christy said.  

“Once I got my degree, I thought I should know exactly what I needed to do. I thought that if I asked too many questions, it meant that I was not a good teacher.”  

Osborne started talking with other teachers a few weeks into her first year of teaching and admitted that she felt overwhelmed. She discovered that she was not alone in her struggles.  

“After seeing teachers with years of experience still asking questions, I realized that in order to learn, you must continue to ask questions.”

Osborne’s ability to ask questions and admit when she needs help has allowed her to develop extraordinary teaching skills.   

She uses these teaching skills to help her students thrive in their academic and personal lives.  

“Making a difference in the day-to-day lives of my students is the most rewarding part of being a teacher,” Osborne said. 

“But to say that teaching is rewarding is not enough. Teaching students to be the best person they can be is the most important task teachers face.”  

As a recipient of the Monett Teacher of the Year award, Osborne has learned how to help students be the best version of themselves.  

Advice for future teachers 

Osborne advises future teachers to stick with their career through the difficult times. She said that teaching will be hard, physically and emotionally, and they will be thoroughly exhausted.  

But the challenges will be worth it. 

“The sparkle in the student’s eye when they overcome a struggle to understand something, the voice of confidence when the quiet student raises a hand to give an insightful answer and the smile on the students’ faces make the difficult parts of teaching seem so unimportant,” Osborn said. 

“These children are the future of our world. We make today better for our students; they make tomorrow better for all of us.”

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Developing teaching skills through community engagement

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Community awareness is an essential component of teaching.  

“Teachers are community workers. Effective teaching requires ethical leadership and cultural literacies,” Dr. Jennice McCafferty-Wright said.  

“This is especially true when we engage with the newest members of our community and those who have fled exploited and war-torn homelands.” 

Wright is an assistant professor in the department of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State University. She teaches courses that help students become educators. 

To help her students develop teaching skills and community awareness, Wright incorporated a service-learning practicum into her course, Methods of Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Schools. 

Making a lifelong difference 

The English Language Institute at Missouri State provides free English classes for adult refugees from Afghanistan. While the parents are in class, Wright’s students engage with the parents’ children.  

A few evenings a week, the students provide a safe learning environment for the children to learn through play.  

The students follow the children’s lead. They engage with the children in English to help them learn the language, and express interest in the children’s cultures and home languages, Dari or Pashto.  

The students’ efforts have a profound impact on the children and their families.  

“Some of the mothers of these young children are preliterate. The Taliban did not permit them to learn to read or write in their home languages when they were younger,” Wright said.  

“Now, they live in a country where literacy is an essential requirement for providing for their families. The skills learned in their English classes are essential to their families’ survival in the United States.” 

Molding to the community’s needs 

Through service-learning, the students develop a deeper understanding of their course material.  

Students can connect course topics, such as teaching for global understanding and civic engagement, to their practicum experience.  

By working with children who are refugees, the students learn valuable skills that will help them teach students from all backgrounds.  

“The students practice strategies for working with children who are English Language Learners,” Wright said.  

“They also support the development of vocabulary that will help the children engage with social studies and other school subjects.” 

It is crucial that teacher candidates learn how to adapt their teaching approach to meet their students’ needs, especially those from vulnerable communities.  

“In a perfect world, there would be no need for teachers to know how to support victims of manmade crises,” Wright said.  

“But we must teach both for the world in which we live and the more perfect world our students have the potential to create.”   

Wright plans to incorporate the practicum in future courses to continue serving the community and helping her students become well-rounded educators.  

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What to know about the Teacher Pathways program

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Opportunities to earn college credit for general education courses in high school classrooms have been around for many years.  

Missouri State University’s College of Education (COE) and Springfield Public Schools (SPS) recently partnered to give high school students college credit for classes and experiences to prepare them to be teachers.  

“Students are able to explore the field of education through the regular classroom setting, guest speakers, field trips and practicum placements,” said Katie Kensinger, coordinator of college and career readiness at SPS.  

“The Teacher Pathways program allows high school students to understand much more about the profession. This is essential for them to truly know if teaching is what they want to pursue after graduation.”  

In the classroom  

Students enrolled in dual credit courses take the classes at their high school.  

The high school teachers offering the courses work with Dr. Denise Cunningham, head of the childhood education and family studies department, and the dual credit office to make sure their syllabi align with MSU course requirements.  

“I worked on aligning the coursework that they are offering with the standards required by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE),” Cunningham noted.  

“Now, each program has its own introductory course – early childhood, elementary, and combined middle and secondary.”  

High school students can take up to two courses in education at a reduced fee per credit hour. Students who qualify for free and reduced lunches can earn dual credit free of charge. All credits transfer into an MSU education program.  

“Partnering with MSU strengthens our SPS curriculum and ensures it is more relevant,” Kensinger remarked.  

“Beginning college with a clear vision and applicable credits may help some students graduate within four years.” 

The future of teaching 

Teacher Pathways can help high school students finalize their decision about wanting to pursue teaching as a career.  

“I’ve learned how to write a proper lesson plan and introduce lessons to students in an engaging way,” said Michelle Dobre, a senior at Hillcrest High School. “The practicum gave me an opportunity to see what it’s actually like being a teacher.”  

Cunningham explained that an early practicum gives high school students a peek into a profession that has so many rewarding qualities, even when there are tough times.  

“We need our best and brightest to become teachers. They’re the ones who can inspire the lives of everyone else.”   

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