childhood education and family studies Archives

Missouri State offers one of the most affordable master’s in education

November 17, 2021 by Rosemary Driscoll

Best Value Schools recognized Missouri State University’s master’s in elementary education program as one of the most affordable online master’s in education.

Having a master’s degree can open many opportunities in the field of education.

“Earning an advanced degree in elementary education provides teachers with a pay increase and the knowledge and skills to delve deeper into content,” Dr. Denise Cunningham, head of the childhood education and family studies department, said.

“It can also open doors for becoming an instructional coach, curriculum director, gifted and talented teacher or simply a teacher leader in your school.”

Explore MSU’s master’s in elementary education program

About the ranking

Missouri State was ranked number 26 among the most affordable programs in the U.S.

Best Value Schools emphasizes that MSU’s program “bridges research and practice, and helps teachers gain the knowledge to manage classrooms for learning, and to meet the needs of all elementary-level learners.”

How the ranking is determined

Best Value Schools researched and ranked accredited universities that offer master’s in education degrees in an online format.

The cost per credit hour and the length of the program were both considered in determining the most affordable programs.

MSU was also recognized for the master’s in school counseling program.

About the program

The master’s in education program at MSU provides flexible options that students can customize to reach their career goals.

Several graduate certificate options provide further opportunities to build specialized knowledge.

Certificate options include:

Learn more about earning your master’s in education

Dr. Elizabeth King featured in Mind’s Eye magazine

September 7, 2021 by Rosemary Driscoll

Dr. Elizabeth King studies social-emotional development in young children. Her recent research into how preschool teachers affirm or minimize children’s emotions – and how it varies between genders – is featured in the 2021 issue of Mind’s Eye.

The full story is available on the site now.

Here is an excerpt:

King believes gender plays a major role in our social-emotional development.

“The ways we talk about emotions with young children is affected by and affects our views of gender,” King said.

“Our views of gender influence who we allow to experience and express various emotions. That changes how we talk about emotions with children.”

Read the full story

Congratulations, Dr. King!

Ungrading: shifting the classroom focus back to learning

June 4, 2021 by Rosemary Driscoll

“If my curriculum and pedagogy aren’t sufficiently engaging, is that an argument to rely on grades to coerce students into doing what I want?”

This is a quote from Alfie Kohn’s foreword to “UNgrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead).”

The book inspired Dr. Chloe Bolyard, assistant professor in Missouri State University’s department of childhood education and family studies (CEFS).

Now Bolyard is looking for ways to take the emphasis off grades in her classroom.

She first heard about the topic of ungrading through interactions on Twitter between various education professionals.

Ungrading is a classroom philosophy that emphasizes feedback rather than scores or letter grades.

“We all define it differently, but I think the goal is the same,” Bolyard said. “It’s a focus on learning.”

What ungrading looks like

When Bolyard adopted this new philosophy, she had to decide what specific things she would need to change in her classroom to align with ungrading.

“You can’t just get rid of letter grades and say that you’re ungrading,” Bolyard said. “It carries over into all of the decisions you make as a teacher.”

This spring was Bolyard’s first semester implementing ungrading.

Some noticeable changes in her methodology:

Shifting from scores and rubrics to narrative feedback.
Creating flexible deadlines or “best by” dates.
Having students self-assess and reflect on their learning throughout the semester.
Asking students to suggest their grade at the mid-point and end of the semester.

“My whole goal with ungrading, aside from focusing on learning, is to make my work with students more humanizing,” Bolyard said.

Rewards of ungrading

A big part of ungrading for Bolyard has been considering what she can do to acknowledge her students’ humanity.

“My students are humans. They’re not just students in my class. They have other classes, and they have life beyond Blackboard,” Bolyard said.

“Humanizing is recognizing that these students are doing a whole lot. The semester is full of unknowns in terms of their health, their family members’ health, their schedule, their mental wellbeing.”

Already, Bolyard has received feedback from her students about how functional ungrading has been for them.

“Students have commented about appreciating the flexibility,” Bolyard said. “They don’t need to apologize to me for turning in things that they perceive as late.”

“One student has been really vocal about how it has helped her to learn so much, and to push herself to take more creative risks,” Bolyard said.

Challenges of ungrading

Ungrading is not an easier version of traditional classroom grading. There are many challenges to face when adopting a philosophy that goes against the status quo.

“Part of the ungrading conversation is figuring out how the teacher navigates institutional requirements to still submit a final grade,” Bolyard said. “Some folks who’ve adopted ungrading may still use grades but use fewer grades. Or assignments might be worth fewer points.”

Another challenge is how to set clear expectations while giving students more creative freedom.

“Students don’t like ambiguity when it comes to a teacher’s expectations,” Bolyard said.

Self-assessment is one of the most important aspects of ungrading. In Bolyard’s classes this semester, students are using self-assessments and determining their own grade.

“I had a student tell me that she doesn’t know how to grade herself or evaluate herself. That’s another reason why we need to do this,” Bolyard said. “If students can’t evaluate how they’re doing for themselves, I think that’s problematic.”

Another challenge is the different workload that ungrading requires.

“It’s way more work intensive for me. It takes longer to leave narrative feedback than to check boxes on a rubric,” Bolyard said.

Getting started with ungrading

Ungrading, as a classroom philosophy, is still an emerging conversation. Bolyard just wrapped up her first semester using it in her classroom, and she admits there is still a lot for her to discover.

“I’m going to spend a lot of time this summer reflecting on what I think went well and looking at student feedback from the end of the semester,” Bolyard said.

She also acknowledges that she has a lot of freedom in her position to be able to try different approaches to student evaluation.

“I have a lot of privilege in my position in higher ed to say yes to ungrading,” Bolyard said. “I recognize for other people, depending on a number of factors, that it might be something they need to more carefully consider.”

The challenges for getting started with ungrading may look different depending on each person’s situation, so she offers some advice for educators who are interested in using ungrading in their classroom.

“Read as much as you can, talk to other people who are doing it, and find a community who can support you,” Bolyard said. “Don’t feel like you have to completely toss grades out from every assignment. Maybe you just choose a couple of assignments, and you see what happens when you don’t use grades on those assignments.”

Join the conversation. Read about #Ungrading on Twitter.

Increasing awareness: The dissonance of motherhood as a teacher

September 18, 2020 by Sydni Moore

Parents trust teachers to take care of their children. It’s a relationship built on trust and mutual desire to provide the best for the younger generation.

But how are teachers expected to care for others’ children when they lack the resources to support their own family lives?

Dr. Sarah Jean Baker, childhood education and family studies assistant professor, studied this dynamic for her dissertation. Specifically, she studied women school leaders who were also mothers and the challenges they faced in these identities.

With her background and personal experience, she helps teacher candidates understand the complexities of their future role.

Adding context

Teaching is often seen as a maternal, female role because of the historical conditions teaching developed within.

Prior to public education, most classrooms were led by men. After public education was established, however, there was an influx of students in the classroom. That meant a need for more teachers, which meant a need for a cheaper workforce.

“Instead of raising taxes to pay for more male teachers, single women were offered teaching positions, because they didn’t need the same income,” Baker said.

Women didn’t need a large salary, Baker added, since many communities also housed and fed their one-room schoolhouse teachers.

Later, once a woman married, she was expected to stay home and raise children, relying on her husband to make money.

“When we see that teachers’ salaries are low compared to other professions, that goes all the way back to the idea that an educator’s earnings were never intended to support a family,” Baker said.

Apart from teachers having low salaries, there are additional concerns when it comes to becoming a mother while being a teacher. Unpaid maternity leave, additional time commitments and finding substitutes while on leave are all real things teachers must navigate on their own.

Being a mother and a teacher

As a mother, former kindergarten and first-grade teacher and school leader, Baker understands the struggles that teachers encounter as they decide to start their own families.

“You see statistics that say women are anywhere between 75% or 85% of our nation’s teachers,” Baker said. “But there are not school policies and practices in place that support women in both roles of an educator and mother.”

“The ultimate goal of schools is to support child development in multiple ways,” Baker said. “Teachers want support in making sure they can give their own children quality time. They want support in raising their own children.”

Baker also wishes teachers received more support as qualified, valuable professionals.

“It’s all connected with how we raise up the profession,” Baker said. “Many teachers are already giving their all in their profession. Educators should feel dignified in the work that they’re doing.”

She believes teachers need to feel a higher value is placed on the work they do for their communities, like during the current pandemic, for example.

“It’s highlighted the important work they do for their communities. They should be paid more for their work,” Baker said. “It should be able to support their families.”

What’s being done

Baker strives to educate teacher candidates about the complexities and historical context of women as teachers.

The subject holds a special place for her, because it was her dissertation topic as she pursued her doctoral degree. Since then, she’s continued to see the field evolve and learned more about the system mothers must navigate.

“I’m trying to help my students understand how to be advocates against policies that disadvantage teachers and students, too,” Baker said. “It’s important to be proactive about those policies. My students may not be thinking about maternity leave now, but they may need it a few years down the road.”

Baker said her own experience in her undergraduate program didn’t touch on those topics.

“I think that’s why it’s so important to me to bring those perspectives to them,” Baker said. “It’s important for them to really think about what all this might mean for their future.”