MILWAUKEE — To earn degrees or certification online,
university students must spend a great deal of time with
their fingers on computer keyboards. But that doesn’t
mean they’re not in touch with the more personal
and human aspects of education.
In fact, just the opposite can be true. At least that’s
the case at Marquette University, which offers a master’s
in instructional leadership and secondary school teacher
certification programs via computer, through the Utah-based
Online University Consortium.
For one thing, many of Marquette’s online students
do have the opportunity to meet one another and their
professors on campus. That occurs at the beginning and
end of each semester, distances between home and school
permitting. Classes are ideally limited to 15 people.
And those in the online teacher certification program
do student teaching in the classrooms of middle or high
schools.
More important, though, online education can be a study
in human interaction because of a requirement that students
electronically post their responses to discussion questions,
as well as their comments on some classmates’ postings.
Heidi Schweizer, Marquette School of Education associate
professor and director of the Center for Electronic Learning,
recalled a woman in one of Marquette’s online programs
telling her that the computer-based discussions forced
her to “share what she learned, and that she was
thinking in a more profound way than often happens face-to-face.”
As a result of that exercise, the woman related that “she
was able to get to know them much more personally and
deeply” in the electronic environment.
Similar experiences were reported by Casey Timm, who
is in Marquette’s online teaching certification
program. The 23-year-old Timm said she was surprised
by the extent to which computer-based studying “forces
you to be engaged. I thought I could be more detached,
but you’re expected to be involved” more
than in a traditional classroom, where “you can
sit and not open your mouth.”
By the end of a course she took last spring, Timm continued, “I
felt like I’d really gotten to know” her
fellow students. “The first time you meet them,
you’re strangers, but the next time, you can’t
stop talking.”
Timm added that she’s been more self-critical of
her class discussion observations “because other
people will be reading them.”
In responding to the class discussion questions, or “prompts,” a
student can’t answer with a rote “yes” or “no,” Schweizer
explained. “They require you to be reading” — some
hard copy books are required — “and synthesizing
and critically analyzing, and coming up with opinions
based on evidence.” A student “has
to think hard and deeply about the material.”
Schweizer added that while it would be possible to complete
the master’s curriculum, with its 10 courses, in
about a year, it typically takes working people one-and-a-half
to two years to do so.
It normally requires about a year-and-a-half to complete
the seven courses, student teaching and field work that
comprise the teacher certification program.
Marquette established its online offerings largely for
those who otherwise would not have access to adult education
because of time constraints resulting from additional
responsibilities, like those of work or family, according
to Schweizer.
To study online, one needs no special hardware or software
for his or her computer, but must have Internet access,
either dial-up or high speed.
To register for the online program one must submit an
application, college transcripts, three letters of recommendation
and graduate record exam scores.
Prior to applying for the online teacher certification
program, a candidate submits copies of college transcripts
and designates the areas in which he or she hopes to
teach. Marquette evaluates the information, apprising
the candidate of any deficiencies that would necessitate
additional course work at the bachelor’s degree
level in a particular content area. A qualified candidate
may then begin the formal application process, which
includes applying to Marquette’s graduate school.
In addition, one may enroll in some individual, professional
development courses as is sometimes necessary to maintain
a teaching license.
The per-credit cost for online classes is the same as
for courses offered in the regular curricula. Loans and
scholarships are available. One of the latter, based
on merit and offered through the Catholic Schools Scholarship
Program, pays two-thirds of the tuition of teachers and
administrators employed by Archdiocese of Milwaukee schools.
Offering Internet-based education profits Marquette by
helping it fulfill one of its missions: training people
to teach in city schools, particularly in an “urban
setting,” according to Schweizer. She added that
the certification program is particularly “looking
for teachers of color, and teachers with an interest
in math and science.”
Why did Marquette look to the now 16-month-old Online
Consortium, whose 32 member schools must meet several
criteria, as a vehicle for providing its Internet-based
master’s degree and certification programs? “It
was a natural extension of our commitment to providing
high quality online education,”Schweizer said in
January, when Marquette joined the group.
Anyone seeking information on, or enrollment in, Marquette’s
online programs may call Schweizer at (414) 288-8811,
or e-mail her at <
heidi.schweizer@marquette.edu>.
Questions specific to the online teacher certification
program may be e-mailed to <
sharon.chaplock@marquette.edu>.
