My Journey
Jessica Doepker
Completing a master’s degree in eighteen months has been nothing short of ambitious. Beginning the program, I knew it would require dedication and sacrifice in order to get the most out of it and to better myself as an educator. Much has changed in those eighteen months. The people I surround myself with have been changing before my eyes. I no longer have a mute, relatively immobile one-year-old. I am now a mother to an energetic, talkative, inquisitive two-and-a-half-year-old. My husband started his program just six months before me as a teacher and is now embarking on his first summer as a building administrator. My students, who I had as seventh and eighth graders throughout the program are no longer preteens but are preparing for their freshman year of high school; this must mean I have also changed. When pursuing my Master of Arts in Education at Michigan State University, I had three major goals: to improve my practice in writing instruction, to implement the use of technology in daily lessons, and to use best practices to engage and motivate my students. All of these goals are still relevant as I complete my degree, and they are driving me to become a master teacher.
I was fortunate throughout the entire program to have classes that were applicable to all of my goals. One of my biggest dilemmas before starting grad school was deciding what program I was going to choose. I feel sorry for colleagues who say they never got anything out of their master’s programs. I didn’t choose to go back to school to get my master’s degree for a pay raise, to satisfy state laws, or for the prestige of a different position. I wanted to continue learning and growing as an educator. I am so thankful I followed my intuition and chose a degree that I knew would help strengthen my teaching. There wasn’t one class during my program that I did not find useful and that I couldn’t apply to my teaching immediately.
Taking online courses has also provided me a huge advantage while pursuing my goals. Nearly all of my communication has been through writing and technology. By writing nearly every day, it has become a major part of my life, thus carrying over into my teaching. I am more confident when delivering writing instruction and knowing how to better serve my struggling writers. Using technology throughout the program was in and of itself beneficial, let alone all the classes that were geared towards helping me implement technology in my classroom. I have now designed online courses, blogs, wikis, websites, ePortfolios, and I feel like the list goes on. All of these skills transfer to help educate the 21st century learner.
Just by being a more confident teacher has motivated my students in the classroom. I was already implementing standards-based grading, which was a huge motivational piece for students, but now I feel like I have tools to keep them engaged in learning. One of my biggest successes as a teacher happened at the end of this school year. After writing a large motivational case study on a student in the fall and feeling a little hopeless, things finally started changing second semester. Upon implementing strategies I had researched in class, I began to see results. As he walked across the stage for his eighth grade graduation, he said, “Well, Mrs. D., it took me two years, but I get it. Thanks.” Had I not had the resources and cause for spending so much time and energy on him, I would have ended the year feeling as if I had let him down. Motivating and engaging students will be a continuous area of focus that will require constant attention as students’ needs evolve.
Overall, a lot has changed in the past eighteen months, but I think for now my goals will stay the same. Although I have seen growth, I am nowhere near where I would like to be, and I will continue to push myself to learn and implement best practices in the areas that highly affect my students.
I was fortunate throughout the entire program to have classes that were applicable to all of my goals. One of my biggest dilemmas before starting grad school was deciding what program I was going to choose. I feel sorry for colleagues who say they never got anything out of their master’s programs. I didn’t choose to go back to school to get my master’s degree for a pay raise, to satisfy state laws, or for the prestige of a different position. I wanted to continue learning and growing as an educator. I am so thankful I followed my intuition and chose a degree that I knew would help strengthen my teaching. There wasn’t one class during my program that I did not find useful and that I couldn’t apply to my teaching immediately.
Taking online courses has also provided me a huge advantage while pursuing my goals. Nearly all of my communication has been through writing and technology. By writing nearly every day, it has become a major part of my life, thus carrying over into my teaching. I am more confident when delivering writing instruction and knowing how to better serve my struggling writers. Using technology throughout the program was in and of itself beneficial, let alone all the classes that were geared towards helping me implement technology in my classroom. I have now designed online courses, blogs, wikis, websites, ePortfolios, and I feel like the list goes on. All of these skills transfer to help educate the 21st century learner.
Just by being a more confident teacher has motivated my students in the classroom. I was already implementing standards-based grading, which was a huge motivational piece for students, but now I feel like I have tools to keep them engaged in learning. One of my biggest successes as a teacher happened at the end of this school year. After writing a large motivational case study on a student in the fall and feeling a little hopeless, things finally started changing second semester. Upon implementing strategies I had researched in class, I began to see results. As he walked across the stage for his eighth grade graduation, he said, “Well, Mrs. D., it took me two years, but I get it. Thanks.” Had I not had the resources and cause for spending so much time and energy on him, I would have ended the year feeling as if I had let him down. Motivating and engaging students will be a continuous area of focus that will require constant attention as students’ needs evolve.
Overall, a lot has changed in the past eighteen months, but I think for now my goals will stay the same. Although I have seen growth, I am nowhere near where I would like to be, and I will continue to push myself to learn and implement best practices in the areas that highly affect my students.