In the fall of 2016, I attended an informational meeting about Thomas University’s (TU) graduate programs for teachers. As I listened that day, I thought about my job’s seemingly endless grading, IEP meetings, and lesson planning. I had a full plate with little room left to study and produce graduate-level work. Despite my apprehension, I decided to invest in myself and dive into an Ed.S. program at TU. I quickly learned that TU is dedicated to building programs that are convenient for full-time teachers in numerous ways.
Class Times and Locations
The most pressing concern for teachers considering graduate school is scheduling. It may seem nearly impossible to have an interactive, fulfilling graduate experience while teaching full-time, but TU makes this possible. Students meet with their professors and classmates biweekly on a specified day in the evening. They know the dates and times for each meeting before the class begins, which makes scheduling meetings, childcare, and any other professional or other personal needs a breeze.
Not only are the meeting days and times convenient, but the locations are selected with teachers’ schedules in mind. TU offers cohorts in many counties around the state of Georgia, and these cohorts meet at convenient locations such as local schools. Furthermore, for many classes, cohort members can meet from the comfort of their own homes by using video conferencing technology.
Online Learning
As digital learning is increasingly prevalent, TU uses technology to make graduate learning more efficient for the working learner. The fact that students create and submit exclusively digital assignments means that learning can literally happen anywhere. As a graduate student, I was able to type assignments at home, at the beach, and anywhere in between. When I was on the go and needed to check grades or assignments quickly, I used the learning platform app to do so on my smartphone. Online learning makes the classroom available at all times, allowing teacher-learners to maximize work time.
Career Enhancing Work
TU is committed to building better teacher leaders through relevant coursework. The readings, assignments, and assessments all work toward the optimal goal of each graduate student leading students and fellow teachers toward success. During my time as a TU student, I used the skills that I learned in my classes to become a more effective teacher leader for my school and district. My TU assignments had a purpose that extended to my daily work as a teacher. I improved my classroom instruction, and I now lead training for teachers in my district because of my work as a graduate student.
TU’s division of education graduate programs are designed specifically for educators who are working in schools every day. Classes accommodate teacher schedules, and the classroom is literally available always. The convenience for teachers even extends beyond busy schedules, and allows for improvement of practice and completion coursework simultaneously. TU understands the unique and ever-increasing hats that teachers wear, and they built a program with them in mind.