This fall, the School of Education (SOE) at the University of Mississippi began offering its first fully online master’s degree program in early childhood education.
“Early childhood education is a branch of education that relates to the education of young children from zero to eight years old,” said Dr. Burhanettin Keskin, coordinator and associate professor of early childhood education. “We are educating the future teachers who are going to be teaching our young children.”
The curriculum for the program consists of 10 classes and can be completed in four semesters, including summer semesters. The courses are set up to teach both theory and best practices so that it is not only educational for the master’s students but also practical for their everyday interactions with children.
“We are trying to balance theory with practice in pretty much every assignment,” Keskin said. “There is a theory part in which students are supposed to read something or watch something. Then, they are to apply what they have learned in their classroom to improve their teaching, or in their homes.”
The problem many students find with online programs is that the classes are impersonal, and the students cannot connect with their professors and classmates “behind the screen.” Keskin has taken steps to ensure that his students do not encounter this stumbling block.
“I am trying to turn this online program into more of a face-to-face class without giving up the online part,” Keskin said. “Usually with online courses, students have no clue who their classmates are, and they do not know their professor. I’m trying to eliminate this. I have Skype meetings with every single one of my students so they know me; we have a talk, and I can ask them if they have any questions. I want to make it more personal.”
Currently, there are eight master’s students enrolled in the fully online program, and they have seen the benefit of the program in their busy lives. Blair Bravo is one of the online master’s students, and she works as an assistant at the Willie Price Lab School at the University of Mississippi.
“I feel like I’ve been able to engage with (other master’s) students in the activities and I’ve been able to see certain theories in action,” Bravo said. “That has really benefitted me, and it’s an advantage for me later on.”
The online program offers two tracks, one licensure and one non-licensure. The licensure program is open to certified teachers, and the non-licensure track is for all others who are interested in early childhood education, such as policy regulators, parents, day care directors, researchers, etc.
“The best part of this is how personal it is,” Keskin said. “I don’t know any other students who can Skype their professor at any time if they have a question. The students are busy, and if I’m online, which I usually am, I take their call.”
For more information on the online master’s in early childhood education visit http://education.olemiss.edu/academics/programs/early_childhood_ed_med.html.
Amy Goodin is a writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at argoodin12
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