The news has been filled with stories about the “skills gap” and the need for training to help people get back to work. This means a stronger emphasis on training and an increased need for professionals who understand how to educate adults. The training landscape is changing—there are new technologies and new ways of learning, including open-source platforms and the “gamification” of training. Adult education professionals need to learn new ways of engaging adult learners.
To help meet this demand, City University of Seattle (CityU) has launched the new Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Adult Learning. Today, CityU will begin accepting applications for this program, with classes beginning in October 2012. The M.Ed. in Adult Learning program is uniquely designed for professionals who teach adults and want to expand their expertise to integrate current theory and best practices. Offered entirely online, this program is flexible around a full-time work schedule.
As with every program at CityU, the goal is for students to be able to apply what they learn the very next day. Students in this program will learn how to integrate technology, apply traditional and non-traditional teaching techniques, and engage with adult learners in a variety of ways. Instructional and curriculum design, e-learning techniques, and evaluation methods are just a few of the topics taught within this Master’s program. Students will be studying in the environment that adult learners will need and demand in the future.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that public and private educational services will grow by 14 percent, adding about 1.8 million new jobs through 2020. The demand for adult education services are expected to increase as America strives to equip adults to meet tomorrow’s workplace challenges. The M.Ed. in Adult Learning program will prepare graduates to be better curriculum developers, instructional designers, training administrators, corporate trainers, or adult educators to help meet a growing need.
To learn more about this program and how to apply, students can go here.
We recently sat down with Anselm Chong, International Student Advisor and Inese Woodward, International Student Coordinator, to hear about the success of our recent student orientation.
On Wednesday, March 28th, over 40 students attended the Spring 2012 International Student Orientation from over 14 countries including:
- China
- Indonesia
- Thailand
- Gabon
- Hong Kong
- India
- Brazil
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Slovakia
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Vietnam
When asked what some of the major highlights of the event were Anselm stated that “we had some of the most highly active students with lots of questions who were eager to start at CityU and excited about our future move to Seattle!” Anselm also added that students were excited about CityU’s MBA program as well as learning ways to make changes in the world around them.
Spring quarter kicked off here at CityU on April 1st. Interested in Summer quarter classes? Check out the Summer academic schedule.
More pictures of our Spring 2012 International Student Orientation can be seen on Flickr.
If you are thinking about becoming a teacher and considering graduate school, you should consider the CityU Master in Teaching (MIT) program; especially, if you are looking for a small school feel, and supportive faculty.
The size of the program makes it feel like a learning community.
“The faculty members are what make CityU such a great place to get a Master’s degree in education,” said Brittany Sherlock, who now teaches second and third grade students at First Place School in Seattle.
“The CityU associate faculty members are very knowledgeable and open about what to expect in the classroom. They tell you about the real-world of teaching,” Sherlock added.
She also maintains that her professors were very supportive during her student-teaching experience, which she also performed with the
First Place School.
“Many of my students had learning disabilities and other challenges. Yet, my instructors had an open-door policy and always lent me an ear. They answered my questions and provided me with valuable advice. And, because of my student-teaching experience, I developed good classroom-management skills,” Sherlock said.
The CityU MIT program boasts a faculty who are themselves in the trenches.
According to Dale Fortenbacher, the faculty MIT program coordinator, “The majority of our instructors are practicing teachers. In other education programs at larger universities, the faculty members are usually just professors in their education departments.”
CityU’s MIT candidates benefit from the fact that the program’s instructors are currently teaching. As they are intimately aware of the changes taking place in school districts around the state; and are therefore able to advise and prepare master candidates for the job application process, and the current work environment, Fortenbacher observed.
Moreover, the program provides candidates with a more reality-based learning experience for introducing them to the practice of teaching.
“My CityU class wants to hear about my real-life teaching experiences. So, when I instruct it, I provide actual examples of past student assignments,” said Laura Lundquist, a Principle Faculty in the Albright School of Education, who has years of experience in teaching sixth grade in the Edmonds School District.
To best prepare each graduate student, CityU instructors, dedicate in-class time, teaching candidates how they can research different community environment of varying school districts.
According to Ms. Lundquist, “I have my graduate students use the Washington State Office of Public Instruction (OSPI) website to research helpful information, such as state standards and grade-level expectations for different subjects like math, reading, and art.”
“[By researching these standards] our candidates can see what classroom targets they should be meeting,” she added.
The flexibility of the MIT program’s schedule facilitates the availability of instructors who are concurrently working as full-time teachers; just as it allows for full-time workers to attain their educational goal of getting their Master’s in Teaching.
“We schedule our classes during the evenings and on Saturdays so our instructors can work their teaching jobs, while being available to instruct our Master’s candidates,” said Mr. Fortenbacher.
Because classes are scheduled in the evening and/or on Saturday, Master’s candidates also have the flexibility to concurrently fulfill their work, life and family obligations during this program.
“The schedule was perfect for me. I went to classes on Saturdays because I was working full-time,” said Sherlock.
Does this sound like something you would be interested in? You can learn more about CityU’s MIT program by going here.
CityU’s catalog now includes more than 3,510 high- quality e-books and reports issued by the nation’s leading experts from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, and published by the National Academies Press (NAP).
All of the National Academies PDFs can be downloaded for free by the chapter or the entire book. You can download the books within minutes using Adobe Reader or Mac Preview, as a guest or by creating an NAP account. Most books are fully searchable. Readers may choose to read HTML text or view a scanned page image.
While the copy you download is meant for personal use only, and cannot be distributed, copied or posted without permission from the NAP, you may immediately share the link with others by copying the book’s unique URL, by choosing a tool under the “Share” icon, or via social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.
There are many NAP titles of interest- here are some examples of recently published works:
• Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education.
• Communicating Science and Engineering Data in the Information Age
• Certifiably Sustainable?:The Role of Third-Party Certification Systems: Report of a Workshop
Here’s another example of a free, searchable e-book on depression in families with children. You may enter a search term such as “medication” in the search box, or click on the book icon to read a section:
You can find this and other NAP e-books by doing a search in the library’s CatalogPlus from our website, http://library.cityu.edu.
Capital High School in Olympia, WA
Recently, we caught up with one of our graduates, Chris Woods, who received a principal certification from CityU of Seattle. Chris is the principal of Capital High School in Olympia, Washington. The 1,332-student school serves the northwest corner of Thurston County, and about 20 percent of its students are from the neighboring K-8 Griffin school district. According to one elementary school principal in the area, in this news article, Capital High School is a “very powerful” school; and has “an impact on the entire west side of Olympia.”
When our alumni manager, Alex Webster, connected with him, here is what Chris had to say:
CityU (CU): Why did you become an educator or when did you know education was the field for you?
Chris Woods (CW): I knew I wanted to work with kids at a young age. I had the opportunity to work in a classroom with students who had special needs when I was in third grade. That experience helped me to realize I wanted to do this more. I figured out that teaching was the direction I was heading when I went to college.
CU: In the classroom vs. administration. What motivated you to pursue your leadership post?
CW: I was motivated to move into school leadership because I wanted to have an impact on all students and staff. I realized I could still have meaningful interaction with students while working with staff to improve instruction. I really enjoyed teaching but have been very pleased with my move to administration.
CU: As an Educational Leader, what are some of the greatest challenges you face in moving your school forward?
CW: The greatest challenge is continuing to have a positive impact on student learning with diminishing resources. Educators are being pulled in many directions and are expected to educate the whole child while having more added to our plate. I believe we are professionals and are committed to giving students the very best we have to offer and we will continue to do so despite the challenges we will face.
CU: If I can recall correctly, you graduated CityU with your Principal Certification. What was your experience like with CityU?
CW: My experience at City University was very positive. I had an opportunity to work with a cohort that was supportive and collaborative. The program allowed me to learn from my instructors and the other students in the class. We were exposed to some excellent administrators in the area and had an opportunity to get real time information from those in the field. I felt very prepared to accept a position in school administration when I completed my work at CityU.
CU: Do you have any words of encouragement or advice for educators out there who would like to move into a leadership role and/or switch to a more administrative role within their district?
CW: I strongly encourage educators consider moving into school administration because of the impact you can have on a school community. A teacher can have a big impact on a group of students and parents, while an administrator can have an impact on an entire school community.
You have an opportunity to build a relationship with all students and staff while positively impacting instruction. It is a very rewarding role in education.
Thank you for your time Chris and congratulations on your success!
If you’re interested in education or K-12 administration, look at our education programs online , call (1.888.422.4898) or email us today.
Arden Henley, Principal of Canadian Programs at CityU of Seattle
Do you live in British Columbia (BC) or Alberta (AB)? Are you looking for the right graduate program that will help you advance your career education or counselling? You should consider CityU.
CityU tailors its graduate programs in Canada and around the world – to meet the scheduling needs of its students who must balance work, family and life obligations; while being able to pursue their long-term career goals. While many programs might have more on-campus amenities, CityU’s graduate programs are second to none when it comes to the educations and hands-on training of professionals. Because instructors are also active practitioners every course is also a networking opportunity.
CityU graduate programs in BC and Alberta have an organic connection to the professional communities in these two provinces. Faculty members have strong relationships with the mental health agencies and school districts and internship sites also offer good networking opportunities. These ties better enable candidates to achieve their long-term career goals as educators or clinical counsellors.
The Albright School of Education
CityU’s Albright School of Education offers two concentrations in its Master of Education in Leadership (M.Ed.) program in Vancouver and Victoria. They are as follows:
M.Ed. in Leadership
The Leadership concentration will prepare you for career advancement as a school leader and administrator.
The program is especially designed by leaders in education for people who are already working as educators, and is geared toward helping educators to acquire critical skills and knowledge they need to become leaders in the field
The program helps candidates develop leadership skills in key areas such as supervision; mentoring; building and managing teams; and conflict resolution.
Interested in learning more about this degree? Go here.
M.Ed. in Leadership and School Counselling
The Leadership and School Counselling concentration prepares candidates to become a school counsellor or leader within education in the public or private school system in British Columbia. This program focuses on developing knowledge about child development, and how to counsel children and adolescents in educational environments.
Real-world, hand-on experience is this program’s primary strength. The program takes place within the various school districts of Vancouver and Vancouver Island, where the CityU instructors are leaders in various districts.
“Since all of our instructors are leaders and practitioners in education, they really know what they are talking about when they discuss an issue in class,” said Arden Henley, CityU’s Principle of Canadian Programs.
“Our students can speak about problems in education with someone who actually works on them everyday in the real world,” Henley added.
With small class sizes that range from 10 to 15 students, the program’s pedagogical approach emphasizes strong instructor-to-student, and student-to-student interactivity.
“We do a lot of group exercises in the classroom, and tap into the expertise in the room since everyone is already an educator,” Henley explained.
However, the educationally rich program at CityU goes beyond offering just the insights of its own instructors. Students capitalize on the wisdom of outside experts, too!
According to Henley, “We bring in a lot of guest lecturers who are experts in certain areas of education. For example, we will invite someone who has experience implementing a diversity program. It makes for a rich learning experience.”
Beyond its academic resources, the CityU program works to help students be successful.
“We have a high retention rate because we provide a nurturing environment. For example, we offer extra support for writing by bringing in a professional copy writer to help students with their papers,” Henley said.
The CityU cohort system offers students a peer-to-peer learning community. Moreover, because the program and its internships are centered in specific school districts, students are being introduced to a professional community and receiving an opportunity to practice their skills in the real world.
“The instructors that students meet in class have connections to the school districts. This means that CityU’s students have numerous networking opportunities just by virtue of being in the program,” Henley pointed out, suggesting it offers phenomenal assets for career advancement.
Interested in learning more about this degree? Go here.
The Division of Arts and Sciences
The second graduate degree program offered by CityU in Canada is the Division of Arts and Sciences Master of Counselling degree. This program is offered on four CityU Canadian campuses in the following cities: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.
The Counselling program has three delivery modes in order to make it accessible to a range of student demographics. The delivery modes include the Saturday program in which students attend classes on Saturday only; the Inclusive Delivery (mixed mode) option combining online learning with quarterly four day experientially focused, face-to-face intensives; the Full Time program offered on week days and completed at an accelerated pace.
Counselling students are encouraged to enroll in a in the province in which they hope to practice. The CityU programs in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta are tailored differently in order to meet the unique credentialing and registration requirements of each province.
For example, the BC program is a great fit for students who hope to eventually register as a counselor or therapist with the British Colombia Association of Clinical Counselors (BCACC). On the other hand, the AB program is suitable for students wishing to pursue a career as a Registered Psychologist in Alberta.
In both programs, however, the pedagogical approach has the same emphasis on professional training.
“The CityU Master of Counselling program prepares candidates to become practitioners; we do not prepare students to become academics or researchers. We feel we do the best job of any educational institution in British Columbia and Alberta in preparing graduates for the real-world experience of professional practice” Henley said.
To prepare people for the “real world,” this CityU program offers an excellent internship program with counselling clinics throughout BC and AB. As a part of their program, students accrue a minimum of 250-hours of supervised clinical training, which means they will be well trained and experienced before graduation. And, they will be on their way to meeting the requirements for registration as a clinical counsellor in BC and as a psychologist in Alberta. counselors.
Interested in learning more about this CityU’s Counselling program in Canada? Go here if you want to study in BC, go here if you want to study in AB.
As always, we welcome your phone call, so please give us a call if you want to study with CityU Canada – 1.888.422.4898
CityU's School of Management Staff Picking Up Their Trees to Plant!
To celebrate Earth Day, City University of Seattle is handing out 100 spruce trees to our faculty and staff. Aside from offering Bachelor, Master’s and Doctoral level courses on sustainability; our Provost, Dr. Steve Olswang, and our two Deans, Dr. Kurt Kirstein and Dr. Craig Schieber, wanted to put some sustainability practices into action.
By handing out 100 trees, CityU is doing its part to restore the earth with more oxygen and provide it with 100 more carbon-fighting-capable trees. Why trees? Here are three reasons:
1) An average size tree produces enough oxygen in one year to keep a family of four breathing.
2) Three trees planted in the right place around buildings can cut air-conditioning costs up to 50%.
3) By planting 20-million trees, the earth and its people will be provided with 260 million more tons of oxygen. Those same 20-million trees will remove 10 million tons of CO2.
While we can’t afford to plant 20-million trees, we CAN do our part.
Our Provost, Deans, and now 100 trees are doing their part; it’s now your turn! Plant a tree, commit to composting, or unplug your appliances when you are not using them. Simple practices make HUGE differences.
What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?
Interested in sustainability? Call one of our admissions counselors and find out more about our courses and our sustainability emphasis area within the MBA program today – 1.888.422.4898.
Did you know? You may have just bought a book for the library and we want to thank you!
The library has partnered with Ebrary, one of our ebook providers, to bring you PDA. Not Public Displays of Affection but Patron Driven Acquisitions.
How does PDA work?
Ebrary has given us access to 1000’s of ebooks to peruse. Now when you search in Ebrary you will see a mixed bag of ebooks the library already owns and those we might want to buy. You won’t be able to tell the difference because they look the same and you have full access to both! Once someone has read a certain amount of a book, if we don’t own it already, a 7-day loan is triggered. Once this happens three times we buy the book automatically and add it to our permanent collection.
Why is this so great?
Now students and faculty have access to 1000’s more titles than the library currently owns, or could afford, many of which are newly published. PDA also allows to us purchase more relevant books since we no longer have to guess what you will find useful, you can show us! Many books in the library are never even used but now we can minimize this waste. This system saves money and helps us to provide relevant material for your research and education. So thank you for helping us build our collection!
Check out some of the ebooks your peers and selected and added to our collection via PDA
-Leading with Questions: how leaders find the right solutions by knowing what to ask
-Helping Children to be Strong: from birth to three
-CBT: a clinician’s guide to using the five areas approach
Want to try it out? Find Ebrary in our list of databases on our website, Library.CityU.edu, or click here and start searching.
If you would like to learn more contact us via Ask a Librarian or by phone 800-526-4269
A graduate of CityU Canada’s full-time Master of Counselling Program, Pardeep Atwall, recently published Neurobiological Guided Practices.
This book explores violent trauma, which affects millions of children around the world. Investigators over the last 20 years determined that over 30 percent of children exposed to traumatic events develop serious and chronic neuropsychiatric problems (Terr, 1988). In 2006, it was established by many that treatments of trauma victims; especially treatment other than talk therapy, therapeutic relational and/or affect-based interventions, warranted a closer look (Perry, 2006).
Pardeep Atwall’s study aimed to better understand the impact of childhood trauma on neurodevelopment and explore neurobiologically informed treatment practices related to trauma; and its connection to hyperarousal and dissociative symptoms in youth. A protocol for counselors working with the aforementioned population was created using Perry’s principles of neurodevelopment. The neurobiology of trauma and its connection to the psychopathology in children and adults is of direct importance to researchers and clinicians. To date, very little research has been incorporated into the assessment and treatment protocols, utilized in clinical practice (Fago, 2003). For this reason, Atwall’s study has the potential to be very helpful to the counseling profession.
We are proud to call Ms. Atwall one of our esteemed alumni members and welcome you to read her forward-thinking book. Congratulations on this step forward!
**The link above will direct you to our Counseling program in British Columbia, Canada. If you live in Alberta, Canada, please go here. If you live in the U.S., and are interested in getting your counseling degree with us in the U.S., please go here. OR, any one of you can always call us at 1.888.422.4898.
This month, CityU of Seattle is launching a trial internship program. This program is a response to our students want and demand for hand-on experience, and aims to cultivate the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a career.
From April to June 2012, eight students – undergraduate and graduate – will participate in a 10-week internship program. Four students will participate in internships at CityU’s headquarters in Bellevue, and four will participate in internships outside CityU. The internships at CityU will offer students opportunities to learn more about communications, public relations, human resources, international affairs, student affairs and the general inner workings of a university. All external internships will be done with reputable companies that can offer students experience in the fields they are interested in going into.
In order to become an intern at or for CityU, students must be enrolled in an undergraduate or a graduate program and consult their advisor, as these internships are NOT for pay but rather for college credit. Undergraduate students must log 150-hours of seat time within each internship; and graduate students must log 90-hours of seat time per internship. There is also an agreement and other paper work that must be reviewed and signed before an internship is made “official”.
For the initial launch, several students applied. However, only a few were selected due to timing and qualifications. The hope is for this first group to have positive experiences and be able to inform and improve the program overall.
CityU’s goal in connecting students with internal and external internships is simple. CityU wants students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it; and as a result, build a network and grow a healthy career. As always, it goes back to CityU’s mission. We’re here to change lives for good through education. An internship program is another way CityU believes we can change lives for good and are therefore thrilled to see this launching.
Are you interested in being an intern for a company or for CityU? Contact your adviser and ask them about this program today!
Hello!
My name is Kristen Graham and I am a student in City University of Seattle’s online M.B.A. program. I also work as an administrative assistant in the Albright School of Education. I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration at CityU of Seattle after obtaining a marketing degree from Bellevue College. Before starting my graduate program and administrative assistant position at CityU, I worked as a fashion advisor — a job I still try to do for fun sometimes!
I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and currently reside in Sammamish. When I’m not working or at school, I try to get out and see all the beautiful sites that Seattle has to offer. Despite having lived here my whole life it seems there is never a shortage of great new places to go. I also love music and try to go to as many concerts as I can. Most recently I went to the Capitol Hill Block Party and I am hoping to make Bumbershoot this year as well.
I look forward to sharing my M.B.A. experience with all of you!
Hi! My name is Mary Mara and I am CityU's Director of Library Services.
Antonio Esqueda is the International Programs Academic Coordinator for CityU. About 25 percent of his job involves traveling to Mexico to promote the university’s programs to potential partners as well as develop new articulation agreements with existing partners. A native Spanish speaker, he moved to the states as a young boy, finishing his Master in Education in Student Personnel Administration degree. Antonio’s days on road can range from speaking before 400 students at a public university in Monterrey to helping with articulation agreements for the university.
Hi! My name is Kate Peterson, I’m 27 and a student in the two-year MIT (Masters in Teaching) program. This Spring, I will be student teaching at the International School of Padua, just 40 kilometers west of Venice! I studied Italian for several years and look forward to an opportunity to finally visit. A fellow American (from the University of Wisconsin) and I will rent an apartment together near the school in the city of Padova. I think it will be quite an adventure and I am excited to share the experience with videos and a weekly blog! Send me your comments!
Just a little about me. I grew up in Yakima, Washington and had the opportunity to spend a year in Veracruz, Mexico where I attended a local high school. I returned the States to go to the University of Washington and have lived in Seattle ever since. When I am not swamped with homework, I enjoy running around Greenlake, painting and spending time with my family.