Online Masters of Education

      Are you in the education field and interested in obtaining your master’s degree in education?  Or are you an adult with a degree and interested in the education field?  Perhaps you now have a family and just don’t have the time to go to campus.  Or maybe yet you are a little older and don’t really feel comfortable on campus with young students.  Perhaps an online degree is the right approach for you.  It has many benefits, with convenience being the most important.  I have done some research on some different online programs.  I actually received my master’s degree in an online format from Marygrove College, which is in Detroit, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I will be outlining that program, but also several other programs to give you a wider selection of schools to attend.  For me, it worked out great.  I am married with three young children, and I just didn’t have the time or the desire to go back to the University campus, so I completed my program in less than two years in an online and study group format. 

Marygrove College Online Education Programs

     Marygrove College is located in Detroit, Michigan, but it has four online degrees:  Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment K-12, Elementary Reading and Literacy K-6, Elementary Mathematics K-5, amd Middle School Mathematics 6-8.  Marygrove College has partnered with Teachscape in order to offer master’s degrees to educators to support them in their professional development.  By staying on top of the most recent research in education, you can apply what works to your classroom.  Marygrove College has been involved in teacher education since 1927.  Marygrove College has had more than 22,000 graduates, and has an excellent reputation among educators.  Marygrove College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.  Each of the Master’s in the Art of Teaching degrees consist of 10 core courses and specialty courses.  The six core courses will focus on the content that all teachers need to know no matter what grade or subject they teach, and the four specialty classes focus on the content that is specific to that program. 

     As I said earlier, I actually completed one of these online programs, a Master in the Art of Teaching with a focus on Reading and Literacy.  You actually have two options with this degree.  You can complete the degree completely online, including being a part of an online study group, or you can have a group of three or more colleagues meet weekly for a study group and submit your writing assignments via email to your instructor.  All information is accessed through online videos and reading materials, and you have two papers to submit each week if you are doing the face to face study group.  You do have to be able to make time to meet once a week and write your papers on a weekly basis, but this is a very manageable program.  When I mentioned that I was interested in an online program to my human resources director from my school district, she recommended this program and told me that many educators in the district had completed this program.  You can too. 

     The first online degree from Marygrove College is the Master in the Art of Teaching with a Focus on Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment.  This provides teachers with information about research based strategies that will help them become teacher leaders.   The ten required courses are Teacher as Leader, Understanding Teaching and Learning, Instructional Design, Effective Assessment, Teacher as Researcher, Meeting the Needs of All Students, Research Based Instructional Strategies, Student Directed Learning to Foster Motivation and Engagement, Classroom Assessment for Today’s Teacher, and Teacher as Hero.

     The second online degree through Marygrove College is the Master in the Art of Teaching with a focus on Elementary Reading and Literacy.  This program both concentrates on developing instructional leaders and concentrates on content knowledge that elementary teachers need in order to be effective literacy teachers.  The courses for this degree program include Teacher as Leader, Understanding Teaching and Learning, Instructional Design, Effective Assessment, Teacher as Researcher, Meeting the Needs of All Students, Foundations of Reading and Literacy, Assessment and Intervention for Struggling Readers, Reading in the Content Area, and The Reading and Writing Connection.

     The third online master’s degree option from Marygrove College is the Master in the Art of Teaching with a focus on Elementary Mathematics.  This program focuses on developing teachers as leaders who have the content knowledge to be effective math teachers.  The required courses include Teacher as Leader, Understanding Teaching and Learning, Instructional Design, Effective Assessment, Teacher as Researcher, Meeting the Needs of All Students, Problem Solving and Number & Operations K-5, Measurement and Geometry K-5, Algebra K-5, and Data Analysis and Probability K-5. 

     The fourth online master’s degree from Marygrove College is the Master in the Art of Teaching with a focus on Middle School Mathematics.  This program is intended to develop the content knowledge of middle school math teachers while developing instructional leaders.  The courses include Teacher as Leader, Understanding Teaching and Learning, Instructional Design, Effective Assessment, Teacher as Researcher, Meeting the Needs of All Students, Problem Solving and Number & Operations 6-8, Measurement and Geometry 6-8, Algebra 6-8, and Data Analysis and Probability 6-8. 

Next >