Service-Learning Component to MSA Degree Recognized
The master of school administration degree (MSA) in the College of Education prepares individuals to become school leaders. The MSA degree includes a significant service-learning component that requires students to complete six student service learning projects (SLP) in schools.
Megan Newman, a Principal Fellow student, is conducting ongoing training sessions with beginning teachers at Wintergreen Primary School and Wintergreen Intermediate School in Greenville, N.C., as part of her SLP. Through this project, Newman aspires to improve teaching and learning in the participants’ classrooms and provide the opportunity for these novice teachers to network with other teachers in various grade levels and subjects. The sessions are held once a month after school and the teachers are then observed in a non-evaluative format to receive feedback on the new teaching strategies that they are using in their classrooms. The teachers participating in this SLP with Megan Newman shared that the ongoing professional development has helped them become better teachers thanks to the collaboration among the group and the sharing of ideas.
Like this SLP, MSA students are helping schools as they learn how to become principals. Seventy students entered the program the same time as Megan and by the time these 70 students graduate in May 2015, eastern North Carolina schools will have benefited from 420 different projects.