One of the unique aspects of Wesleyan’s master of education program (MEd) is a student-designed, one-week culmination trip executed during the second summer. Each cohort decides on a theme that describes their unified experience in the program and drafts a plan to explore educational venues pertaining to the theme. The cost of the trip is included in tuition.
The cohort that began in June 2018 and will graduate in August 2019 – self-titled “The Edu-chievers” (combination of educators and overachievers) - drafted the theme of “Re-discovering our roots: An Educational Journey.”
In July, Dr. Virginia Wilcox, MEd program director and Mariana Furlin, education department assessment coordinator, accompanied the group to Washington D.C. to ‘explore our educational roots.’ Activities included;
An educationally focused tour of the U.S. Capitol with a private introduction to curriculum the education facilitators have crafted to teach K-5 children about the branches of the government, checks and balances, voting, and the constitution.
An individualized session with the special collections librarian in the Children’s Literature Reading Room at the Library of Congress and a behind-the-scenes tour to include the spiral staircase and the Main Reading Room.
A narrated twilight tour of the main monuments and prominent buildings on the Mall and around the basin.
A behind-the-scenes private tour of the National Portrait Gallery which included curricular strategies that could be utilized to incorporate the study of portraits into social studies, science, literature, and mathematics.
A self-guided tour of Ford Theatre and the house in which President Lincoln died.
For women and men who already have an undergraduate degree and teaching certification, Wesleyan’s 14-month fast-track program combines online learning and engaging classroom time to fit a working classroom teacher’s busy schedule. Small classes allow for close personal interactions with faculty. Every student has individualized, one-on-one instruction sessions with the program director. The all-inclusive tuition includes the cost of textbooks, a trip to the renowned Ron Clark Academy, and the culmination trip. Wesleyan’s MEd program is ranked among the top 20 in Georgia and is the only one of its type in the state.