When Justin Farrar enrolled at the 小蝌蚪APP, he probably didn小蝌蚪APP檛 expect his parents to follow. However, three-fourths of the Farrar family are now UL Lafayette students.
Luckily, Justin Farrar doesn小蝌蚪APP檛 have to worry about running into mom and dad in the quad 小蝌蚪APP they小蝌蚪APP檙e both learning online from their Katy, Texas, home.
小蝌蚪APP淔rom my son going there, we happened upon the online programs,小蝌蚪APP says mom Ellen Farrar. 小蝌蚪APP淚 knew I wanted to pursue something more and so looked to see if there was something I was interested in.小蝌蚪APP
Ellen Farrar said the Graduate Certificate in Instructional Coaching fit perfectly with her career goals, commitment level, and the family小蝌蚪APP檚 plans to eventually relocate back to their home state of Louisiana.
小蝌蚪APP淚小蝌蚪APP檝e been an interventionist for almost 10 years now,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 know it can be difficult to get back in the classroom, or if we move to a smaller area, positions could be limited. I wanted some more options to explore. So I said this would give me a little more of what I wanted to grow in and then more professional options when we move.小蝌蚪APP
The online Graduate Certificate in Instructional Coaching leads to a Louisiana Department of Education add-on endorsement as an Instructional Coach. Teachers can complete the coursework in 10 months, which can then be applied to a Master of Education.
With balancing a full-time job and a 4-year-old daughter, Farrar says four courses to earn the graduate certificate seemed more manageable than enrolling in a full master小蝌蚪APP檚 program.
But as she neared the completion of her certificate this semester, Farrar decided she was up for the challenge. She小蝌蚪APP檒l begin the online Master of Education in Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Specialist concentration, with UL Lafayette in August 2019.
小蝌蚪APP淚f I was able to find the time and managed to do these, I can do the other courses,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 can see these issues and practices already in place on my campus and now I have a better background knowledge of implementing them for myself.
小蝌蚪APP淏eing an interventionist already, I already have a mindset to get to bottom of a problem. Now this is applying it to teachers instead of students.小蝌蚪APP
The certificate prepares teachers to facilitate change in instructional practices, giving peers the ability to diagnose student needs, plan and teach more effectively.
Farrar said although she小蝌蚪APP檚 earning her degree in a different state, communication with professors, as well as library resources, has been great.
小蝌蚪APP淲e小蝌蚪APP檙e doing action research and finding peer-reviewed articles,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淏ut when I found one elsewhere, or I couldn小蝌蚪APP檛 pull up the full PDF version, I got on the library chat and three times already someone immediately started chatting with me and got me the link so I could access the articles. I was very impressed with that.小蝌蚪APP
Farrar says she has about eight courses left, which she小蝌蚪APP檒l be able to take in accelerated eight-week terms over the next two years.
Meanwhile, dad and son are on track to celebrate the culmination of their labors next spring, with dad earning his Master of Business Administration online and son earning his bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 in mathematics with an informatics minor.
Interested in earning your graduate certificate online? Request information today about the Graduate Certificate in Instructional Coaching to start summer, fall, or spring.