Many teachers have a goal of obtaining a master’s degree and learning more about becoming a better teacher. However, there is not always time to take classes in the evening while balancing work and home life. A better solution may be to study for your master’s degree in special education online while still working as a teacher and balancing your personal life.
Time
One of the beneficial aspects of working on your master’s degree in special education is the flexibility of time. Few people have the time or the monetary resources to take time off work and go back to school. This means that most students need to find night classes, but that can cut into personal time at home. For this reason, online classes have become a more popular solution. Online classes let you work on assignments and projects whenever you have a free moment, whether that’s after school or during an off period. You can get the benefit of working during your own schedule, rather than having a set time you have to be in class every week. Also, online master’s degrees could give you the opportunity to interact with other students you would not have met otherwise. Since online classes are readily accessible, students in these classes are frequently from other cities and states. This gives you the chance to learn and get ideas from a variety of perspectives.
Applying learnings
Since many teachers opt to take online classes for their master’s degree in special education, the ideas and learnings you gain from your classes can be put into practice right away with the students you teach. With every new class you take, there are a multitude of practices and research that you can use when you are teaching special education. For example, one class you can take involves teaching practices and procedures of students with mild or moderate disabilities. If you are in a class with students with moderate disabilities, there may be different practices you might learn through this online course, which you can implement right away.
Internship
Typically towards the end of a master’s degree in special education online program, there will be an internship. This may also be known as a lab experience, portion where you will work in a classroom and put into practice all you have learned. This field practice can take place at your own school where you are already employed. This makes it easier for you to keep your own class while completing your internship. During the lab experience, you will have a mentor who guides you through your internship and helps with any questions and concerns. If you normally teach students with mild disabilities, this could be an opportunity to teach students with more moderate or severe disabilities and put into practice ways to help them be successful in the classroom. Schools will typically work with your schedule if you are already a teacher. You might have the opportunity to coordinate days that are fully devoted to the field practice, or you might find time on your off periods to conduct the field work. Without the benefit of online classes, you might have to intern at a school with which you are not familiar.
Online classes are becoming more and more popular with teachers pursuing their master’s. With the busy schedules teachers have during the school year, taking time off when seeking your master’s degree in special education sometimes isn’t a viable option. Online classes give you the flexibility to work when you have the time, and it gives you the opportunity to put into practice real teaching applications while you are taking the class.
Learn more about the A-State master’s degree in special education online program.
Sources:
http://gradschool.about.com/od/distanceeducation/f/onlineadv.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-snyder/the-benefits-of-online-le_b_2573991.html