IMED Procedures

Assignment of Advisors

Advisors must be members of the IMED Coordinating Committee.

Given the list of topics students have submitted, a preliminary list of possible advisors will be compiled by the IMED Coordinating Committee.

Each student will be given a list of possible advisors by the last Friday in October, during the first Fall semester, and final assignments will be completed by the end of that semester. 

Students will be expected to submit a preliminary two-page pre-proposal for their Master’s project to faculty on their list before Thanksgiving of the first year of participation.  Students will be encouraged to begin discussions with potential advisors by phone or e-mail prior to submitting this two-page proposal.  Students may also contact faculty who are not on their list if they so choose.

Plan B Proposals

Students will be introduced to the Final Paper options during the first course, and each succeeding course will have a focus on the development of the paper. 

Students will develop a topic and a research question with assistance from instructors in the first two courses.  A rationale for proposed research will be developed with a focus on why the topic or research question is importance to the student in terms of their personal and professional development and their role as a Teacher Leader in their school.  The topic with a basic rationale will be submitted to advisors no later than the end of October of the program’s first year so as to enable the Coordinating Committee to assign advisors to students by the middle of December of that year.

Topics for final papers should be discussed and developed with advisors leading to submission of the Proposal by June 1 for Plan B papers.

The Final Paper Proposal should be 5 - 7 pages in length; should include a rudimentary Literature Review with the core information about the topic; and should focus on the practitioner aspect of the “problem” or topic.

All student proposals will be reviewed and approved by the Faculty Advisor.  The advisor will also be responsible for providing students with feedback regarding the proposal (i.e., acceptance of proposal, acceptance pending revisions, rejection of proposal). 

Approved Proposals will be placed in students’ personal folders in the Educational Foundations office.

Principals’ Meeting

A meeting with island principals is recommended early in the new cohort.  This meeting would be used to disseminate information about the Teacher Leader focus of IMED; to help in community building at schools where cohort members teach; to help define how the schools can take advantage of the teachers’ IMED involvement at the home school; and to help define how schools and principals can support Plan A or B projects.

Alignment with COE Conceptual Framework

The IMED strand of the Master's in Educational Foundations has a number of unique aspects that clearly reflect the five themes of the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education.  Below are some examples of the ways in which this program strand is collaborative, inclusive, dynamic, promotes inquiry and promotes reflection.

‚ Collaborative

* Faculty from seven departments in the College collaborate to design and implement this program strand.  Members of the IMED Coordinating Committee meet monthly to discuss issues related to policy, program design, curriculum, student concerns, assessment and advisement.

* The strand is collaborative in that it involves school principals early on in the program through a meeting in which the students describe their research and discuss the potential impact of their research on their schools.

* Students go through the program as a cohort and develop a network of teacher leaders who interact through their course work and become resources for each other in their professional settings

‚Inclusive

* This program strand is a response to the issue of equity and the need to provide neighbor island educators with quality professional development programs.

*  Courses for this program were selected in part because they are flexible enough to address the unique educational needs of neighbor island populations and instructors consider the demographics of those populations in their curriculum content and design.

*As stated in Standard VI, the program requires experiences that "develop knowledge, skills and attitudes...which promote constructive interaction among people of differing economic, social, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds and people with handicapping conditions.

‚Dynamic

* The innovative nature of the program is evidenced in the interdisciplinary faculty teaming

* Students use technology to develop a "Professional Development File"

*The content of selected courses is woven throughout the program so that technology and research skills are cultivated throughout the program

*IMED faculty model a variety of approaches to integrating technology into their courses, particularly distance learning techniques

‚Promotes Inquiry

*As stated in Standard V, student research in an area of specialty should "contribute to the knowledge-base or apply to professional practice."

*The research (inquiry) strand of the program begins in the first semester, is integrated throughout the program, and culminates in the Plan B project.

‚Promotes Reflection

* Student reflection is promoted through self-assessment, class discussions and the "Professional Development File"

* Faculty reflection is promoted through course evaluations, ongoing dialogue in the Coordinating Committee meetings and systematic program review which leads to refinement and revision of the program strand  

IMED · Program · Teacher/Leader · Curricular Desc · Admission Req · Curricular Req · Curriculum· Courses · Standards · Policy · Policy · Procedures · Faculty · Students · 

              Web editor: Robert Jahier