The Faculty
From the Director:
May 2011
It’s hard to be a teacher right now. Arguably, it’s never easy to be a teacher. I won’t even begin to compile a list of demands, requirements, and obligations teachers attend to on a daily basis. But it seems as if, lately, teachers as a whole have been under scrutiny for everything from low student test scores to the evils of collective bargaining. Maybe one of the hardest things about being a teacher now is actually entering and staying in the profession—it’s hard to convince someone to enter a profession with a target on his or her back.
With that in mind, I am excited to begin my first official summer as director of the MAT program. Last year, I sat in as Dr. Roger Johanson described Coe’s MAT program to a prospective student. He referred to the program as a “rejuvenation” of one’s teaching. At the time, I smiled, picturing Coe as the “spa” of the educational world in Cedar Rapids. As I’ve gotten more involved with the program, I can say unequivocally that Roger was spot on in his description. At a time when teachers spend too much time justifying our profession, the Coe MAT community unapologetically leads the way in helping teachers remember and reignite the reasons they became teachers.
My favorite thing about the MAT program is working with the teacher-students. In addition to directing the MAT program, I also teach a core course for the program, Instructional Alternatives. In order to accommodate teachers’ schedules, MAT courses during the academic year are offered in the evening. On Tuesday evenings, I await the teachers, expecting to see warriors returning on their shields, bruised and battered from a day in the field. Instead, I am humbled and charmed when they enter, eager to discuss avant-garde innovations in their classrooms; potential areas of concern locally and nationally in regard to schooling; and the precarious balance between work and personal life so many teachers manage. The conversations are lively, entertaining, and poignant as we share our expertise and experiences.
We have four phenomenal administrators teaching some of our core courses this year. The distinguished teachers and professors teaching the seminars have prepared challenging and thought-provoking courses to engage your imagination. The Action Research Symposium, scheduled for July 14, will again showcase unique projects conducted by graduating MAT students. In general, we are looking for ways to integrate technology into our curriculum and to offer seminars that push you to open up your classrooms to new ideas and practices. For those of you continuing on in the program, we look forward to seeing you more this summer.
For you who are new to the program, welcome. We hope you will find the right “treatment” here at Coe that will bring life and energy back into your teaching.
Dr. Christy Wolfe
Director, MAT Program
cwolfe@coe.edu
Mary Ellen Maske teaches Action Research I and II in Coe’s MAT program. Currently the Executive Administrator for Elementary Education in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, Professor Maske spent over ten years as an elementary teacher in the community before moving into administration. Professor Maske’s work involves extensive and on-going collaboration with teachers, administrators, community members, and state officials. She is a mentor and role model to the teachers she works with in AR I/II.
Greg Thomas is the high school principal at Marion Independent School District. Professor Thomas teachers Action Research I and II in Coe’s MAT program. He has over nine years teaching experience and had his PhD in Educational Administration and his Superintendent Endorsement from Iowa State University. As the principal at Marion High School, Professor Thomas works with teachers and students in a “block schedule” curriculum, one of the few schools in the community to utilize this educational trend. Professor Thomas brings his forward-facing visions of education from the hallways and classrooms into his work in Coe’s MAT Program.
Kristen Rickey is currently in her fifth year as principal at McKinley Middle School in Cedar Rapids. In addition to her work as an administrator, she is a valuable member of the teaching and learning community in the area, serving on boards at U of I, Cornell, and UNI, as well as serving on the Teaching Advisory Board here at Coe. Dr. Rickey notes that she considers herself “first and foremost a teacher” and the Coe MAT students in her class appreciate her belief that we are all learning all the time.
Tashona Marshall’s passion for learning led her to career as a teacher and later as an educational leader. Professor Marshall has taught 6th and 7th grade reading, math and social studies and is currently the principal of Johnson School in Cedar Rapids. While finishing her doctoral studies at the University of Northern Iowa, Professor Marshall is excited to join the Coe College family as an adjutant faculty member in the MAT program this summer.
Dan Carrell is a language arts teacher at Regina Junior High School in Iowa City. With over ten years of experience at the secondary level, Professor Carrell has worked in both large and small departments, incorporating school-wide and departmental innovations into his teaching. Professor Carrell has a Master’s degree from the University of Iowa in educational psychology, with an emphasis on motivation and self-determination theory; he incorporates student choice into his assignments with his students, believing choice and motivation are highly correlated.
Dennis Barnett
Amy Gardner
