Fall 2013
Sports Leadership and Management: This course was taught by Prof. Bobby Goldwater at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies. The major focus of this course surrounded theories of leadership and how they relate to sports organizations. Other features of the course included: guest speakers (such as: Georgetown's Athletic Director, NY Jets RB Matt Forte's Agent, etc.), group assignments, and research papers on digitizing Major League Baseball, Steve Jobs' leadership techniques, and a biographical composition on another successful business leader of the 20th century. For the final project, my group proposed an online marketing strategy geared toward the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin and his participation in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Sports Law, Contracts, and Negotiations: This course was taught by Prof. Art McAfre at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies. In this course, we examined legal issues related to professional sports, such as: athlete representation, labor law, antitrust exemption, arbitration, collective bargaining, salary cap administration, and free agency. The major assignment of this course required students to prepare a case brief and present their findings to the class. For this assignment, I researched and presented on Nike v. Culpepper, a case from 2002 involving a dispute between Nike and Reebok for Minnesota QB Daunte Culpepper's right to endorse products.
Summer 2015
Teaching Students Online (CEP 820): This course was taught by Prof. Amy Heintz and was an application focused course for teachers. The major goal of the course was to develop a class website or learning platform that would allow for a "flipped" classroom. In an effort to flip my 9th grade World Cultures class, I developed a Google Classroom website complete with video lectures, discussion boards, and digital assignments for my students complete on their own time outside of class. I found success using this site in the fall of 2015 with my students, and found the applied nature of this course to be very helpful to my teaching practice.
Case Studies in Educational Leadership (EAD 867): This course, taught by Professors Amey and Jessup Anger from Michigan State University, challenged students to consider major educational issues from the perspectives of school leadership personnel. The course was broken into three different sections, each with course readings and a case problem to be evaluated. Topics of the case problems ranged from educational issues of socioeconomic status to gender equality. I found the case problems relatable to my real world classroom and school experiences, and the leadership philosophy I produced at the end of the course also helped clarify some of my own views towards educational leadership.
Fall 2015
Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sports (KIN 857):: This course was taught by Prof. Dan Gould and examined the ways in which sports can develop life skills in young athletes. Topics of course units ranged from sport specialization and burnout to goal setting with athletes and coaches. One of the most useful parts of this course came from a project on coach education programs, where I examined and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of five different programs. Another main course project surrounded a coach observation, where I was able to gain practice observing and communicating with our athletic coaches using a research based tool. More than anything, this course pushed my to develop the WHY behind the athletic department I lead: WHY do I do what I do and what life skills do I want student athletes to walk away from their athletic experiences having developed? How can can I help coaches improve their methods and overall program?
Psychosocial Bases of Coaching (KIN 855): This course was taught by Prof. Andy Driska and was geared toward athletic coaches working closely with teams and groups of student athletes. In some ways, this course resembled an introductory Sports Psychology course, in that a variety of psychological skills were taught that could stand to benefit student athletes. The major project I developed surrounded the skill of imagery employed with varsity basketball players as they shot free throws. The central idea behind imagery is to mentally visualize the performance going positively before actually physically carrying out the performance. By developing a script and holding two intervention cycles, varsity players at Carmen were able to improve their free throw shooting percentages. Other notable components of this course included the study of gender differences in sport and the dangers of early sport specialization.
Spring 2016
Concepts of Educational Inquiry (ED 800): This course was taught by Prof. Steven Weiland and focused around the concept of inquiry. As students, we were encouraged to think about the reasons WHY behind our views on education through a variety of multimedia assignments. Two notable course components were the study of John Dewey's educational philosophies and his work developing the Chicago Lab School, and the wealth of hypermedia sources afforded to students in the virtual classroom. Overall, this course challenged my understanding of teaching and learning, and allowed for a deeper understanding of how our diverse perspectives affect what we come to know and understand in school.
Summer 2016
Physical Bases of Coaching (KIN 856): This course was taught by Prof. Scott Riewald and focused on the application of knowledge regarding athletes' bodies and sports performance. I developed a better understanding of joints, movement, and potential injuries that occur in sports. Another major takeaway from this course was the development of a nutrition plan for athletes focused on the intake of carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Finally, I produced a periodized training plan for the high school basketball season as a culminating effort of this course.
Fall 2016
Capstone Seminar (ED 870): This course was taught by Prof. Matt Koehler and afforded me the opportunity to create this portfolio website using the Wix platform. Throughout each module, I was challenged to build and add new pages and components of my portfolio website that highlight my experience and growth as a graduate student at Michigan State. Another valuable piece of this course surrounded online discussions and providing feedback to peers. It was fascinating to learn about my peers in education, their varied and diverse experiences, and offer helpful feedback as a benefit.
Spring 2017
Legal and Administrative Issues of Coaching (KIN 854): This course was taught by Prof. Rick Atkinson in the spring of 2017. KIN 854 differed from the Sports Law course at Georgetown, in that it focused more on coaching behaviors and education as opposed to professional sports. As a high school athletic director, I gained knowledge to share with coaches in an effort to avoid legal issues arising within our athletic program. Additionally, I developed a more complete understanding of Title IX issues, NCAA structure and regulation, and school safety planning.