凯莉·门罗.Ed. '19带来了硕士的顶点生活

It took only three months from the time 凯莉·门罗.Ed. 19年和她一起毕业 Master of 教育 in Adult, 社区 and Professional 教育 degree from Carroll to put her final capstone project into action. Her aim: to bolster student success at Milwaukee Area Technical College, where she teaches in the funeral service 程序.

She walked the Commencement stage in May of 2019. 同年8月, she submitted her first formal request to MATC administration—using her studies and project at Carroll as a foundation—to build a learning module into the curriculum as a special assignment. The module sought to help students not only learn material but to maintain more of the information as they advanced toward the National Board Exam to become licensed in funeral services.

One year after Monroe worked to incorporate the module into existing funeral service courses at MATC starting in the fall of 2019, 数据已经出来了. The first group of students who studied under the pilot 程序 returned pass rates in January 2021 on the National Board Exam (NBE) ranging from 80% to 94%, 取决于内容区域. That compares to the 程序’s previous average of 50% to 60%.

“We are hopeful that the significant jump in pass rates is indicative of the benefits of the additional course,门罗说. “We took the students who maybe weren’t good test takers but did pay attention during school and got them over that threshold. But to a higher extent, it was really rewarding to see them get their license right away.”

随着项目的成功, MATC has provided Monroe the opportunity to build not just a supplemental learning module but a full online course into the curriculum that started in the fall of 2020. The curriculum spans over two semesters of one-credit courses. It is designed to provide weekly guided review that identify students’ learning styles, 加强应试策略, and simulate board exam experiences to mitigate high-stakes test anxiety and help determine overall board readiness.

在门罗在博天堂官方入口登陆登录学习之前, her department at MATC tried to implement a mini review course for students prior to taking the NBE. It didn’t improve the pass rates, Monroe said. She said with the work she was able to tackle at Carroll in her education classes to better understand through research the way adults learn, she created a stronger course for her department with greater impact for the students. She designed her capstone understanding the need at MATC because she was living it as part of the faculty and sought solutions of how to help students in putting together her capstone titled, "Improving Pass Rates for the Licensure Exam For Funeral Directors: A Three-pronged Approach."

“The research steered me in the right direction of what the class looks like. It forced me to layout the whole Blackboard (an online course management system) shell. I would say without that research, we’d still be in the same boat,门罗说.

MATC hired Monroe as part of their faculty in 2014. She had extensive experience in funeral services—holding both a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UW-La Crosse and an associate degree in applied science in funeral service and mortuary science from MATC. She became a licensed funeral home director and helped run her family’s funeral home business and worked for Krause Funeral 首页s before then taking her skills to the classroom.

她的课堂演出, 虽然, came with the requirement that she earn a master’s degree within five years of being hired. She looked at online courses that might help her fulfill the requirement while also handling a full-time teaching load. 她真正想要的是什么, 虽然, 对门罗来说是一次有意义的经历, that meant face-to-face interactions with her classmates.

她在博天堂官方入口登陆登录发现了这一点.Ed. 程序, where she could combine online learning with one Saturday per month mixing conversations, 的想法, and theories with instructors and other students.

“这种模式最适合我,门罗说。, who already knew about the Carroll experience through her daughter, 安德里亚Klohn, who received her undergraduate degree here in 2017. “I wasn’t just looking to get just another requirement done. I was looking to get some personal growth of it as well.”

While Monroe could have fulfilled her master’s degree requirement in several areas, 她专注于教育. Al虽然 hired for her professional expertise, she didn’t have an education background per se. 所以，她想成为一名优秀的教育家.

Now with new knowledge about learning theories, a better understanding of how adults learn, and marked improvements in students passing their National Board Exams—sending new licensed funeral directors into the field—Monroe reflects on her decision to come to Carroll.

“我真的做了正确的事，”她说.