Shared Inquiry Communities:
A Great Fit for These PE Teachers
Two physical education and health educators from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin found the Shared Inquiry Communities program offered by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls a great fit for their master’s degree goals.
Carol Sullivan and Debbie Erb were discriminating shoppers when it came to searching out a master’s program. Both are experienced teachers who were motivated less by the prospect of increased pay or career advancement than by the desire to revise and rejuvenate their teaching practices.
“I wanted a quality program that would make a difference in my teaching,” Carol said.
Debbie agrees with her colleague. “I didn’t want to create something that would just sit on a shelf in my office,” she said.
Conversations with other educators about their master’s programs were discouraging until they attended an information session with a UWRF facilitator for the Shared Inquiry Community program in the spring of 2006.
“It seemed to be a great fit for me as a physical education teacher,” Carol said. The early promise of the program proved true, she added. “I have been able to not only adapt the instruction to my particular area but it’s made a noticeable difference in my teaching.”
Based on the courses they have taken, Carol and Debbie have successfully revised the school’s curriculum for physical education, introduced new student assessment practices and developed new techniques to reach kids with varied backgrounds.
For the final project required by the program, they created a “Fit for Life” course for sixth graders that creates an intrinsic value for physical health by understanding its importance in their life. They plan to continue with revisions to curriculum for seventh and eighth graders next.
One notable aspect of the Shared Inquiry program was the ability to work with educators from a variety of teaching disciplines, and learn and adapt best practices from all. This interdisciplinary nature of the communities was an “unexpected outcome and pleasant surprise,” Carol added. As an example, Debbie said her advisory subset of the community included teachers of English and social studies and an elementary educator.
Debbie was also thrilled to discover that the things she learned in the program had application in another area of her life, working with adult learners in dog obedience training. “I discovered that modeling the community learning aspect with my small groups of adult learners works quite well,” she explained. Debbie says her real students are not the dogs, but the owners!
The convenience of the program’s schedule was also a big plus for both educators. They liked the weekends-only class times and found it very “doable” to complete assignments before the next month’s meeting. Their advice to others considering a master’s degree is to “look for the best fit for you.”
The UWRF Shared Inquiry Community program provides educators a master’s degree in less than two years. Communities meet one weekend a month at a convenient location. For more information, visit the web site at www.uwrf.edu/sharedinquiry or contact the UWRF Graduate Studies Office at 800-228-5607
Growing Strong
Sixty-six students have graduated from the Shared Inquiry Community program since its first cohort in 2005.
Additionally, there are 100 students currently active in a Shared Inquiry Community.
Three new groups are scheduled to begin during the 2008-09 academic year. Apply to join a community in your area today.
- Rice Lake, WI starts spring 2009
- RiveR Falls, WI starts spring 2009
Back to Home
