Pursuing the Doctoral Program in Higher Education and Adult Learning - Admission/Application Essay Example

?Doctor of Education (Ed.D with Specialization in Higher Education and Adult Learning Personal/Professional Goals I have a number of purposes in pursuing the doctoral program in Higher Education and Adult Learning. First, I wish to strengthen my skills as a researcher by receiving advanced training in qualitative and quantitative research methods, in particular those relating to how adults learn. Second, as an adult educator I know first-hand that working with adult learners requires a broad understanding of adult development, and it follows that a doctorate in education will provide me a more thorough understanding of the needs of adult learners. Finally, I realize the importance of having an advanced degree in order to compete for supervisory jobs in the federal government and Foreign Service Institute (FSI) applied research projects. The doctoral program in education at Walden will allow me to accomplish the above goals. Not only will I learn more, but I will also become a valuable addition to the academic community to which I will be able to contribute my experience and knowledge. As a Language Training Specialist at the U.S Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI), I assist in student development, in managing language training programs and in the implementation of program resources, while also providing training, counseling, mentoring and coaching and expert guidance in the development and updating of materials for different language sections. As a Language Tester and Examiner, I assess their learning regularly throughout the different stages of their training. As a certified Learning Consultant I seek to understand my student’s individual differences and untangle the factors that may be influencing their learning during FSI Training. Having a solid background is linguistics, language and language teaching, and my extensive experience working as a Learning Consultant has helped me to see correlation of language learning and adult personality types and learning styles which has been fascinating to me. This is why I am sincerely passionate about pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education and Adult Learning. Academic Experience A few words about my academic experience will give you a better sense of who I am. In 2004, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Linguistics and with a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from George Mason University. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Persian Language and Literature from Esfahan University in Iran. Throughout my academic career, I have focused my personal and professional development on the attitude, skills and knowledge necessary to successfully implement various educational methodologies and techniques to help students learn better. Linguistics allows for the dissection of a language, for the ability to interpret a language, and for the ability to create an acceptable construct of all the essentials. Perhaps most importantly, at the most basic level, linguistics and the study of language allows for communication on a deeper level and a greater understanding and appreciation for a culture, people and history. ( Currently, I have furthered my professional growth by attending conferences and workshops. I have attended nearly all the Advisory Committees on In-service Professional Advancement workshops at FSI which focus on adult training and learning, and courses that incorporate Leadership and Management school workshops like “Coaching”. I have chosen to voluntarily participate in different training programs at work and have been certified as a tester, examiner, learning consultant, and I am currently in the process of working on becoming a certified ‘Tester Trainer’, which is confirmation not only of my passion to further my chosen career path, but is also testament to my dedication and constant desire to better my internal knowledge and abilities as an educator. Research Experience As a graduate student of linguistics, I was required to constantly examine and research issues relating to the teaching and learning of foreign languages. My research focused on how native speakers of different languages reacted to learning foreign languages. Two examples of such papers are entitled, “The Influence of Markedness in Interlanguage Phonology: Acquisition of Initial /sc/ clusters of English” and “The Loss of Family Language among Immigrants’ Children” Aside from these papers, I have also presented research topics at conferences. My conference presentations focused on "Internet-Based Authentic Material for Advanced Speaking Training in Persian” in the AFPAK Learn Conference in Nebraska in May 2010 and “Technology with Human Touch: Distance Learning in Pashto and Persian” which focused on the mentoring feature of distance learning courses in “Teachers of Persian” conference at the University of Maryland in 2008. Also I presented on “What we learn by listening to our students” which focused on the importance of paying attention to students' personality types and learning styles, in FSI in a teacher training workshop in 2008. My experience as a Curriculum Developer has allowed me to contribute to many instruction books since I began working at FSI. Of these, I am most proud of the “Let’s Start” reading course, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced level reading books that I researched and developed. This reading material has been used as a platform for listening materials and I saw great progress in my students’ reading abilities because of the strategies that I implemented. Work /Other Experience Shortly after I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Iran, I accepted a teaching position at a local high school, which including teaching courses in literature, composition and grammar. My experience during this challenging and exciting period shaped my desire and inspired my passion to improve the way that students learn. I had many frustrations with the traditional Iranian culture of providing writing and learning instruction without much focus on language implementation, and so I committed myself to developing and implementing a new and more captivating way of presenting the material to my own students. No method of learning can be imposed on students. The best method is one that takes advantage of their natural curiosity and ability. Accepting this, I developed a new and more effective method of teaching high school composition. The students became interested and involved in the subject matter instead of the monotony they experienced with the traditional teaching methods. My success in developing new teaching methods was not only personally rewarding, but very professionally rewarding and soon I was being recognized for my innovative style by my peers and supervisors. Because of my success with this innovative teaching strategy, I was asked to travel to other schools in the surrounding area to demonstrate this new style of methodology to their classes. After this formidable experience, I arrived in the US and eventually became an instructor in the Persian section at the United States Department of State (DoS), where as I mentioned, where, as I mentioned before, I implement program resources in the Persian section while simultaneously providing training and counselling for different language sections. I help language sections respond with available resources to meet the needs of individual learners. I assist in student development, manage language training projects and provide expert guidance in the development and updating of materials. As a Language and culture instructor at FSI for 6 years, I taught different levels of various language-related subjects. I planned each class according to my students’ needs and learning styles by incorporating course textbooks and other required materials and developing activities that will promote their learning. I was and still am constantly implementing innovative ways to address the diverse needs of all of my students and I constantly utilize a variety of sources . I engaged in regular feedback sessions that helped me identify specific learning strategies to introduce or review and help students understand the process of language skill development. Personal Qualities I am a dedicated and determined individual and I am always pushing myself to learn more. I am constantly striving to become a more adept teacher and it is for these reasons that I believe I will be an outstanding student. My study habits and skills enable me to gain a full understanding of the subject at hand. I work well in a team or I can function on my own. I know how to seek out help when necessary and I will not settle for being average. Drive and desire for excellence is balanced with a good sense of priorities and I do not often lose track of what is important. I am very aware of what I need to do to be ready for any given situation and am able to manage stress in a healthy way. The above information about my educational and employment background all provide concrete examples of these personal qualities. Why Walden? Because I have a full-time job and a family to take care of, it is essential that I have the freedom to study where and when I want. The convenience and accessibility of an online degree makes it easier to pursue my dreams and enhance my career prospects. I carefully researched different online schools, and the programs and courses they offer. I found that the doctorate program in education at Walden is increasingly becoming a provider of innovative training in education. The wide variety of courses on offer is of particular interest to me. The eminent faculty and the individualized nature of the program will definitely bring the best in me. I believe I will thrive in a program thatis rigorous and challenges me . I would like to reiterate that I possess the background, the ability and the motivation to make a significant contribution to the fields of education. My previous educational achievements and my significant employment background in this field all recommend me to your program. Thank you for your consideration, X Read More