Bruce P.

Smallacombe

Reflections on MSEd program at UNE

August, 2010

As a high school student, I always wanted to be a teacher (only if being a professional baseball

player didn’t work out). When I went to college however, I changed my major to nutrition and dietetics

for reasons I’m still not quite sure of. After completing my bachelors and doing some substitute

teaching I realized that I should’ve stuck with education because I loved it so much. Upon going back for

my teaching certification I knew that obtaining a masters degree was not only necessary, but something

that I wanted anyway. After weighing several options, I found that UNE was the place for me.

The University of New England masters program in education far surpassed my expectations. As

a science teacher, technology is an extremely important aspect of student learning. At UNE, I used

technology every day to research and complete assignments. I was even introduced to a new media,

“blogging”. I even took this class aspect that we used at UNE and applied it to my own classes which I

taught.

The aspect that I’m most proud of from my work at UNE stems from my action research project.

The action research that I conducted was the effect of co-teaching on inclusion classrooms. When I

discussed my plan with the principal at my school, he was thrilled and asked if I could report back to the

board what I had found. The school is looking to expand its co-teaching practices and my research

would definitely help. If it wasn’t for UNE and my pursuit of my master’s degree, this would not have

happened.
 This masters program has made me a better educator by far. It also put me in contact with

some other great teachers that I have become friends with and will continue to stay in contact with

through out my professional career.