Statement of Goals and Professional

Experience
Heather Hoskinson
I originally started the Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction (2010)
with intent to focus on educational technology and its integration into the classroom. I
was a middle school classroom teacher for three years prior to that. It was my plan to
procure a job with a school district once I finished the program, one that would allow me
to work with other teachers, assisting them to design lessons and curriculum with
educational technology implementation. While studying at Kansas State, I was fortunate
to work as a graduate research assistant in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching
and Learning office. This role allowed me the opportunity to focus on survey data
gathered by the student senate and analyze ways technology is being used at K-State.
Two important things happened after I completed my first year of study. We
moved back to Texas after my husband got out of the army. He was accepted into a
degree program in San Antonio. This was the same year that the governor cut billions
from education funding, forcing school districts around the state to lay off many teachers
and effectively ending my hopes of finding a new teaching job at that particular time. In
addition, I was due to have my first child in February of 2012. These two events and the
financial strain of my husband being in school and me not working caused me to put my
study plans on hold.
Two years later and a lot has changed, again. I am now employed with Southern
Methodist University as a manager in the Department of Teaching and Learning. I work
in an administrative capacity supporting students working towards teacher certification.
Our school and our department are on a heavy growth trajectory. Beginning this year we
will be the alternative certification program for the Dallas/Fort Worth Teach for America
(TFA) corps. Many of the TFA courses will be offered in a hybrid format. Additionally,
we are planning to offer one of our masters programs online, with two courses to start in
fall 14. This provides me with an opportunity to assist in the instructional design of the
course work. There is a dearth of experience in this area in my department. The
department chair and some of the other faculty have taken notice of my technology
proficiency and did so fairly early on. It now seems I am back in the right place at the
right time. I have an amazing opportunity to play a supporting and assistive role in
online course development while I continue to finish my second year of graduate school
at K-State.
The Simmons School of Education and Human Development will be opening a
new building in fall 15. Three computer labs are slated for this building and they will be
explicitly designed for teachers. One of the computers will be a design lab where teachers
can come and design curriculum and lessons, and work on any instructional tools of their
choice that will contribute to their teaching, from mobile learning apps to lectures.

Another lab will be an assessment lab where teachers and aspiring teachers will learn to
design data-driven assessment. I think there is a lot of exciting potential for these labs and
it is my hope to play a role in their oversight. I think I have a lot more to learn before I
would be able to fulfill a role such as this and that is what I hope to accomplish in my
second year of study at K-State.
The M.S. in Curriculum & Instruction with the ECDOL specialization seems like
a perfect fit for my career goals. It will serve me well in my position here at SMU but is
also very applicable if I decide to transition back into K12 education. I think it provides a
means of keeping me firmly rooted in education and educational support while also
allowing me to indulge in technology as well. Im anxious to learn more about
curriculum development, online course development, and more about the foundations of
instructional design.
I plan to take the curriculum development course this summer and then two
courses in the fall, two courses in the spring, and the portfolio course in summer 15. This
will allow me just enough time to finish within the allotted six years since I began the
program in fall 10, with one semester as a cushion.
The main reason that I am pursuing the ECDOL specialization is because of my
passion about the role of technology in education. I think there is so much potential for
technology to transform education, and in so many ways it has already. However, on
many occasions it is executed so poorly. A career in instructional design would allow me
an opportunity to use my creativity and to innovate, while still supporting education. It is
an area of study that encourages that and in the process of so doing, keeps me challenged.
I want to learn how to make online learning better, better in the level of student
engagement, better in terms of increased learning outcomes, and better in terms of
innovation and creativity.