Hello, I am a primary teacher with 6 years experience and I am looking into masters programs to further my teaching career. I have previously been a DT and am entering into the IT world next year starting at an IB school.
My overall goal is to become a coordinator (curriculum or PYP) with the possiblity of being a HOD in the future. I do not have aspirations for leadership at a higher level i.e. deputy principal or principal. So I have a couple of questions as to which masters would lead me down that path best.
1. Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on PYP to also obtain my PYP certificate. If a leadership qualification is beneficial down the track then can get it through District of Columbia by taking an exam (if what I read on the forum is still correct).
2. Masters of Education in Leadership and Management combined with an IB Leadership Certificate - is this very beneficial to have? The courses that are leadership that include IB leadership certificates seem to be significantly more expensive so would want to ensure it's an important credential to reach my goal.
3. Masters of Education in Leadership and Management (w/out IB Leadership Cert.)
If I go this route would it be beneficial to do it with an international teaching focus as we plan to be career international teachers?
Any advice or insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Masters advice to become Coordinator
Inquiry
We need some more information to give you a meaningful response:
1) Can you give us a better understanding of how you envision your role as a PYP coordinator, specifically what proportion of tasking do you see being involved in administrative tasks vs. teaching tasks?
2) Do you see yourself spending more time in a classroom or in an office suite?
3) Who do you report too (HOS, principal, AP/VP/DP, another coordinator)?
1) Can you give us a better understanding of how you envision your role as a PYP coordinator, specifically what proportion of tasking do you see being involved in administrative tasks vs. teaching tasks?
2) Do you see yourself spending more time in a classroom or in an office suite?
3) Who do you report too (HOS, principal, AP/VP/DP, another coordinator)?
Re: Masters advice to become Coordinator
So really not sure the answers to your questions, would really depend on the needs at the school that I'm at, at the time. Right now without pyp experience I know I need to get some years experience and from other posts looks like stay longer at a school to move up in responsibilities when others move onto higher tiered schools? I'm open to different options within the coordinator role. With the difference in school year starts I'm looking at having 6 months off and find that to be the ideal time to begin my masters.
I would be more interested in the curriculum, instruction and assessment masters but want to make sure that masters can lead me down the path I intend.
Any feedback you could provide if I'm pursuing the right masters?
I would be more interested in the curriculum, instruction and assessment masters but want to make sure that masters can lead me down the path I intend.
Any feedback you could provide if I'm pursuing the right masters?
Re: Masters advice to become Coordinator
well, there are schools you can become a PYP coordinator without much experience, but many of them are terrible. it's possible though.
i'd say that you would need at least a year if not two of experience teaching the PYP. i'd say that is minimum because you have to know how to teach it practically before anyone would respect you as a coordinator. my last coordinator was green and only there because he was a typical British system yes-man line manager. he only had an online course in his repertoire. no one respected him as a coordinator (nice guy though).
as to your masters question, if instructional leadership is your love you could use that in a literacy coach role, curriculum coordinator, or even a pyp coordinator as long as you have some experience. if you want the leadership one, it lends itself more towards other things but still relevant to what you want. i would not get the IB cert. - i think that's a waste of money.
go to a school that will send you on PD and use your money to get more workshops. pick the brains of other more experienced PYP teachers and learn everything you can about it, how to teach it, how to use the concepts to plan units, etc...
good luck!
v.
i'd say that you would need at least a year if not two of experience teaching the PYP. i'd say that is minimum because you have to know how to teach it practically before anyone would respect you as a coordinator. my last coordinator was green and only there because he was a typical British system yes-man line manager. he only had an online course in his repertoire. no one respected him as a coordinator (nice guy though).
as to your masters question, if instructional leadership is your love you could use that in a literacy coach role, curriculum coordinator, or even a pyp coordinator as long as you have some experience. if you want the leadership one, it lends itself more towards other things but still relevant to what you want. i would not get the IB cert. - i think that's a waste of money.
go to a school that will send you on PD and use your money to get more workshops. pick the brains of other more experienced PYP teachers and learn everything you can about it, how to teach it, how to use the concepts to plan units, etc...
good luck!
v.
Reply
@MaxKI
I ask these questions because what you have described you wanted fits a very broad spectrum of titles, job descriptions and tasking. PYP Coordinator can mean a lot of different things. On one end of the spectrum a PYP coordinator is an IT with some TLR whose ASP comprises their administration roles and tasking. In such a way they are more like an HOD. In primary you dont find HODs as much not among ITs that have predominately classroom assignments. What you will find are class or year leaders in larger ISs. Someone who leads an entire primary division is more likely to be n FTE membership of (senior) leadership with an office suite in which case the Ed.Ld degree and appropriate leadership credential is more important than anything the IB provides to you. the more you see your role in an IS as engaging with administration and management tasking the more important the degree and credential focus becomes. If your role in an IS is more that of a clerk who organizes documentation and communicates notices while compiling the binder in your outside service delivery time the less important any qualification and credential is going to be, you just need to be able to do your classroom job well enough that you can talk intelligently with other PYP practitioners about it, in which case practice means everything.
HOD is usually below coordinator in primary, unless HOD is the title bestowed to the primary senior member of leadership.
As a general rule a masters should do more than get you into a classroom (especially if you are already in one), the Ed.Ld program is going to provide more utility to your resume than a C&I masters does. C&I doesnt do anything for you that you arent already doing, and cant do in an Ed.Ld program. Perception wise Ed.Ld masters are looked at like MBAs, youre a generalist who can do everything. C&I masters are looked at as specialists such as a masters in accounting.
IB leadership awards are for all practical intents and purposes useless. The ITs that have them are already in leadership usually in senior or executive roles and are looking at extending or transitioning to consultant, professor/trainer/instructor or HQ roles in the future. You dont really get into leadership with an IB leadership certificate, it gives you credibility once youre already there, but the trend is to pursue a doctorate qualification rather than an IB Leadership certificate. IB Leadership certificates for the most part can be thought of as vanity certificates. They dont meet any special requirements for a HOS or other member of leadership that a workshop certificate doesnt meet.
The IB T&L certificates have more value, especially at secondary level. An IB T&L certificate meets all the PD requirements for the IB, at level 1 within specific program (PYP, MYP, DIP) and at level 2 (T&LR) at all program levels. This is an advantage to an IT in a discipline like individuals and societies with 10 course subjects and an IT with a general or composite social studies credential. That T&L certificate may be easier than doing 10 workshops. Compared to a subject area like literature where 1 workshop takes care of everything you might actually teach (I dont know of anyone personally who was hired to teach Literature and Performance exclusively).
In primary however the value is less, one workshop (MTPYPH) covers all subjects and ages for HRTs and specials ITs. The value is further compounded that the vast majority of IB T&L programs are just warmed over primary masters programs with a little more emphasis on international populations. The programs are more focused on diversity of learners than they are on intricacies of the IB itself. There isnt a secret handshake, cloak or lair that comes with getting one. Paying USD$20K for an IB T&L certificate at primary is just grossly overpaying for a masters and a IB workshop. It really depends on how much PYP/IB experience you have, if your trying to break into IB leadership early it might be worth it, but thats coin flip probabilities in my estimation. You report youre already starting in an IB IS so the T&L certificate isnt going to get you the job.
In direct response to your inquiries (I think I may just start calling this heading "ANSWERS"):
1) Yes, you can still get a leadership credential with any Masters though DC by passing the SLLA, and having the requisite amount of experience/evaluations this is probably going to change to require an Ed.Ld masters in the future.
A C&I masters has less utility than an Ed.Ld masters.
The PYP T&L is way too much. The T&LR certificate would have some additional utility if you expand out of primary into lower secondary into a self contained classroom, but its a lot of resources to fill some very uncommon niches.
2) IB Leadership certificates have very low almost non-existent utility for entering leadership. An actual NQL or administrative credential is far more valuable.
3) This would be my choice of the three options you presented. An Ed.Ld masters without a T&L certificate. Preferably a route that gives you access to a leadership credential from the US or an NQL from the UK. Those added credentials in leadership however are harder to do by distance without some kind of residency and leadership role to mentor as part of the program. Outside that the shortest and cheapest option is going to open up leadership options at the earliest possible time is what you are aiming for. Breaking into leadership is the hardest part, once youre in its a lot easier to transition between roles and ISs. getting that first break at the earliest possible time is key.
The issue of the value of international focus is difficult to answer. On one part of the spectrum you have ISs that are nothing more than an export of a national curriculum and program. There isnt anything international about them, they are western programs in an OS region. On other parts of the spectrum you have a significant majority of the student population are host nationals, and these ISs ownership dont want anything "international" they want to recreate a western DS either within their program as their program. On yet another part of the spectrum you have very diverse student populations with some very polarized mixing and blending of meds/peds/asst, and cultural values. I dont believe Unis do a very good job of preparing anyone for them. Either what you learn is very general and thus applicable to a wide number of situations and scenarios in which case its just good practices regardless of the environment, and as such isnt very international or its very specific and nuanced and whatever value it has you would have no way of seeing it coming or predicting access to it. My experience is that Unis tend to do much more of the former and little of the latter. In summary good leadership practice isnt anything you have to go hunting for.
Lastly, you didnt discuss it but as I mentioned earlier, depending on your background a doctoral program and qualification is a marketable option.
I ask these questions because what you have described you wanted fits a very broad spectrum of titles, job descriptions and tasking. PYP Coordinator can mean a lot of different things. On one end of the spectrum a PYP coordinator is an IT with some TLR whose ASP comprises their administration roles and tasking. In such a way they are more like an HOD. In primary you dont find HODs as much not among ITs that have predominately classroom assignments. What you will find are class or year leaders in larger ISs. Someone who leads an entire primary division is more likely to be n FTE membership of (senior) leadership with an office suite in which case the Ed.Ld degree and appropriate leadership credential is more important than anything the IB provides to you. the more you see your role in an IS as engaging with administration and management tasking the more important the degree and credential focus becomes. If your role in an IS is more that of a clerk who organizes documentation and communicates notices while compiling the binder in your outside service delivery time the less important any qualification and credential is going to be, you just need to be able to do your classroom job well enough that you can talk intelligently with other PYP practitioners about it, in which case practice means everything.
HOD is usually below coordinator in primary, unless HOD is the title bestowed to the primary senior member of leadership.
As a general rule a masters should do more than get you into a classroom (especially if you are already in one), the Ed.Ld program is going to provide more utility to your resume than a C&I masters does. C&I doesnt do anything for you that you arent already doing, and cant do in an Ed.Ld program. Perception wise Ed.Ld masters are looked at like MBAs, youre a generalist who can do everything. C&I masters are looked at as specialists such as a masters in accounting.
IB leadership awards are for all practical intents and purposes useless. The ITs that have them are already in leadership usually in senior or executive roles and are looking at extending or transitioning to consultant, professor/trainer/instructor or HQ roles in the future. You dont really get into leadership with an IB leadership certificate, it gives you credibility once youre already there, but the trend is to pursue a doctorate qualification rather than an IB Leadership certificate. IB Leadership certificates for the most part can be thought of as vanity certificates. They dont meet any special requirements for a HOS or other member of leadership that a workshop certificate doesnt meet.
The IB T&L certificates have more value, especially at secondary level. An IB T&L certificate meets all the PD requirements for the IB, at level 1 within specific program (PYP, MYP, DIP) and at level 2 (T&LR) at all program levels. This is an advantage to an IT in a discipline like individuals and societies with 10 course subjects and an IT with a general or composite social studies credential. That T&L certificate may be easier than doing 10 workshops. Compared to a subject area like literature where 1 workshop takes care of everything you might actually teach (I dont know of anyone personally who was hired to teach Literature and Performance exclusively).
In primary however the value is less, one workshop (MTPYPH) covers all subjects and ages for HRTs and specials ITs. The value is further compounded that the vast majority of IB T&L programs are just warmed over primary masters programs with a little more emphasis on international populations. The programs are more focused on diversity of learners than they are on intricacies of the IB itself. There isnt a secret handshake, cloak or lair that comes with getting one. Paying USD$20K for an IB T&L certificate at primary is just grossly overpaying for a masters and a IB workshop. It really depends on how much PYP/IB experience you have, if your trying to break into IB leadership early it might be worth it, but thats coin flip probabilities in my estimation. You report youre already starting in an IB IS so the T&L certificate isnt going to get you the job.
In direct response to your inquiries (I think I may just start calling this heading "ANSWERS"):
1) Yes, you can still get a leadership credential with any Masters though DC by passing the SLLA, and having the requisite amount of experience/evaluations this is probably going to change to require an Ed.Ld masters in the future.
A C&I masters has less utility than an Ed.Ld masters.
The PYP T&L is way too much. The T&LR certificate would have some additional utility if you expand out of primary into lower secondary into a self contained classroom, but its a lot of resources to fill some very uncommon niches.
2) IB Leadership certificates have very low almost non-existent utility for entering leadership. An actual NQL or administrative credential is far more valuable.
3) This would be my choice of the three options you presented. An Ed.Ld masters without a T&L certificate. Preferably a route that gives you access to a leadership credential from the US or an NQL from the UK. Those added credentials in leadership however are harder to do by distance without some kind of residency and leadership role to mentor as part of the program. Outside that the shortest and cheapest option is going to open up leadership options at the earliest possible time is what you are aiming for. Breaking into leadership is the hardest part, once youre in its a lot easier to transition between roles and ISs. getting that first break at the earliest possible time is key.
The issue of the value of international focus is difficult to answer. On one part of the spectrum you have ISs that are nothing more than an export of a national curriculum and program. There isnt anything international about them, they are western programs in an OS region. On other parts of the spectrum you have a significant majority of the student population are host nationals, and these ISs ownership dont want anything "international" they want to recreate a western DS either within their program as their program. On yet another part of the spectrum you have very diverse student populations with some very polarized mixing and blending of meds/peds/asst, and cultural values. I dont believe Unis do a very good job of preparing anyone for them. Either what you learn is very general and thus applicable to a wide number of situations and scenarios in which case its just good practices regardless of the environment, and as such isnt very international or its very specific and nuanced and whatever value it has you would have no way of seeing it coming or predicting access to it. My experience is that Unis tend to do much more of the former and little of the latter. In summary good leadership practice isnt anything you have to go hunting for.
Lastly, you didnt discuss it but as I mentioned earlier, depending on your background a doctoral program and qualification is a marketable option.