UF/IFAS Launches New Distance Education Program For Teachers And Extension Agents

Source(s):
Brian Myers bemyers@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0502 ext. 236
Sharon Guest-Tagliavento sgt@ifas.ufl.edu, (386) 437-7464
Marie Fussell marie.fussell@polk-fl.net
Keitha Barnhorst keitha.barnhorst@polk-fl.net

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GAINESVILLE, Fla.—High school teachers and county extension agents can now earn their master of science degree via a new distance education program beginning this month at the University of Florida.

“We knew there was a need for this type of degree program,” said Brian Myers, an assistant professor of agricultural education at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), and coordinator of the online program. “Teachers and extension agents need graduate degrees for career advancement, but many of them live too far from a university to attend regular classes. This distance learning program will allow them to keep their jobs and stay close to home.”

Sharon Guest-Tagliavento, a UF/IFAS Flagler County 4-H extension agent participating in the program, said it eliminates a two-hour commute each way to the university in Gainesville. “It gives me time for my 4-H work that would otherwise be spent driving and sitting in a classroom until late in the evening.”

Marie Fussell, a teacher at Bartow High School in Polk County, likes the specific nature of the courses. “It’s all about something I can use,” she said.

When asked how they’ll fit class work into their already packed schedules, Fussell and her friend, Keitha Barnhorst, another teacher from Polk County, looked at each other and smiled. “Looks like we will be busy every Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon,” Barnhorst said.

Faculty in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences tailored the distance program to meet the needs of extension agents and teachers in the public school system, including courses for improving technical skills and classroom teaching methods. In addition, there are courses in program development and adult education designed for extension agents.

Distance education courses are offered during three semesters per year, and participants register for two courses each semester.

“We split the classes each semester, so our students take one class at a time, eight weeks per class,” Myers said. “Because teachers and extension agents are so busy, they find it easier to concentrate on just one class at a time.”

Instead of completing a thesis, each class member must submit a final project at the end of the two-and-one-half-year program of study.

Myers said the first class, which begins in January 2005, has 19 participants, including 4 extension agents and 15 high school teachers. Future classes will have a maximum of 20 participants. “Members of each class will move through the program together, building a network of support that will help them in their courses and in their professional careers.”

Students are required to visit the UF campus in Gainesville twice — once for orientation before classes begin, and again at the end of the degree program when they present their final projects to their classmates and professors.

Myers hopes the distance education program will grow to serve teachers and agents in other states. “We have already had inquiries about expanding the program in other southeastern states. Our first class has a student from Georgia.”

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Posted: January 11, 2005


Category: UF/IFAS



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