Developing Expertise

The test of the success of a program and course design is the learning that students take with them after they complete the program. Pepperdine keeps the graduates of the program engaged in a community through activities both open and private. We have organized a short tour of the work of our students.

The first one is the Center for Collaborative Action Research (CCAR). This is a peer-reviewed site for the best examples of action research papers. This link will take you directly to student portfolios and should give you a better idea of what action research is and how it provides the heart of the learning process for the students in our program. These projects will enable you to see what students learn over the course of the year.

The second link is to "Mindmaps" where there is a listing of students' action research projects and other collaborative projects for Cadres 7-10. They are listed on a wiki which is an "open source" website that anyone can change. We use both open and private wikis extensively in our teaching.

The third link is to a wiki "Future Search" conference that students created to help each other understand the premise of a book that they read called Future Search. As students read, we encourage them to apply and share what they learn. You can conceptualize this as an interactive book report. We believe this is a far more effective learning technique than simply discussing a book.

The Action Research Student Exhibitions are the presentations that students make at the end of the program. We have set up a few streaming videos so you can participate in this capstone event.

We have also made available a few more brief alumni student reflections on the Pepperdine's Masters of Arts in Educational Technology Program Site.

A few of our students, Paul, Pam, and David wrote letters to recommend our program for an award from the United States Distance Learning Association. We are very proud that they awarded our program the highest honor--the Platinum award. We include their letters as they might help you see the value our students find in their learning experience at Pepperdine.

We hope that the work and words of students will, in the end, be what persuades you to select our program for your continual path of learning.

~The faculty and students at Pepperdine~