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<p class=storyhead1><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>ECU Offering Master's Degree Program
to Teachers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellpadding=0 align=right width=200
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<p style='mso-element:frame'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=350 height=221 id="_x0000_i1025"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01CA1CED.40144EA0"
alt="Photo of Duane Anderson, Thomas Wallis, Bill Osborne of ECU." border=0><br>
Dr. Duane C. Anderson (center), representing East Central University, signs a
partnership agreement with the Macau Song Qing Ling Foundation International
Education Center in China that will allow Chinese teachers to earn
master’s degrees from ECU. Thomas Wallis (left) represented the
foundation at the signing ceremony. Watching is Dr. Bill Osborne, dean of
ECU’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Education</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> and
Psychology.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A
trip to <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">East</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Central</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> last April by recruiters
looking for American teachers for a new school in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> has evolved into a
partnership agreement that will allow Chinese teachers to earn master’s
degrees from ECU. The agreement was signed by Dr. Duane C. Anderson, as interim
president of ECU, and Thomas Wallis, chairman of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Macau</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Song</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Qing</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ling</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Foundation</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">International</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Education</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
Wallis was one of the recruiters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Beginning
this August, Chinese students will be able to take online graduate courses from
ECU during the fall and spring semesters. They will be required to come to ECU
in the summer for two months of classes to complete the requirements for a
master of education degree in either elementary or secondary education. “We
don’t anticipate more than a handful this year,” said Dr. Bill
Osborne, dean of ECU’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Education</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> and
Psychology. “They would already have to have their TOEFL scores and have
their transcripts verified because they have to meet all of ECU’s
requirements to be admitted.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
first students, who would not come to the campus until next summer, will be the
two people who came on the recruiting trip to ECU in April, Wallis and Mia
Wang. The Macau Song Qing Ling Foundation had established an education unit,
Osborne explained, with Wallis as its chairman. They were looking for teachers
for a pre-school/kindergarten, an English immersion boarding school for
children 3 to 6 years old, being built by Wang’s father in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Nanjing</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
“While they were here, we outlined a quick document showing that we could
offer online courses and summer courses at ECU. They took the information to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
Mia’s father and an agreement was worked out,” Osborne said. Wallis
is a native Oklahoman with a background in communications as a trainer for
adults in business.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
foundation has had partnerships with other universities that cost Chinese
students about $50,000 a year, Osborne said. “This is an opportunity for
their students to get a master’s degree at a reasonable price at a
reputable university and be gone only two months,” he said. “There
could be a market for this over there.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Foundation
officials looked at ECU’s reputation, its Web site, the number of programs
it offers and the national accreditations it holds before agreeing to the
proposal, he said. The proposal also allows for the program to be expanded to
include students seeking undergraduate degrees from ECU. The foundation will
charge fees to Chinese students to help them go through the steps to be
admitted to ECU, Osborne said, such as securing visas and other documents,
completing testing and collecting money and fees. Students do not have the use
the foundation, however. “This doesn’t cost ECU anything. It is a
very well-known, prestigious foundation,” Osborne said. “It has
many locations. This one is in <st1:place w:st="on">Macau</st1:place>.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In
fact, the foundation is paying Osborne’s expenses to go to <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Nanjing</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
in July to give a lecture describing the method of continuing education for
American teachers and to promote ECU’s proposal for offering graduate
degrees to Chinese teachers. He also will talk about other program options open
to potential Chinese students to encourage them come to ECU for six months or
for an entire academic year.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“This
trip will focus primarily on graduate student recruitment,” he said.
“But I’m sure we will also have opportunities to visit with
students about to graduate from high schools as well as those who are in, or
are about to enter, undergraduate programs in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.” Osborne said <st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>’s education system compares to the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>’
in the 1950s. “In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the teachers teach and the students sit quietly at their desks. They never
question the teacher. We know now that students learn better if they are
actively engaged,” he explained. “We want them to question what
they are being taught. Critically analyze it, take it apart and be able to
apply it to something else. We want to see students perform.” Osborne
said teachers should not just teach but also measure the effect of their
teaching on learning. “If students aren’t learning, why?” he
asked. “Is it because of learning styles, developmental learning or
something else? It can’t be all just the students. Teachers have to be
part of the approach.” Osborne said ECU’s master’s program in
education is designed to teach students to understand and apply research and to
use that knowledge to better educate children. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Chinese
students will take a research methods course online to learn how to do
research. They will design a research study that will be approved by ECU
faculty and will conduct research at their own schools. They will bring their
results to ECU in the summer to do a study on the effects of their teaching on
student learning “For example,” Osborne said, “what are the
questions we should be asking? Is one teaching method better than another? What
if we try a strategy with one group but not another? Is doing this better than
doing that? This is what the Chinese are not doing now.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=copy><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>During
their summer stay on campus, the Chinese will take 13 credit hours of classes. “They
will be very busy,” he said, “but we want to show them something
about the culture in our country. They could design a lesson for our students
or they could design a class about our culture to take to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.” Osborne
expects more than two students to enroll this fall but wants only a small
number the first year. “Evidently, a large number of teachers want to
come to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>,”
he said. “There’s a potential for a very active, large program to
develop here. This is a wonderful opportunity, if we make sure we take our time
and do it right.” The same online master’s program is available to
other students, he said. <span class=copy1>Osborne said the Chinese agreement
is the result of assistance from a lot of other people at ECU, especially the
heads of University Development, the Education Department, <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Graduate Studies</st1:PlaceName>,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Career</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Development</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
and the Admissions and Records, International Students and Bursar’s
Offices. </span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=4 face="Monotype Corsiva"><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva"'>Linda Mason, Ed.D.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Coordinator for Grant Writing and External Funding</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Oklahoma</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></span></font></st1:place><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Regents for Higher
Education</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>655 Research
Parkway, Suite 200</span></font></st1:address></st1:Street><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Oklahoma City</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
w:st="on">OK</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">73104</st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>405-225-9486</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a href="mailto:lmason@osrhe.edu">lmason@osrhe.edu</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>IP: 164.58.250.178</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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