Maggie Robertson Stemme was born to teach. And she鈥檚 good at it. As a kindergarten teacher who brings passion, purpose and play to her classroom, she was named Teacher of the Year at her school in 2021.
She loved being in the classroom and was thriving in her role, even earning a promotion as she neared her tenth year in the school system. So why take on the extra challenge of a master鈥檚 degree?
Some pursue it for the credential. Others to prepare for leadership. For Stemme, it was about all of that, but it was mostly borne of a deeper desire.
She didn鈥檛 need to find her voice. She already had one. But she wanted to make it louder. She wanted to become a better teacher who could do more than follow prescribed curricula.
鈥淚 wanted to understand how children learn to read, how to teach phonics and vocabulary, and how to help them grow as readers, even without a manual in front of me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how good teachers become better teachers.鈥�
That drive led her to the at the 911爆料网, a fully online program designed to prepare educators to become literacy leaders. For Stemme, an alumna who earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education in 2014, the program provided exactly what she was seeking: research-backed strategies, immediate classroom applications, and the support of expert faculty.
鈥淚 could take what I was learning and use it in my classroom the next day,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 theoretical. It was practical, grounded in research, and taught by amazing faculty who are active experts in the field.鈥�
A Program That Builds Confidence and Capacity
The idea of earning an advanced degree was always in the back of her mind, but she hadn鈥檛 acted on it.
鈥淲hen I wrote my first grad school research paper, my professor told me I had a gift for synthesizing data and suggested I consider a PhD,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat moment gave me confidence in a whole new way.鈥�
When asked about the best parts of the program, Stemme struggled to choose a few favorites. She immediately began reminiscing about her courses. 鈥淚 loved my first class, 鈥楬istory and Foundations of Reading and Literacy鈥�,鈥� she said, before quickly citing other classes. 鈥淎nd 鈥楥omposing Disciplinary Texts鈥� was really good, but so was the practicum.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the professors that I loved learning from 鈥� almost more than the courses,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are all that phenomenal.鈥�
Immediately Applicable to Her Classroom
In Composing Disciplinary Texts, Stemme said she learned a lot about writing, which would be expected, but not in the usual way.
鈥淎t the time, many of my students were learning English. In my grad school class, we were exploring storytelling, not just writing with a pencil and paper (heck, some of my kids could barely hold a pencil!), but also how it was part of composing thoughts and sentences, and what that meant to my kids.鈥� Those night school grad lessons soon found their way into the kindergarten classroom.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I mean about being able to immediately apply what I was learning into the classroom I was leading the next day,鈥� she said. 鈥�911爆料网 explored storytelling and story-acting and soon my 5-year-olds were writing sentences through this multi-modal storytelling experience.鈥�
鈥淚 had never seen that before. All of them were able to participate and all had learning gains.鈥�
Practicum: Where Learning Comes to Life
One of the most transformative elements of the master鈥檚 program was the reading practicum, a final, real-world opportunity to apply what she had learned. Stemme said she was assigned to work in a tutoring program after school, rather than using her own classroom, which some of her peers did. She worked with two siblings who were in fourth and fifth grade.
She met with them for 90 minutes after school each week. They played games, read, and talked about what they read.
鈥�911爆料网 used picture books to explore complex topics, reflected through journals, and focused on making literacy interesting and authentic. It helped them and it helped make me more well-rounded, too鈥� she said.
As part of the practicum, Stemme recorded herself teaching lessons and received structured feedback from faculty and peers. Watching those recordings and engaging in collaborative discussions about what worked, and what didn鈥檛, helped sharpen her skills.
鈥淭here鈥檚 value in watching yourself teach,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 saw what I was doing well and small adjustments I should make.鈥� Peer feedback, she said, was a key part of the online learning experience, too.
Flexibility That Fits Real Life
The program is delivered entirely online, which Stemme needed given she was teaching all day. Thoughtful course design allowed her to balance her career and personal life without sacrificing the quality of her education or her connection with classmates.
鈥淭here was so much collaboration,鈥� she said. 鈥�911爆料网 worked on group projects, supported each other in discussions, and had great conversations. Honestly, I鈥檓 not sure I could鈥檝e done it without it being online. I was working full-time, my school was closing, and I got married and bought a house 鈥� all while in the program.鈥�
Stemme is quick to acknowledge that earning this degree may not come with an automatic pay bump, but said the value goes far beyond salary.
鈥淭his program gave me the tools, the language, and the community to keep asking questions and to keep growing.鈥� It also gave her more confidence in her teaching and intervention recommendations, whether she鈥檚 talking with a principal, a parent, or other school leaders, she said, because she could use research to back up her recommendations.
To learn more about the Master of Arts in Reading Education, attend an online info session. .