Siumey Chao, Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction: Curriculum Development, 2022 

Siumey Chao knew she wanted to go to graduate school before she even graduated with her undergraduate degree. Living outside of Miami, she knew that she’d need an online program without the commute, so she decided the best fit was the 100% online M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction: Curriculum Development track, which would allow her to continue her busy teaching schedule.

In the following interview, Chao, shares her thoughts on her program, how she inspired her herself and her students and discusses what made the difference for her.  

When did you graduate?

I graduated in August of 2022.

Where do you work now? What do you do?

I teach 11th-grade reading for Miami Dade County Public Schools.

What has been your favorite class and why?

Probably Global Perspectives. I’m an immigrant of many countries. My family is originally from China and then we moved to Cuba. I have friends from basically all over the world. So, it was amazing to see the importance of being culturally aware. I started telling my students how important it is to know other languages, because there are countries that teach four or five languages in the school system. I think that the United States needs to learn from those examples and that we cannot be isolated from the rest of the world. We need to be culturally aware.

What immediately applicable skills have you learned?

I learned many strategies on how to serve my students. I did research on how to improve students’ reading levels, which I did try with my students, and I can say it did work. Every child is different. But it was wonderful to see, and it did help me improve as a teacher by exploring new ways of teaching. Since I had students from other countries, especially Latino immigrants, it helped me to connect with them and make them feel comfortable in my classroom. It gave me other ways to explore how to teach. Every student has different learning needs, which deserve psychological approaches.

How does your degree help you in your work?

I have a lot of students who are on the lower end of academics not only in reading, but across all subjects. My degree gave me the tools to help them academically and give them the confidence they need to succeed.

My degree also helped me improve my instruction, my own understanding of how education works. Since curriculum is at the heart of education, it is what we guide ourselves with, and I learned a lot of history, policy, curriculum development, how decisions come into play, and it helped me realize the objectives of education and formulate my own.

Why did you decide to study this area and choose this program?

I decided to do the master’s degree because I wanted to be done with my allocation before my life became more complicated, personally. I learned about the program and the classes I would take and the books I would read, the format, and I was like “I think this will work for me.” I felt it would help me improve as a teacher in general no matter what I decide to teach.

What is the one thing that you will not forget about your program?

The diversity, the amount of respect from others, the collaboration and camaraderie among all my classmates and the support from the professors and administrators.

Would you recommend this program to other students?

Yes, I would. Even if you’re not sure what you want to do, I would advise that you consider this program because it is general. It is something that can be applied to any subject area, and it provides you with strategies to improve as a teacher.