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As an undergrad, Dr. Natalie Keefer set out to become an anthropologist. As graduate coordinator for the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, that curiosity into the workings of the human experience — and the teaching experience — endures. 

“I enjoy the relationships and learning about the students that I teach. When I have an opportunity to advise students, it allows me to be able to advocate for individuals who are trying to achieve their personal professional goals; I love my job,” Dr. Keefer says. 

“My background is in social studies, but in this program, I'm working with people who want to be instructional coaches in mathematics, science, in the arts, in English language arts, and so I feel like I really learn a lot from my students.”

Graduate Coordinator Snapshot:

Students in the program have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge as educators and teacher-leaders. 

The Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Specialist concentration, is a 100% online graduate degree program covering a range of concepts from research methods and diversity to advanced teaching strategies and supporting classroom instruction. 

“The instructional specialist program is specifically geared towards practicing teachers, practicing educators,” says Dr. Keefer. “You could already, for example, be a team leader or be an administrator and you want to become certified as an instructional specialist, or to be that team leader and a leader in your school or district. 

“You could also be somebody that wants to deepen their knowledge of best practices on how to be able to support new teachers, how to be able to support their own practice and deepen their own knowledge of curriculum and instruction.”

Learning to Lead

This online master’s in education program prepares educators to become mentors — an invaluable role in today’s educational environment. 

“Mentoring is important whether it's formal or informal,” Dr. Keefer says. “Formal instructional coaches provide support, provide motivation and provide new and innovative ways for school teams to be able to think about ways that they can meet the needs of diverse learners. That role is important to be able to guide people, shape the role of curriculum, provide that mentorship. It can be a very rewarding path for a teacher.”

Within the master’s in education program, Dr. Keefer teaches EDCI 574 – Leading Teacher Learning, EDCI 576 – Supporting Classroom Instruction, and EDCI 570 – Diversity for the Progressive Educator. Each course builds on and expands teachers’ knowledge and understanding through actionable takeaways. 

Through these courses, students first learn theory then begin to apply theory by using real school data to develop instructional coaching plans, professional development plans, and action research unit plans to meet the needs of diverse students at their school.

“They can take that into their school and say, ‘Hey, we can do this. This is something that I created in this class, and it’s going to be able to help us to be able to meet the needs of our students,’” Dr. Keefer says.

As students in the online graduate program grow and develop professionally, they’re also growing personally, says Dr. Keefer. In addition to innovative pedagogical practices, the graduate education program emphasizes emotional intelligence, listening, empathy, and communication. 

“If a teacher can model emotional intelligence, good listening skills, effective communicating skills, in their own interpersonal relationships with their students, that is such a powerful thing,” Dr. Keefer says. “The students notice that, and it's something that they can emulate as they grow up and as they learn to become effective citizens in our society.”

Caring for others; Caring for self

Dr. Keefer’s scholarly background — M.A. and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Florida, with research interests in educational anthropology — and her 10 years teaching and creating social science curricula at the high school level more than qualify her as a subject matter expert.

Meanwhile, the work behind and between those pursuits gives her the insight to mentor her graduate students on a deeper level. 

"While I was working on my master's degree in education, I was a substitute teacher, I waited tables, I worked at Williams-Sonoma,” Dr. Keefer says. “My first year teaching high school was also my first year of the Ph.D. program at the University of South Florida, so that was kind of intense. While I was teaching high school, I was teaching classes in the College of Education at USF, and I was also teaching anthropology classes at the local community college.”

To maintain a semblance of balance — and sanity — Dr. Keefer says she’s put in the work to cultivate hobbies and interests away from her work and dedicate time to those interests. The strategies she established as a doctoral student have followed her into her career.

She says being intentional and protective of time for yourself, as well as for coursework, is critical.

“You really have to be strategic about it,” she says. “It can’t just be something where you say, ‘I'm going to do it.’ You have to find ways to protect that time. Sometimes, I'll have to say, ‘I'm sorry, I've got an appointment,’ or, ‘I can't do that; I have a meeting,’ and that appointment or that meeting is with myself to make sure that I'm doing the things that I need to get accomplished.” 

If you have questions about the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Specialist concentration, Dr. Keefer would love to help! Reach out to her at natalie.keefer@louisiana.edu. You can also to connect with our enrollment specialist who can assist with admissions information and help you begin your application!