Q & A WITH JAMES WOLD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CAPELLA'S SCHOOL OF ED

Editor’s Note: In the January 2003 issue of Educational Pathways (EP) we wrote about five higher education online learning programs built around enhancing the job skills of today’s K-12 teachers and administrators. At that time, we also interviewed James Wold, Capella’s executive director of the School of Education, which currently enrolls approximately 1,500 students. Before joining Capella, Wold served for eight years as superintendent of a school district in Wisconsin and has held various other positions in K-12, including assistant superintendent of schools, high school principal and English teacher.

EP: Can you explain what Capella means when it advertises that its School of Education courses are taught by nationally recognized experts?

Wold: Most of our faculty have published nationally - for instance, people like Mark Rossman (author of "Negotiating Graduate Schools: A Guide for Graduate Students," Sage Publications, May 2002) and Bruce Francis (co-author of "Dissertation and Research Cookbook: From Soup to Nuts: A Practical Guide to Start and Complete Your Dissertation," Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, July 2001). Most of our faculty also teach at other universities. So, biography-wise and publication-wise, they are known in the areas they are working in. What we do is attractive to a certain kind of faculty because they can get an outreach that they couldn’t get normally.

EP: What do K-12 teachers and administrators need to understand about technology in education?

Wold: As educators we need to see technology as a vehicle, as a tool to reach more and different learners in better ways. It isn’t to learn technology for the sake of learning. It is only going to be useful in education if, in fact, we use that tool to provide access and provide different ways of teaching people. What we are seeing is there are a lot of teachers who are masters of their content areas and are looking at ways to enhance their delivery through some of these technological means.

Our curriculum and instruction program is one that talks about different ways of delivering instruction. As we look at the national board of practice and teaching standards, the vast majority of standards - and all of our programs are competency-based and linked to national standards - certainly the effective use of technology in the classroom is important.

Many of our learners are working in school districts; we have a learner, for example, who is a technology director at an urban school district, and she is providing the learning technologies for special education students. These are the kind of skills that are needed, where teachers can come up with better ways of delivering instruction.

EP: How do you think higher education can help K-12 move forward in the right direction with regard to effective uses of technology in education?

Wold: As we look at higher education, access is going to be a critical point. . . For many reasons, barriers have been presented to adult learners. One of the things we try to address - and technology does address this for many - is that adult learners have not always been made to feel welcome in bricks and mortar institutions. Yet, what we find is that they are very good learners. Our average learner at Capella is currently working in their field and middle aged. They are currently successful in their jobs and would like some additional part-learning, part skill-building, and part-validation for what they can do.

So, I think it is an issue of access and openness. Also the cycle time to respond to needs is going to have to be much shorter than it is now. When you look at areas like technology, delivery of instruction, learning theory and other kinds of things, where there is a lot of research happening, I think our teachers, in order to be effective in K-12, want to be able to respond quickly and get best practices into their classroom as best as they can.

EP: Please tell us about your MS in Education Program with a Specialization in Educational Administration.

Wold: We have about 400 students in this program. We just received certification in Arizona, and we are in the process of getting certification for the program in Minnesota. Arizona has reciprocity with many states.

There are certain groups of people who are good prospective learners for this program. Usually the people who want to be administrators often are coaching and are very busy and can’t drive to a course each week. So, having access whenever they need access makes a difference. Other groups we have are people who are in remote areas and really are not close to an institution that grants degrees or training.

Also, in general, the numbers are that nearly half of the administrators in the U.S. are going to be retiring in the next 10 to 12 years. So, we are looking closely at that. The other thing that is interesting is that about 26 percent of our student enrollments come from minority backgrounds. And we are serving a need in some urban areas. We want to look at how technology influences successful learning in urban areas, and how we can work with those people. These are areas we are really excited about. Again, it is an issue of access and openness.