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UOG and UMASS-Boston team up for Pacific VIP master’s degree program
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Posted on Jul 11 2011
MANGILAO, Guam—The University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, & Service, or Guam CEDDERS, in partnership with University of Massachusetts – Boston, started the summer semester for the four-year Pacific Vision Instruction Program (Pacific VIP) on June 1, 2011. Classwork began with online courses was followed by two weeks of onsite instruction at the University of Guam, ending on July 9, 2011.
Participant scholars represented the Pacific Islands of American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and Guam. All 20 scholars participated in an intensive two-week schedule of practical skills and instructional seminars at the UOG School of Business and Public Administration Building.
University of Massachusetts – Boston faculty headed up classes, which included Braille I taught by Wendy L. Buckley, M.Ed., Ed.S. and Sandy Smith, M.Ed., C.A.E.S. and an Orientation & Mobility (O&M) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) course taught by Robert McCulley, M.Ed., Laura Bozeman Ph.D., Paula Kosior, and Darick Wright, MA.
“We were so excited to offer this opportunity to educators in the Pacific,” said Heidi San Nicolas, Ph.D., Guam CEDDERS Director. “Together we are building local capacity throughout the Pacific to serve our students who are blind or are vision impaired.”
The Pacific VIP Master’s Degree Program utilized a blended delivery approach of online coursework and onsite required class/lab work in Guam, enhanced by integrated field experiences coordinated throughout the academic program. At the end of the four-year program, scholars will earn a Master of Education in Special Education degree, plus dual credentials in Teacher of Visual Impairments (TVI) and Orientation and Mobility (O&M) with the goal of working with students with visual impairments in their respective island communities. [I](UOG)[/I]
