COURSE INTRODUCTION CYRINTHIA OLSON FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH DR. KATHLEEN LUNSFORD MAY 18, 2015

MotherStudent Navy Vet & Contractor 2 great kids: 2 great kids: Ashleigh, 19 Braeden, 17 B.S. Liberal Arts from Excelsior College 15 years military 15 years military (U.S. Navy Officer ) (U.S. Navy Officer ) Current : DoD contractor Instructor/SME for the Navy Me

MY EXPERIENCE I have 15 years of Navy experience as an enlisted sailor and officer in Combat Systems afforded me the opportunity to become an instructor and teach full time under contract for the DoD for General Dynamics. I teach a number of courses (20 to be exact) ranging from Navy Embedded Training Systems, Data Link and Satellite Net Centric Communications, and Integrated Air and Missile Defense courses to AEGIS Weapon System Operations and Ballistic Missile Defense Fundamentals and Strategy. All of my students are sailors ranging in age from 17 to 50+. I get to teach in several settings including: traditional e-classroom and shipboard on actual tactical consoles running tactical lab scenarios to have the students demonstrate proficiency in the tactical application of the concepts I have taught in the classroom.

My Interests Besides teaching AEGIS BMD, I also enjoy: Traveling around the world ( I have been to over 40+ countries) My 2 cats (Bengal kittens, ages 6 mos and 5 mos) NY Rangers Hockey (a transplant fan since I am from AZ)

Experience I have 8 years experience as an instructor. 3 years as a Mater Training Specialist in the Navy, with a background in curriculum building and instructional standards. I have been working for the last 6 years as an instructor for the DoD. I am a Contractor who teaches Ballistic Missile Defense on board AEGIS class Cruisers and Destroyers in all of the Fleets (C2F, C3F and C7F). I get to use my Navy experience and my instructor background to do what I love. Part of what I do involves curriculum development and using different technologies to instruct. It is pretty exciting. I also get to watch the evolution of training and education in the laboratory Environment (cool simulation wargaming stuff). So I get to do both lecture, curriculum, and Hands on wargaming simulation. I love my job!

Educational Experience I have always been a good student who enjoys learning. My favorite year in school was probably my junior year of high school where I was an Honors student enrolled in 4 AP courses. I enjoyed these courses so much because they were challenging and the AP teachers that coordinated the courses in my Honors program spent a lot of time ensuring these courses were innovative and fun. My favorite course was AP English and it was taught by my favorite teacher. He ensured we not only read a diverse collection of work, but also implemented assignments and activities that were thought provoking and fun. I think it’s important to inspire and mentor students and to make learning a challenge as well as fun. I try to do that in my courses.

Expectations/Aspirations I finished my Bachelor’s Degree online through Excelsior College and my first two course for my Master’s in MATLT here at Ashford via e-learning so I understand how e-learning works. I think it’s a great way to achieve the educational goals we need today without having to sacrifice our personal lives and careers. My goal is to finish my degree in MATLT and then go on to pursue my Doctorate as an Ed. D. candidate. I would like to continue to teach in the DoD for the next several years to maintain tactical and technical proficiency, however, I would like to go into instructional design to ensure quality content for the sailors as they learn how to employ new technology. After I retire (maybe 15 or so years), I would like to be an online professor for a university like Ashford, where I can be at home and continue to be a teacher.

My favorite quote: “For the correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting — no more — and then it motivates one towards originality and instills the desire for truth. Suppose someone were to go and ask his neighbours for fire and find a substantial blaze there, and just stay there continually warming himself: that is no different from someone who goes to someone else to get some of his rationality, and fails to realize that he ought to ignite his innate flame, his own intellect, …” -Plutarch, in his essay “On Listening” I think this says everything about education and learning. After all, you can’t make someone want to learn or force feed education. Instead, you must inspire students and encourage them and hope that you “ignite the wood”. I love seeing that spark