When Sandra Cochrane discovered her love for teaching, she came to UNG for the tools to start her next career.
Cochrane's time helped her turn her passion into a successful second career.
After working for 20 years in the computer software field as an applications development manager and having three children, Cochrane decided to be a stay-at-home mom. As her children grew older, she was ready to return to work, but also wanted to pursue a master's degree. Cochrane originally considered pursuing an MBA.
"However, I had frequently volunteered at my children's schools, and there was one particular program I enjoyed that let parent volunteers come in and teach a math class," she said. "I did this one day a week for three years, and really enjoyed connecting with the students as well as teaching problems that pushed beyond their normal curriculum."
As a result, Cochrane began to consider teaching as a second career. She asked other teachers about their recommendations for a solid teaching program, and a majority recommended the University of North Georgia (UNG). After earning her Master of Arts (MAT) in teaching in 2014, Cochrane taught seventh- and eighth-grade math. She also pursued her high school certification.
"This career is incredibly rewarding," she said. "It means a great deal to me to make a difference and get that feedback from students, and especially to see the 'light bulb' turn on when they understand a concept."
Cochrane has enjoyed implementing what she learned in the MAT program and seeing those concepts bear fruit, such as the importance of developing a solid classroom management plan.
"Teachers may be brilliant at content knowledge, but unless they are able to create a stable and positive learning environment, learning can become difficult or even impossible," she said.
Her master's thesis is about identifying teacher's perceptions of the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards and their impact on education. She said standardized testing and legislative changes to education are always hot topics.
"I wanted to learn more about how teachers feel about them and the changes the profession has undergone," Cochrane said.
Dr. Josh Cuevas worked with her and submitted her thesis to several different journals, including the Georgia Educational Researcher, which subsequently published her thesis in June 2015.
"Working one-on-one with faculty and getting a successful publication at the master's level was a very validating experience, and was definitely the highlight of my MAT experience," she said.
