Among the solutions being explored by educators is the addition of a quiet time period during which students have the opportunity to practice the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Maharishi University of Management's new master's in educational innovation
by Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, USA, The Review
1 February 2011

A master's degree program at Maharishi University of Management scheduled to launch this fall will focus on creating a new generation of educational entrepreneurs who are prepared to work in the full range of innovative settings—from charter schools, magnet schools, and career academies, to schools that are incorporating Consciousness-Based Education.

"This is a time of great experimentation and change in the field of education,"says Chris Jones, director of the new program. "Everyone is looking to solve the apparently unsolvable problems of education."

Among the solutions being explored by educators is the addition of a quiet time period during which students have the opportunity to practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. The new program will also prepare students to teach in these schools.

The program has two thrusts: one for teachers and one for school change agents. For teachers, the goal is "to learn how to teach anything to anyone," Dr. Jones says. "Working under time constraints, students will learn to create lessons, units, and programs that hit the target."

For school change agents, that is, those who are focused on the school as a whole, the goal is to become familiar with schools today and how to improve them.

Students in the new program will learn to use Maharishi's teaching techniques for building interdisciplinary frameworks of knowledge and strategies for connecting all knowledge to the deepest levels of the student, Dr. Jones said.

Technology will be a major component, and students will learn to use the latest electronic technology of interactive whiteboards, social media in the classroom, video capture and storage, and Web 2.0.

Another component will be a deep understanding of the social context in which learning takes place. Students will learn about the ecology of learning and new strategies for community building, including service learning.

They will also gain insight into how schools work and what the latest efforts are to improve them.

Dr. Jones said that each year they'll organize a local conference on educational change. Plus, they'll visit leading examples of educational innovation in the region

The program will incorporate and expand the former Master of Arts in Teaching program. It will include the old tracks for elementary and secondary teachers, while adding more career options for those who already have a teaching license or wish to work in non-traditional educational settings.

The new MA program will be housed at Maharishi School in a new "smart classroom" that will also be used to help train Maharishi School and MUM faculty.

In addition to Dr. Jones, faculty teaching in the new program will include Susan Dillbeck, Fred Travis, Ken Daley, Sanford Nidich, and Paula Armstrong.

© Copyright 2011 Maharishi University of Management