Teaching, Technology, and Tomorrow: Education Insights from Moreland’s Founder
Moreland University President Dr. Susanne Thompson recently sat down with Moreland’s visionary founder Dr. Emily Feistritzer to discuss Moreland’s history, the present discourse surrounding technology in the classroom, and the future of education.
Below are some key insights from their chat, and you can watch the full conversation here.
Why start Moreland? “Somebody just needed to.”
Dr. Feistritzer is no stranger to education. Raised by a family of teachers and having spent time in the classroom as a science and math teacher herself, she witnessed the importance of education and how it has changed through the decades.
Despite important evolution in the classroom, the standard teacher-educator model had not adapted to fit the modern, digital-age learning environment. She saw the need to create a program that was focused on preparing tomorrow’s teachers for tomorrow’s students and tomorrow’s learning world.
TEACH-NOW was born. It focused on collaborative and project-based learning models, which now serve as the foundation for Moreland University’s online TEACH-NOW® Teacher Preparation Certificate Program and master’s degree programs.
The future of education is bright, but different.
To Dr. Feistritzer, technology and programs are not something to be feared. Seeing technological innovation as an inevitability in tomorrow’s classrooms, she encourages educators to recognize its potential as a tool to facilitate greater learning.
Technology will continue to evolve, so the best educators will be the ones to embrace new systems, feel confident and willing to ask for help, and curious enough to test new things instead of fearing what they do not know. She said, I think it would be advisable for teachers and for teacher educators to really see [technology] as a solution and inform themselves well enough about the technology available to them that they can utilize what is useful and disregard what is not.
Dr. Thompson echoed that, sharing that “all industries evolve,” and that it is the role of educators to continuously evaluate what teaching should look like. Moreland was founded on that principle and continues to be a thought leader in guiding teachers into the modern age.
There will always be people who want to teach, and Moreland wants to make that happen.
“We will never stop talking about teacher shortages because there is no shortage,” Dr. Feistritzer said. “There will never be a shortage of people passionate about doing the work of teaching.”
The passion and dedication of teachers is unmatched. So many individuals want to do the work of teaching but don’t have a clear path to achieving that goal. The expectations placed on teachers changes between districts, states, and countries. That’s why Dr. Feistritzer created Moreland to help create teachers who are “resource-rich problem solvers,” fostering curiosity, collaboration, and real-world expertise with the curriculum and cohort model.
Dr. Feistritzer’s advice to prospective candidates is to find their “why,” and then find the “where.” When individuals understand their goals and interests, they can find programs and districts that fit.
The demand for teachers is always high, and Moreland wants to enable future educators to find their pathway to this life-changing, evolving, and rewarding career. She said, “You can ask anybody in the whole world to name three people… who was the most important adult in your life? And invariably people will call out a teacher.”
Ready for More?
Watch the full interview to hear Dr. Feistritzer discuss Moreland’s global focus, the cohort model, the infrastructure of the modern education system, and more. You can also request information to learn more about Moreland’s offerings or apply today.
