Shaw presents at Learning Conference

NCU alumna and mentor Melanie Shaw to present paper at Learning Conference 08

Prescott, Arizona–October 6, 2007 — Northcentral University (www.ncu.edu), an innovator in online higher education, is please to announce that NCU alumna and Mentor Dr. Melanie Shaw has been selected to be a presenter at Learning Conference 08, slated for next June at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Learning Conference 08 will be the 15th International Conference on Learning, which is held each year in a different city. The 2007 conference met in Melbourne, Australia. The conference is closely associated with the International Journal of Learning, a refereed academic journal.

Dr. Shaw’s presentation at the conference will be based upon her doctoral dissertation, The Impact of Alternative Teacher Certification Programs on Teacher Shortages in Florida, Idaho, New Hampshire Pennsylvania, and Utah. Shaw’s research led her to the conclusion that, "Alternative certification programs are an effective method of recruiting teachers in hard-to-fill subject areas, particularly those content areas with the most critical shortages – special education, math, science, and foreign language."

After getting a bachelor of science in Liberal Studies and Music at Excelsior College in Albany, New York, Shaw was awarded a master’s degree in School Counseling from the University of West Alabama, then went on to get a second master’s at Grand Canyon University, in Educational Administration. She earned her doctorate at Northcentral University in 2006 — a PhD, with a specialization in Curriculum and Teaching.

Shaw is, in a number of ways, exemplary of both the NCU Learner and NCU Mentor. Her undergraduate studies were separated from her graduate studies by a number of years and a virtual lifetime. Initially trained for a career in music, she instead became a parent and subsequently began teaching at the elementary school level—work she pursued in the U.S. and in Germany. This prompted her to return to higher education and—two master’s degrees and a doctorate later—now serves as a Faculty Mentor at NCU.