By the time Dr. Wayne Hickman became an assistant professor at 麻豆官网首页入口 in 2024, he had over 30 years of classroom and administrative experience. With a philosophy that focuses on self-efficacy and relationship building, he鈥檚 a natural fit for both 麻豆官网首页入口 Online鈥檚 Master of Education (MEd) in Instruction program and the Specialist in Education Leadership program.
At the beginning of his career, though, Dr. Hickman didn鈥檛 think he would end up educating educators. In fact, he didn鈥檛 think he would be an educator at all.
Originally, Dr. Hickman envisioned spending his career in the U.S. Marine Corps. He participated in Reserve Officers鈥� Training Corps (ROTC) in high school and had his eye on a scholarship to the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. However, he was forced to change those plans. 鈥淭owards the end of my time in high school, my mom got very ill and ultimately died early in my college career,鈥� Dr. Hickman said. 鈥淚 also didn鈥檛 get the Marine Corps scholarship I was wanting, so I turned down the smaller scholarship I received and was just totally adrift.鈥�
Dr. Hickman ultimately decided to stay close to his family, attend college in his hometown and major in accounting. After a rough start, he put his studies on hold and joined the Marines as a reservist. He returned to school a year later more focused, but still unsure of what direction to take. 鈥淚 still wasn鈥檛 interested in teaching,鈥� he remembered. 鈥淚 changed majors five times before I finally realized that I might really enjoy teaching.鈥�
Inspired by his mother who had been a teacher and the scoutmasters who鈥檇 instilled in him a strong sense of civic duty, Dr. Hickman had finally found his calling and was ready to make an impact. Over the next three decades, he found new ways to influence student success and contribute meaningfully at the school and district levels.
Dr. Hickman鈥檚 first teaching job was teaching current events to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Burke County Middle School in Waynesboro, Georgia, in 1993. In a market where there were more qualified teachers than open positions, this was a great start for a budding educator 鈥� at least in some cases. In other cases, it was the kind of job that would cause any teacher, regardless of level of experience, to seriously reflect. 鈥淭he principal said, 鈥業鈥檝e got 30 atlases and a rolling cart. You鈥檙e going to be pushing it into different teachers鈥� classrooms during their planning period,鈥欌�� Dr. Hickman explained. 鈥淭he first class I got was a class of 47 eighth graders. I didn鈥檛 have the luxury of asking for more desks, so we had them sitting on the floor and in the aisles.鈥�
However, class size wasn鈥檛 the only intimidating aspect about Dr. Hickman鈥檚 first assignment. He also didn鈥檛 have curriculum standards to work from and, on top of that, students weren鈥檛 required to pass current affairs to move on to the next grade. It became very apparent that student engagement was going to be an issue, so Dr. Hickman turned to his mentor and fellow teachers for support. 鈥淭hrough all of that I started learning that the content, as important as it was, had to come second,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had to learn how to build relationships with the kids.鈥�
After refocusing his efforts, Dr. Hickman was able to make what many of his students saw as a throwaway class meaningful. In a place such as Burke County, where many families at the time lived in poverty, this student-centered approach had a profound effect on both the students and Dr. Hickman himself.
After teaching social studies for eight years, Dr. Hickman became one of Burke County Middle School鈥檚 assistant principals in 2001. In 2006, with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), he became the principal of Burke County High School. His relationship-focused philosophy had already served him well, but it was about to be put to a high-stakes test.
That year, the school鈥檚 graduation rate was only 54 percent. As a result, it was identified as needing improvement under the federal government鈥檚 No Child Left Behind Act.
Dr. Hickman asked the Burke County Board of Education for five years to improve. His first order of business was to change the school schedule, so students could get more out of their education and earn more credits, as well. 鈥淲e did that through collaborative meetings with the teachers and letting teachers investigate different scheduling styles,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e eventually settled on what was called a composite schedule.鈥�
Composite scheduling is a mix between traditional and block scheduling, but more complex than the more common modified block scheduling in which some classes are longer but taught for only a portion of a school year while others are shorter and taught all year. It鈥檚 like blending a semester-based college class schedule with the yearlong schedule often employed in K-12 schools. The real power of the schedule lies in the fact that the teachers use student outcome data to suggest format changes each year, so that the schedule becomes responsive to student needs.
True to his interpersonal approach, Dr. Hickman ensured that teachers, parents, administrators and students were involved throughout the entire process. The resulting schedule was tailored to Burke County High School鈥檚 needs and complemented by collaborative, data-driven efforts led by teachers to support student learning. By 2010, the school鈥檚 graduation rate had risen to 78 percent.
After serving as principal, Dr. Hickman served as his district鈥檚 director of special education and executive director of operations. However, after a brush with retirement in 2024, he became an assistant professor at AU and reignited his passion for being in the classroom. 鈥淚n my heart, I had always wanted to teach at the college level one day,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is where I see that maybe I’m having the kind of impact I鈥檝e always hoped to have. I鈥檓 dealing with teachers and administrators across not just the state, but across the nation.鈥�
No matter what form Dr. Hickman鈥檚 impact at AU takes, it comes infused with the successes and challenges of his own diverse career. For example, when he teaches Best Practices in Social Studies Education, his approach is informed by the student engagement issues he faced in that first current events class.
鈥淚 do everything from the standpoint of teaching history through inquiry. I base a lot of that on the inquiry design model that came out of the C3 Framework: the College, Career, and Civic Life Framework. I teach that to the teachers early on. It gives you a perfect place to start and you鈥檝e got so much flexibility with how you build it out.鈥�
In addition to empowering teachers to teach an engaging curriculum, Dr. Hickman teaches a variety of Educational Leadership courses for school administrators, with a focus on developing confident, knowledgeable leaders who are equipped to become experts in their field. In fact, his current research project is focused on leadership and self-efficacy. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to tie my research on leadership self-efficacy in with administrator and leader mental well-being,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 also really focused on self-reflection practices and metacognitive practices as a part of building that efficacy.鈥�
With this work, Dr. Hickman is expanding his relationship-focused philosophy in an exciting new direction. By exploring how administrators can strengthen their confidence and relationships with themselves, he鈥檚 empowering a new generation of educators to build strong, student-centered communities.
In AU Online鈥檚 MEd in Instruction program, students can choose from 21 different degree tracks, so they can build the efficiency they need to make their own impact. With classes on applying research to instruction, teaching diverse learners and more, this program is designed to not only help teachers learn new skills but also give them the tools to keep learning throughout their careers.
To find out more about AU Online鈥檚 flexible programming and degree specialties, request more information today.
Recommended Readings
4 Leadership Styles in Education
Poverty in Schools: How It Affects Learning and School Performance
Self-Care Tips for Teachers
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