Brandeis University
Master the Art of Teaching Master of Arts in Teaching: Public Elementary
Eager for the complex challenges and deep rewards of a life in teaching? The Master of Arts in Teaching: Public Elementary Brandeis University The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT): Public Elementary at Brandeis University prepares you for active commitment to the democratic mission of public education. That mission rests on two core beliefs: • All children are able and deserve to flourish intellectually, socially, and morally. • It is the duty of teachers to promote that flourishing. Public educators in the democratic tradition accept that teaching is a public practice governed by standards of reason and professionalism, ethical and academic integrity, and obligations of accountability. They also respect the contributions of family and community to children’s formal and informal learning.
If you enter the MAT Program at Brandeis, you will become part of a learning community composed of a small cohort of fellow students, a group of experienced public school teachers affiliated with the program, and a faculty dedicated to your development as a teacher and to the creation of worthwhile educational experiences for children. The scale is intimate with approximately 10-15 students in each cohort. Students, mentors, and faculty work together in an atmosphere that is collegial and open to risk-taking. The Brandeis MAT: Public Elementary is an intensive, two-summer, and yearlong course of professional study.
Distinguished by Four Themes • Knowing Students as Learners Prospective teachers in the MAT program study children as individuals and members of communities. They begin learning how to shape their instruction by building on children’s interests, strengths, and needs as thinkers and doers.
their own teaching. They will develop habits of reliance on values, reason, and evidence in justifying and modifying pedagogy.
• Teaching for Understanding MAT students examine how academic content can be understood and used to give children wider access to their world and as a resource for authentic inquiry. They explore ways of holding ambitious, appropriate standards for a child’s intellectual activity, and learn ways of assessing results in accord with those standards and purposes. • Inquiry Prospective teachers are engaged not only in studying children’s thinking and learning, but also in probing their own practices and formulating questions to further
• Social Justice Brandeis prides itself on incorporating an active commitment to social justice into all of its programs. In this spirit, MAT students are expected to adopt a stance of advocacy for children, centered on creating conditions of educational decency and fairness in their own classrooms. They are expected to ask, “What is the quality of this experience for these children now, and where does it lead in the future?” The larger aim is to improve children’s life chances and to foster their ability to contribute to society as democratic citizens. These ambitious themes highlight a premise of our program, that good teaching is always work in progress. Responsible and effective teachers study their students’ modes of learning, examine their own work, bring new perspectives to bear, and revise their practice over time. A committed teacher with a lively and curious mind best helps students develop their own capabilities to think and learn.
The Perfect Program for You… • if you are a recent or imminent recipient of a strong B.A. in an appropriate discipline.
• if you are deeply curious about the human activities of learning and of constructing knowledge.
• if you are a midcareer professional seeking a change.
• if you have an appetite for hard work and vigorous collaboration.
• if you are eager to be of service, especially to people and communities historically not well served by public institutions.
• if you are a risk-taker.
Today more than ever our schools and children need teachers who possess these characteristics and a commitment to the democratic mission of public education.
Intensive, Collaborative, and Field-Based Your formal coursework begins in the first summer and continues through the following summer. You will examine theories and examples of human learning, study principles and practices of teaching specific subjects, and engage some of the big questions and ideas about purposes and problems of public education. Guided practice in public school classrooms will begin in the fall and continue through an intensive internship in the winter and spring. Working closely with the experienced teacher serving as your mentor, you are expected to assume gradually increasing instructional responsibility and begin functioning as a junior colleague in the school community. Over the course of the year, you will work to develop a beginning repertoire of instructional strategies. You will learn how to establish and manage a balanced literacy program and inquiry-oriented instruction in mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. We will help you learn how to interpret and adapt standards and prepared curricula in ways that are responsible and responsive to your students in an inclusive and productive classroom. You will be prepared to invite participation of your students’ families in meaningful conversation about
their children’s educational accomplishments and needs. Finally, you should have a good beginning knowledge of key educational dilemmas and debates, and be poised to enter into these. You will round out your year with Teacher Research intended to: • satisfactorily pursue a question you have raised and researched in your practice classroom, • demonstrate your conceptual command of the profession you have chosen, • launch you into your first year of full pedagogical responsibility in a spirit of passionate curiosity. Throughout the MAT Program, you will be expected to draw thoughtfully upon multiple learning resources: • the “more experienced others” you encounter in your field work and elsewhere, • the theory and research you encounter in your readings, • your cohort colleagues, • the program faculty, and • your own critically scrutinized experiences over time. You will in turn be expected to give attention, respect, and careful scrutiny to your colleagues’ thoughts, problems, and questions.
Personal Encounters with Knowledge
Where Will You Go from Here?
Program faculty and instructors include accomplished public school educators, distinguished teacher educators, school reformers, and curriculum specialists. Please see the Public Elementary MAT Website (www.brandeis.edu/ programs/education/mat) for more information about program curriculum, faculty, and more.
Students who successfully complete the program are awarded the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education. If a student has has met the requirements set by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she or he will be recommended for Massachusetts Initial Licensure to teach grades one through six. Please note that Massachusetts is part of the Interstate Certification Compact and has reciprocity agreements with 45 states, although these states may have additional testing or other
Brandeis in Brief Characterized by academic excellence since its founding in 1948, Brandeis is the youngest private research university, as well as the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored college or university in the country.
requirements for certification. For more information on certification processes visit www.brandeis.edu/programs/ education/licensure.html. It is our aim that upon completion of the MAT program you will have demonstrated, to your own satisfaction and that of others, how your practice demonstrates a belief in the ability of all children to flourish intellectually, socially, and morally. You will be a “wellstarted beginning teacher� ready to play an important role in our public elementary schools. You will embark on a journey that may well last a professional lifetime. You will be well qualified for teaching positions at the elementary level, especially in districts that value articulate, reflective, and collaboratively inclined teachers.
If your initial teaching position is in the Boston area, you will be supported by a Brandeis induction year program. In this professional development program, master elementary teachers mentor new teachers, visiting classrooms regularly to offer counsel and coaching. You and your peers will attend regular meetings that provide a forum for reflection, perspective, and continued learning.
How to Apply Go to www.brandeis.edu/ programs/educations/MAT/ apply. We seek applicants with a strong preparation in the liberal arts, or with a record of professional accomplishment in an appropriate field. Teaching children academic subject matters requires a lively intellectual curiosity, a breadth of general knowledge, and
a willingness for continued learning on the part of the adult. Therefore prospective elementary teachers must demonstrate disciplinary knowledge in language arts, history and government, science, and mathematics. Prior experience with children is strongly advised. Sustained involvement with, and responsibility for, a group of children places considerable demands on the psychic and
emotional (as well as intellectual and physical) resources of the responsible adult. It is best to have had some opportunity to test your aptitude for the degree of attention, alertness, and responsiveness that work with children requires. We encourage applications from persons of color, and others who are under-represented in the elementary teaching force.
Brandeis in Brief Named for the late Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis of the U.S. Supreme Court, Brandeis University combines the faculty and resources of a world-class research institution with the intimacy and personal attention of a small liberal arts college. For students, that means unsurpassed access—in and out of the classroom—to a faculty renowned for groundbreaking research, scholarship, and artistic output. At Brandeis, professors bring newly minted knowledge straight from the field or lab to the graduate and undergraduate classrooms.
Come Visit Us From the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) Eastbound Take exit 14 for I-95/Rt 128. After the toll, keep left for 95/128 North. While on ramp, exit immediately onto exit 24 for Route 30. Bear left onto Route 30. Turn right at first traffic light. This becomes South Street, and Brandeis is two miles ahead on left. From the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) Westbound Take exit 15 for I-95/Rt 128 and Route 30. After the toll proceed straight for Route 30. Turn right at end of the ramp, and then right again at first traffic light
Contacts For further information contact: Diana Turk, Ph.D. Director of Teacher Education 781-736-2023 dbturk@brandeis.edu Marya R. Levenson, Ph.D. Director, Education Program 781-736-2002 mlevenso@brandeis.edu Marjorie Margolis Teacher Education Specialist 781-736-2050 chisholm@brandeis.edu
ahead on the left.
Manuel Tuan MAT Program Coordinator 781-736-2022 tuan@brandeis.edu
From I-95/Route 128 Southbound
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onto Route 30. Turn left at next traffic light. This becomes South Street, and Brandeis is two miles
Take exit 24 for Route 30. At end of ramp, proceed through traffic light (across Route 30). This becomes South Street, and Brandeis is two miles ahead on the left. From I-95/Route 128 Northbound Take exit 24 for Route 30. Route 30 is one of several options at this exit, so follow signs carefully. Turn left at the top of the ramp onto Route 30. Turn right at the traffic lights. This becomes South Street, and Brandeis is two miles ahead on the left.
It is the policy of Brandeis University not to discriminate against any person on account of race, color, ancestry, religious creed, gender, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, disability, Vietnam-Era veteran, qualified special, disabled veteran or other eligible veteran status, or any other category protected by federal or state law. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Associate Vice President, Human Resources and Employee Relations, Gryzmish 106, 781-736-4464. Š2009 Brandeis University
Education Program MS 022 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110 781-736-2002 www.brandeis.edu/ programs/education
Education Program
Mailstop 022 Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110
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