Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)

For both the Master of Arts in Teaching and the Master of Arts in Urban Education programs, we seek highly motivated and dedicated students with a strong academic background, a commitment to teaching diverse students in an urban setting and a demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively and reflectively with others.

(Clark undergraduates who qualify for the Accelerated B.A./Master's Degree Program are eligible for the M.A.T.)

Master of Arts in Teaching

The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) is an intensive, full-year program designed to qualify students interested in elementary, middle or high school teaching in urban settings for the "initial" teaching license in Massachusetts. The program is a unique blend of school and university experiences. It requires summer courses and a full academic year of teaching in one of the partner schools of the Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education. The Massachusetts initial teaching license qualifies students to teach in most other states.

Eligibility
Students enter the M.A.T. program having completed a liberal arts degree. Students interested in teaching at the secondary level normally have fulfilled a major in their planned teaching field, such as English, history, mathematics or biology. Students must pass the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure before the end of the fall of their M.A.T. year to retain eligibility.

Clark undergraduates may qualify for the M.A.T. as one of the University's accelerated degree programs (contact Marlene Shepard at the Hiatt Center for Urban Education for information). All other applicants must submit a completed application by February 1.

We seek highly motivated and dedicated students with a strong academic background, a commitment to teaching diverse students in an urban setting, and a demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively and reflectively with others.

Program of Study
All students in the M.A.T. program take the Human Development and Learning course and a sequence of three "teaching and learning" courses during the program year. These common courses address some of the core themes that unify the program, and support students in the development of their portfolio-a culminating assessment in lieu of a thesis. Additional required courses are tailored to students' specific teaching areas or levels.

The program is committed to developing teachers who:

• believe that all students can learn;
• foster authentic learning, i.e., who try to engage all students in meaningful thinking, reading, writing and speaking activities;
• support all students in learning, with an emphasis on academic literacy, personalization, and equitable "best practice" teaching;
• build learning communities with their children based on values such as respect, mutual support and collaboration, and likewise collaborate with colleagues for the benefit of children;
• continually reflect on and assess their own teaching.

Among many other distinguishing features, the Master of Arts in Teaching program:

• immerses students in cohort groups with support from mentor teachers, teacher-leaders and Hiatt Center faculty in one of the partner schools from the Hiatt Center K-17 Professional Development School Partnership for the full academic year.
• integrates school and University perspectives in required courses, with both teachers from partner schools and University faculty in instructor roles;
• connects school experience and study in all phases of the program;
• provides students with collaborative learning experiences such as "rounds," a signature practice that brings together students, teachers and University faculty for structured classroom observation and reflection;
• provides students with teaching responsibility for the majority of the academic year.

Program Features

Students in the M.A.T. and M.A. programs are assigned to cohort groups with mentor teachers and University mentors in one of the partner schools from the Hiatt Center K-17 Professional Development School Collaborative during the academic year.

Both programs integrate course work in education and the arts and sciences with direct, mentored teaching experience during the academic year.

Students participate in and lead the team learning experience we call rounds in their classrooms.

Both M.A.T. and M.A. students complete and present a portfolio of their work. M.A. students conduct a teacher research project, as well.

Recognition

One of our partner schools, the Jacob Hiatt Magnet Elementary School, was recognized in successive years by the U.S. Department of Education, first with an award acknowledging the professional learning that takes place there, and then with the Blue Ribbon for Excellence, the highest national award for students achievement. At the University Park Campus School, both the teachers (many of them graduates of Clark programs) and students have been recognized locally and nationally for outstanding achievement.

The Clark-Worcester Collaborative has been cited for innovation and quality in national publications, such as the Journal for Teacher Education and National Research Council bulletin, and has been supported by federal grants including the Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement and Teacher Recruitment program. In 2001, the Hiatt Center and the Worcester Public Schools were one of seven partnerships in the country awarded major funding by the Carnegie Corporation to transform the district's high schools into small learning communities that would match the University Park Campus School's record of success.

For more information regarding the program or to apply, interested students should e-mail mshepard@clarku.edu or call (508) 793-7222.

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