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Be the change. Help urban students discover the power of their minds and voices through teaching.

When you enter the Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching program (MAT), you join a cohort of passionate, like-minded students, professors, and partner teachers dedicated to actively pursuing social equity and justice through careers in teaching. Our commitment to powerful pedagogy, in close partnership with urban schools, sets us apart. We are the first teacher preparation and initial licensure program to earn approval with distinction from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Our intensive one-year master’s program begins in May on the Clark University campus. By August, and for the remainder of the program, you will be fully immersed at one of five partner schools within the Worcester Public Schools system. This approach provides you the time to develop the practices and the meaningful relationships that lie at the heart of effective teaching in our urban schools.

These exceptional hands-on learning experiences are the result of carefully arranged, intentional placements that allow you to work closely with a teacher, university mentor, and a classroom of students. When you complete the program, you will be qualified for licensure and equipped to help generations of Clark alumni transform urban education.

The MAT program is an integral part of Clark’s Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice, which has formed a learning community in deep partnership with students, teachers, and schools in Clark’s Main South neighborhood. We encourage you to visit the Adam Institute’s website to learn more about the MAT program and the Adam Institute learning community, partner schools, impact, reputation, and initiatives, including the teacher diversity initiative.

Learn more on the Adam Institute website

Why a Master’s in Teaching at Clark University

  • Teach at one of our five urban partner schools, including the nationally recognized University Park Campus School, working closely with partner teachers, many of them program alumni.
  • Assume full responsibility for a class of elementary, middle school, or high school students during the majority of your graduate study.
  • Gain a competitive professional edge—most who seek to stay in Worcester are hired by the district. Nearly 50% of recent grads have secured jobs in Worcester Public Schools.
  • Deepen your learning experience through Teacher Rounds, Clark University’s signature collaborative learning practice that convenes small groups of M.A. in Teaching students, teachers, and education faculty for focused observation, inquiry, and reflection.
  • Become a part of a learning community of students, teachers, and schools in Clark’s Main South neighborhood, a partnership with  Clark’s Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice.
Teaching high school students

Helping new immigrants achieve their dreams

Assistant Professor Jie Park earned a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship in support of her research on literacy education and development among recently arrived immigrants who are entering high school.

Recent-arrival adolescents are expected to master disciplinary knowledge and concepts while learning English as an additional language
—Jie Park, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The Essentials

Program Overview

Our curriculum will expose you to engaging coursework and immerse you in the community and school system as you learn about the philosophy of education and the unique challenges of teaching in an urban setting. Our yearlong, cohort-based program begins in May with classroom-based learning. Courses covering curriculum planning are also open to veteran teachers within the Worcester Public Schools system, creating a unique classroom environment in which experienced educators and M.A. candidates exchange perspectives and learn from each other. In August you’ll be placed in a classroom at one of our partner schools, where you will observe and assist an experienced teacher.

Over the course of the school year, you gradually assume greater responsibilities, with late afternoon coursework at Clark complementing and reinforcing practical experience gained in the classroom. By the conclusion of the program, you will qualify for teacher licensure in Massachusetts.

Master of Arts in Teaching Middle (5-8) and High School (8-12)

Term: Summer

EDUC   311      TEACHING & LEARNING I
EDUC   348      UNDERSTANDING BEST PRACTICE

One of the following Curriculum & Knowing courses, corresponding to your teaching field:

EDUC   342      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN SCIENCE
EDUC   353      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN ART
EDUC   354      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN HISTORY
EDUC   355      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN THE HUMANITIES
EDUC   357      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN MATHEMATICS

Term: Fall

FULL-TIME CLASSROOM PLACEMENT
EDUC   308      LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
EDUC   359      TEACHING & LEARNING II (MID/SEC)
EDUC   380      TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

One of the following Ways of Knowing courses, corresponding to your teaching field:

EDUC   385      WAYS OF KNOWING IN HISTORY
EDUC   389      WAYS OF KNOWING IN THE HUMANITIES
EDUC   387      WAYS OF KNOWING IN MATHEMATICS
EDUC   386      WAYS OF KNOWING IN THE NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
EDUC   399      DIRECTED STUDY (Visual Art or Spanish, which includes second language acquisition)

Term: Spring

FULL-TIME CLASSROOM PLACEMENT
EDUC   361                  HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING
EDUC   362                  TEACHING AND LEARNING III (Mid/Sec)
EDUC   378 or 379       PRACTICUM: SECONDARY EDUCATION Middle or Secondary

Term: Summer

EDUC   311      TEACHING & LEARNING I
EDUC   357      CURRICULUM & KNOWING IN MATHEMATICS

Term: Fall

FULL-TIME CLASSROOM PLACEMENT
EDUC   359      TEACHING & LEARNING II
EDUC   360      LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
EDUC   383      WAYS OF KNOWING IN HISTORY (half-unit course)
EDUC   384      WAYS OF KNOWING IN THE HUMANITIES (half-unit course)
EDUC   387      WAYS OF KNOWING IN MATHEMATICS 

Term: Spring

FULL-TIME CLASSROOM PLACEMENT
EDUC   361      HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING
EDUC   362      TEACHING AND LEARNING III
EDUC   380      TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
EDUC   388      PRACTICUM: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
EDUC   386      WAYS OF KNOWING IN THE NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

  • Assume full responsibility of a class of elementary, middle school, or high school students
  • Understand and develop solutions to the everyday challenges of teaching
  • Connect curriculum to students’ lives
  • Help students discover the power of their minds and voices
  • Recognize and meet the needs of a diverse population of students
  • Collaborate with peer educators to develop lesson plans and targeted interventions
  • Appreciate the interconnected role schools and teachers play in urban communities

Requirements

10 courses, including a teaching practicum

  • Middle- and secondary-level students take an additional course corresponding to their teaching field.

Course Catalog

Relevant. Challenging. Transformative.

Faculty Research Areas

Katerine Bielaczyc

Katerine Bielaczyc

Associate Professor

New approaches to teaching and learning

Professor Bielaczyc develops technological and social infrastructures to create knowledge for personal, pedagogical, and systemic transformation. She also serves as director of the Hiatt Center for Urban Education.
Thomas Del Prete

Thomas Del Prete

Professor of Practice

Forming partnerships for success

Professor Del Prete focuses on university partnerships, urban teacher education, secondary school reform, and spirituality. He serves as director of the Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice.
Eric DeMeulenaere

Eric DeMeulenaere

Associate Professor

Analyzing the intersection of athletics and education

Professor DeMeulenaere has conducted research on high school sports participation, the relationship of school culture to educational change, frameworks for a “pedagogy of trust,” and media literacy.
Holly Dolan

Holly Dolan

Professor of Practice

Integrating new methods into the classroom

Professor Dolan focuses on facilitating the integration of a specially designed pre-K Number Worlds math program with “Accountable Talk” in several pre-school classrooms in Springfield, MA.
Letina Jeranyama

Letina Jeranyama

Associate Professor of Practice

New models for teacher professional development

Professor Jeranyama conducts research focused on secondary-level education, including an investigation into using the “rounds” model of teacher professional development supported by the Adam Institute.
Sarah Michaels

Sarah Michaels

Professor

Developing rigorous, coherent, and equitable classroom discourse

Professor Michaels is involved in research projects that focus on academically productive talk in math, science, and English language arts, from pre-kindergarten through high school.
Rosa Nam

Rosa Nam

Associate Professor of Practice

Exploring diverse adolescent literature

Professor Nam's research focus includes critical literacy, contemporary diverse adolescent literature, and AsianCrit.
Carmen Ocón

Carmen Ocón

Associate Professor of Practice

Working collaboratively in underserved communities

Professor Ocón focuses on educational policy, critical literacy, and sociocultural representations inside urban classrooms.
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Jie Park

Associate Professor

Examining adolescent literacy and language practices

Professor Park studies how first-generation immigrant students acquire academic discourses, and what cultural and linguistic resources they bring to their schooling.
Raphael Rogers

Raphael Rogers

Associate Professor of Practice

Enhancing student engagement with school

Professor Rogers explores interventions and methods that enhance student engagement with school and learning.
Nastasia Lawton-Stickor

Nastasia Lawton-Stickor

Research Scientist

Understanding students’ self-constructed identities

Professor Lawton-Stickor collaborates with youth to understand identity construction, perceptions of learning, and perspectives on social issues in the context of their school, social, and family lives.

Additional information about the Master of Arts in Teaching

LEARN MORE