Master of Arts in Teaching 2
Program Report
For
Master of Arts in Teaching
Spring, 2009
Prepared by:
Wayne Williams
Graduate Coordinator
Professor, Educational Foundations & Literacy
John Zelazek
Professor, Department of Educational Foundations & Literacy
660-543-8701
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCription of program 3
characteristics of program candidates
Table 1: Size of Program 4
Table 2: Candidate Persistence 5
Table 3: Demographics of Program 9
Certification program requirements 9
course list 11
Table 4: Course Offerings 14
matrices 14
description of field experiences 15
diverse classroom 16
description of program assessment system 16
assessment data 17
TEAC SURVEY 17
technology 18
faculty 19
program resources 19
APPENDICES:
Appendix A - course/competency matrix
APPENDIX B - ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION HANDBOOK
APPENDIX C - CERTIFICATION PLANS
appendix D - mat PROGRAMS OF STUDY
APPENDIX E - Internship Syllabi for EdCI 5100 and EdCI 5110, assessments, instructions, scoring rubrics
Appendix F- TEAC REPORT
Master of Arts in Teaching 56
Description of program
Department Home:
The Master of Arts in Teaching is an advanced degree offered through the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy in the College of Education. This advanced degree is designed for those individuals who have completed discipline-specific baccalaureate degrees and are seeking alternative pathways to certification in the areas of Middle School or Secondary. Due to the nature of the required course work, Special Education, Elementary Education, and Education Administration are not included in the MAT. This alternative certification program is designed to provide a base of sound theoretical and pedagogical knowledge, which includes the information and skills in best practice instruction. To complement the academic rigor of graduate level courses, the five propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are embedded in each of the courses required for the MAT. Because the MAT serves to address only the professional education competencies required of Missouri middle school and secondary teachers, content area course work and assessment of competencies in the various certification areas are determined in the Office of Certification and the content departments across the campus.
Type of Degree:
MAT candidates earn certification and a graduate degree in either a Middle School or Secondary emphasis. Those candidates pursuing K-12 certification (as defined by DESE, including Physical Education, Music Vocal, Music Instrumental, Vocational Family and Consumer Science, Art, etc.) follow the Secondary emphasis. To complete the MAT degree candidates must fulfill all requirements for certification (as identified by an audit of their transcripts in the Office of Certification) in their content field including the passing of Praxis II in their content area.
Requirements and Length of Program:
The MAT – Middle School emphasis is a 35-hour degree program (see Appendix D) designed to address professional education areas of: curriculum, student assessment, instructional planning, foundations of education, psychology of learning including psychology of exceptional children, psychology of the adolescent, and educational psychology, content area literacy, educational research, and field experiences to determine the impact on student learning. This emphasis also addresses competencies required to meet the specific knowledge, skills and dispositions of the middle school learning environment including: middle school foundations, middle school curriculum and development, and the assessment of literacy development
The MAT – Secondary emphasis is a 32-hour degree program (see Appendix D) designed to address the professional education competencies for secondary teachers including: curriculum development, student assessment, planning and methods of instruction, classroom discipline and motivation, content area literacy, foundations of education, the psychology of learning (see above), and educational research.
Both programs require a certification plan (developed through the Office of Certification – see Appendix C) that reflects knowledge in a specific content area. Both programs require five hours of field experience in the form of internships to further develop the candidates’ knowledge, skills and dispositions in the specific level (middle school or secondary) and content area. These internships require the development of a portfolio that reflects both MoSTEP and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Because most MAT candidates are working adults, they are part-time students (usually taking one to two classes per semester). They tend to complete the program in approximately two to three years. The time span may also vary depending on the number of content courses they are required to take to meet certification.
Size of Program:
The Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy (EDFL) has developed and maintains a graduate database (presented in an Excel format) for the purpose of monitoring: (a) academic progress, (b) degree emphases, (c) employment status, and (d) academic status (active or inactive) of all MAT candidates. The database is also used to monitor all candidates pursuing advanced degrees (Master of Science in Education and Education Specialist) offered by the Department of EDFL. The graduate database is actively monitored and reviewed daily to ensure accuracy and provide information in the planning and scheduling of class offerings.
As of January 16, 2009, there were 440 active MAT candidates (248 Middle School, 192 Secondary) matriculating through the MAT program. Of those 440 candidates, 144 are employed as teachers in the schools of Missouri (84 Middle School, 60 Secondary). Of the total of 256 completers of the MAT (since its approval by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education on October 10, 2002), 207 are employed as teachers (92% - based on a response rate of 92%). Of the 256 completers, 103 are middle school teachers, and 104 are secondary teachers.
Table 1. Size of Program
Year / # Admitted / # Completers / #Transfer / #All UCM2002-03 / 184 / 0 / NA / Yes
2003-04 / 213 / 6 / NA / Yes
2004-05 / 166 / 46 / NA / Yes
2005-06 / 193 / 41 / NA / Yes
2006-07 / 213 / 67 / NA / Yes
2007-08 / 265 / 68 / NA / Yes
Fall 2008 / 73 / 28 / NA / Yes
Persistence to Graduation:
Since its inception in 2002, the MAT has had 1337 candidates apply for this advanced degree program. As noted in Table 2, the attrition rate for these applicants is quite high. There have been almost twice as many individuals drop out of the program (become inactive) as have graduated. The reasons for this attrition rate are as many and varied as the individuals who applied. MAT candidates tend to be “career changers,” and many are shopping for another career. Although official exit interviews are not conducted, anecdotal conversations with those individuals who leave the MAT tend to suggest the major reasons are: (a) financial considerations, (b) temporal commitments to family, and/or other obligations, (c) the academic rigor of the MAT graduate courses, (many of these candidates have not been in a classroom in years), and (d) the inability to secure a teaching position.
Special note regarding retention of Inactive MAT Candidates:
A thorough review of the transcripts of inactive candidates by Dr. Zelazek indicated that 27 students did complete certification. Of these 27 candidates 15 candidates were close to completing their degrees when they became inactive. Because these candidates had completed their certification, they were now eligible for admission into the Master of Science in Education (MSE) degree offered in the Department of EDFL. Dr. Zelazek phoned these candidates and explained their options. After the phone calls, letters to the candidates went sent to them explaining the details of their options. They could contact the Graduate School and apply for the MSE. Their graduate course work toward the MAT could be folded into the MSE Programs of Study. We offered to develop their programs of study, and do all the necessary paperwork for them. All they had to do was contact the Graduate School and apply for the MSE. At this point six of those students are now active candidates in the Master of Science in Education, and two will complete their degree by spring 2009.
Table 2. Candidate Persistence
Year / Admitted / Graduated / Certified / Inactive / Active / Changed Major / Denied2002-03 / 184 / 84 / 84 / 76 / 3 / 14 / 5
2003-04 / 213 / 78 / 78 / 108 / 11 / 8 / 12
2004-05 / 166 / 47 / 47 / 87 / 17 / 11 / 7
2005-06 / 193 / 35 / 35 / 98 / 41 / 8 / 5
2006-07 / 218 / 11 / 11 / 67 / 122 / 14 / 2
2007-08 / 265 / 1 / 1 / 47 / 184 / 9 / 3
History of the Program:
The origins of the MAT began in 1989 when Central Missouri State University (Now UCM) was approached by the Kansas City School District (with the support of DESE) to provide an alternative route to certification to fill teaching positions in high needs areas – specifically the math and sciences at the middle school and secondary levels. As more teachers retired and student numbers continued to grow, the teaching shortage in Missouri became a reality. Consequently, this original alternative certification program began to spread beyond the specific parameters of “special shortage areas” into all content areas. The program also began to spread geographically beyond the Kansas City School District. Within three years of the original agreement with Kansas City, 12 school districts and 60+ teachers were involved in the alternative certification program offered by UCM. DESE was compelled to revise its original guidelines for alternative certification to keep up with the dynamics of this new pathway to certification. As more school districts began to experience teaching shortages, and more teacher education programs saw the credit hour potential, the Missouri Legislature and DESE established alternative certification as a reality in 2000.
In 2000, DESE approached CMSU/UCM with the idea of developing a master’s degree program to complement alternative certification. With the assistance of representatives from DESE and input from the Director of Certification, the graduate faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction designed the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). This program was designed to meet certification requirements, provide students with advanced instruction in areas of professional education, and maintain the academic rigor of a graduate degree – a program that would meet both state (MoSTEP) standards and national standards (NBPTS). The degree was designed to reflect best practices and philosophies of middle school and secondary programs. The MAT was officially approved by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education on October 10, 2002.
Alignment with Conceptual Framework:
The Master of Arts in Teaching is the largest graduate alternative certification program in Missouri. This degree program contributes to UCM’s role as a state leader in education. The MAT originated as an alternative certification program to meet the teacher shortages in specific disciplines (see history above). It has emerged to address the rapidly growing need for qualified teachers in Missouri’s classrooms in 19 different certification areas.
As an advanced degree program, the course work of the MAT addresses the Graduate Mission of the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy (Revised Fall, 2004 when EDFL was within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction), which states, “The mission of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s graduate program is to prepare students for a lifetime of intellectual inquiry. The program expands educators’ scholarship, curriculum and instructional abilities, broadens their global perspective and empowers them as change agents and creative problem solvers. The program’s essential components enhance abilities to communicate effectively and reflect on our diverse knowledge, beliefs, and values within the educational and broader community” (Graduate Mission Statement, Fall, 2004). The curriculum of the MAT also reflects the Mission of the Graduate School of UCM which states, “The mission of The Graduate School at the University of Central Missouri is to provide high-quality graduate programs that are offered in multiple delivery modes and meet the needs of the students’ personal and professional development, forwards their educational advancement and adapts to the changing needs of the workforce. The Graduate School accomplishes its mission by creating an environment conducive to learning, scholarship, and creativity for both students and faculty” (Graduate Catalog, 2008, p. 5).
The purpose and course work of the MAT clearly reflects the mission and goals articulated in the Conceptual Framework. The entrance and exit requirements of the MAT ensure content-area expertise of its graduates through degree audits and the development of a certification plan (including the passing of Praxis II in a specific content area). The pedagogical competencies identified in the MoSTEP standards are addressed in the prescribed course work of the MAT Programs of Study at the middle school and secondary levels. As an advanced degree program, the course work and assessments are designed to deepen the students’ knowledge, skills, dispositions, and research base in each professional education competency. Every course in the MAT has an embedded research component to further strengthen the candidates’ knowledge base in each pedagogical area. Required internships within the MAT build on candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions within an actual classroom setting. The impact on student learning and all the MoSTEP standards are assessed within these Internships. The internship assessments require the development of a portfolio that reflects both the MoSTEP standards and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). These portfolios provide candidates’ narrative accounts of their instruction to address various standards, how this instruction is assessed, and a reflection on the outcomes and possible revisions of the instructional process.
Professional Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions:
All MAT courses and their assessments are aligned with MoSTEP standards and the Core Propositions of Accomplished Teaching as identified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. These standards are listed in the course syllabi of the MAT. The courses for the MAT are designed to meet the needs of a new teacher, yet reflect the academic rigor of graduate level instruction. The MAT addresses (to some degree) the need for the “modern clinical model” (as suggested by Hinds, 2002) through its internships and field-based instruction. The courses meet state certification requirements as well as reflect attention to national Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The call for content expertise (Blair, 2004) is also addressed in the MAT. To complete the MAT, candidates must take discipline specific courses (as determined by DESE) as well as pass Praxis II in their content.