Topics Studied and Credits Earned
Topics Studied and Credits Earned in the MIT Program
During the two years of the Master in Teaching program, students are awarded up to 16 credits for each quarter of study, for a maximum total of 96 credits. Credits earned in the program reflect the Washington Administrative Code’s “Knowledge and Skills” expectations for beginning teachers and the conceptual framework of The Evergreen State College Master in Teaching program.
In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the Master in Teaching program, content material covered and experiences associated with credit equivalencies are interwoven throughout the curriculum.
The following list includes examples of topics covered and credit equivalencies granted in the Master in Teaching program:
- Social, Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education
- Learning Theories and Grade-Level Teaching Strategies
- Perspectives on American Democracy and Cultural Diversity
- Media Literacy, Educational Technology, Software and Computer Applications
- Elementary, Middle and Secondary School Classroom Observations in Urban, Rural and Suburban Settings
- Approaches to Classroom Management
- Educational Leadership: Group Process and Governance
- Principles of Human Development and Quantitative Reasoning
- Performance-Based Assessment Strategies: Rubric Design and Issues of Assessment
- Thematic Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development
- Identifying and Reporting Abuse
- Relationship of Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements to Curriculum Planning
- Integrating the Arts in Curriculum
- Integrating Special Needs Students into the Regular Education Classroom
- School Law, Educational Policy and Cross-Cultural Ethics
- Responsibilities, Structure and Activities of the Teaching Profession including Issues in Professional Development
- Subject-Area Endorsements: Unit Planning, Grade-Level Curriculum Development, Theory-to-Practice Strategies
Other elements of the two-year program include:
- Guided Observation and Participation in Endorsement Fields including Two Quarters of Student-Teaching
- Advancement to Candidacy Portfolio Development
- Graduate Research Project
Credits that you earn are documented in your transcript. At Evergreen, a student’s transcript for each quarter of work is comprised of (1) a narrative evaluation written by the faculty member, (2) a self-evaluation written by the student and (3) a course description. The faculty member’s narrative evaluation always concludes with a list of “credit equivalencies”—a list of the subjects covered during the quarter and the number of credit hours assigned to each subject. These are intended to translate interdisciplinary studies into credits and course titles earned at other institutions. During one quarter of the program, you may earn equivalencies in four to six disciplines such as educational psychology, multicultural education, learning theories, etc. Credit equivalencies are determined at the conclusion of a quarter and are based on actual student work completed.
Some Details About Student Teaching
As a teacher candidate in the Master in Teaching program, you will benefit from two full-time, 10-week, student teaching experiences. Consistent with our goals for graduate-level teacher preparation, an interim quarter is provided between the two student-teaching assignments for personal reflection and attention to professional development topics.
The two internship placements are at different grade levels and in different schools, giving you a well-rounded exposure to teaching in your subject endorsement area(s) with a variety of public school students. You will be placed in classrooms where cooperating teachers have been identified by school districts as appropriate mentors for our teacher candidates.
The first student-teaching experience begins in late August or early September in accordance with the public school calendar. This model is based on research indicating that having a student-teaching experience in the opening weeks of the school year contributes positively to the success of a first-year teacher.
The second student-teaching assignment generally begins in early spring and continues toward the end of the academic year. With this second student-teaching opportunity, you will be able to (a) build upon your previous teaching experience, (b) gain an understanding of how teachers organize the curriculum in the closing months of the school year and (c) make comparisons between different school settings and grade levels.
The narrative evaluation of student-teaching performance is based on the Evergreen faculty supervisor’s observations in combination with the assessment of the cooperating classroom teacher. We use a nationally recognized assessment methodology that we have adapted for pre-service teacher education as well as the required Washington State Pedagogy Instrument.