Licenses include:
- Early Childhood Teacher of Students
With and Without Disabilities (Pre K-2)
- Elementary (1-6)
- Biology (8-12)
- Chemistry (8-12)
- English (8-12)
- Foreign Language/Spanish (5-12)
- History (8-12)
- Mathematics (8-12)
- English Language Learner (Pre
K-6) and (5-12)
- Reading Specialist (all levels)
- Teacher of Students With Moderate
Disabilities (Pre K-8) and (5-12)
The initial license qualifies candidates to begin
teaching in Massachusetts and more than 40 states,
islands, and territories that belong to the National
Association of State Directors of Teacher Education
and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Contract.
Interstate Certification
The NASDTEC Interstate Contract addresses reciprocal licensing of educational
personnel among participating jurisdictions, and includes the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Overseas Dependent Schools, and the following
46 participating states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam,
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Mew Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
and Wyoming.
The following teacher education programs at Elms College
have the current approval of the NASDTEC Interstate
Contract:
- Early Childhood (Pre K-2)
- Elementary (1-6)
- Biology (8-12)
- Chemistry (8-12)
- English (8-12)
- History (8-12)
- Mathematics (8-12)
- Foreign Language/Spanish (5-12)
- English as a Second Language (Pre
K-8 and 5-12)
- Reading Specialist (all levels)
- Teacher of Students with Moderate
Disabilities (Pre K-8)
NOTE: The Education Department expects periodic changes
in the Massachusetts educator licensing regulations.
Students should stay in close contact with their academic
advisors throughout their teacher preparation programs.
Description of the Program
The Elms College master of arts in teaching (M.A.T.) and the master of
education (M.Ed.) programs are built upon two premises. First, outstanding
teachers have a strong liberal arts educational foundation, which integrates
the ability to think critically and creatively with a deep and broad
understanding of subject matter. Secondly, skillful teachers move comfortably
between theory and practice, translating what they have learned into
effective curriculum and instruction.
The M.A.T. program is designed to attract students
of high caliber with four years of liberal arts or
sciences education. Upon successful completion of the
theoretical and practical aspects of the M.A.T. program,
the student will receive a master's degree as well
as an Initial Massachusetts state license as an educator.
Since Elms College is an approved member of the NASDTEC
Interstate Contract, the license received is reciprocal
with those of more than 40 states, islands, and territories.
The M.Ed. not linked with licensure offers an enrichment
degree designed to promote the professional development
of experienced teachers and school/community leaders.
It does not lead to teacher licensing.
Program Goals
The goals of the Elms College master's degrees in education programs
are as follows:
- To attract intelligent and talented women and men
into the teaching profession, and to facilitate
their development into competent, committed teachers.
- To produce teachers who have breadth of knowledge
in the liberal arts and additional depth of knowledge
in the subjects they will teach.
- To enable students
to translate understanding of subject matter and
knowledge of pedagogy into stimulating curriculum
in an interdisciplinary climate.
- To
provide students with experiences which will enable
them to develop their own critical and creative
thinking skills and to teach these skills
in their classrooms.
- To prepare students to understand
developmental and cultural variations in children
and to develop
appropriate
teaching strategies for children with
different backgrounds, abilities, and learning styles.
- To enable students
to experience teaching as a learning process, using
results of self-assessment and research to create and modify curriculum.
- To
enable students to use educational technology in
the planning and implementation of instruction and
to evaluate
its effectiveness. A strong
emphasis on multicultural education celebrates the fact that ours is
a pluralistic society. Since the urban area surrounding Elms College
supports an increasing variety of ethnic groups, the programs educate
all who enroll to become particularly sensitive to the pedagogical
issues of teaching in classrooms with a large number
of students for whom English
is a second language. We believe that an effective teacher must enter
the school community with the ability to apply knowledge about the
customs and learning styles of different ethnic groups.
Admission
The M.A.T./M.Ed. program is seeking applicants with
strong undergraduate academic records and a strong
motivation to work with children and young
people. Students should have maintained a grade point average (G.P.A.)
of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) in their undergraduate careers. Candidates
for admission to licensure programs must submit evidence of successfully
passing the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Communication
and Literacy test (morning session) and the subject matter knowledge
test appropriate to the license sought.
Program Requirements
Programs are designed to meet the needs of varied graduate
students, ranging from liberal arts graduates with
no formal background in education,
to licensed experienced teachers.
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