Program Description – Year 1 (2008 Cohort)
The Master In Teaching Program (MIT) is based on three interwoven themes:
Democracy and Schooling, Multicultural and Anti-Bias Perspective, and
Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Learning. Over a two-year period, the
program examines what it means to be an effective teacher in today’s public schools
and seeks to develop leaders in teaching and curriculum development. To move toward
these goals during the first year, MIT students divided their time between on-campus
classes and practicum experiences in public schools. Each student worked in urban,
suburban, and rural schools under the guidance of certified teachers, and also
completed academic coursework on campus.
Through academic subjects studied on-campus and experiences in public
schools, MIT students participated in a wide range of small-group seminars, hands-on
field experiences, group problem-solving activities, workshops, lectures and panel
discussions. They improved critical thinking and writing skills by writing numerous
thesis-based critical essays that explored the relationship of learning theory, diversity,
and teaching. Using this critical lens on theory and practice, they prepared to teach
thoughtfully and effectively by creating numerous lesson plans and a substantial multidisciplinary curriculum unit.
The year's work included the following:
Program participants investigated appropriate uses of collaborative group-work
based on Cohen's Designing Groupwork; studied democratic classroom management
and effective strategies in group decision making using Landau’s The Art of Classroom
Management: Building Equitable Learning Communities and applied it in creating a
comprehensive management plan; wrote a plan for creating a strong collaboration with
parents and communities of their practicum school using Tutwiler’s Teachers as
Collaborative Partners: Working with Diverse Families and Communities; studied major
models of teaching (direct instruction, presentation, discussion, problem-based
instruction, cooperative learning, and concept attainment) as described in Classroom
Management and Instruction by Arends; completed a series of workshops on reading
and literacy including how to diagnose and prevent reading difficulties and use of
research based intervention strategies; and they completed a course on teaching
literacy and content to English Language Learners. To solidify their understanding of the
relationship between theory and practice, MIT students wrote lesson plans in a variety
of content areas, connected their learning objectives to the State of Washington’s
Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and Grade Level Expectations
(GLEs) and critiqued their lessons based on learning theory and their experiences
teaching. The students created a substantive multi-day, culturally responsive
interdisciplinary curriculum unit. This unit was based on research done by the
Evergreen Center for the Improvement of K-12 Education in conjunction with the
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis about their history. Through a detailed
assessment of the State of Washington’s EALRs, program members determined areas
in their subject matter preparation that were solid and areas that needed attention.
To enhance their abilities to communicate with each other and serve their future
students, program members learned how to create and make use of personal web
pages. During the year, each MIT student prepared and integrated teaching technology
into a lesson in her/his endorsement area. In addition, they developed and used their
technology skills to locate and document educational research for their masters papers.
Based on an understanding of developmental theory and best practices in teaching,
MIT students studied curriculum development and methodologies in their specific
content areas. Examples of texts used by all students to support the development of
their knowledge and skills included: Reading Process and Practice; Understanding by
Design; Multicultural and Gender Equity in the Mathematics Classroom; Brain Matters:
Translating Research into Classroom Practice; Teaching the Best Practice Way:
Methods that Matter K-12; Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language
Learners; Widening the Circle: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for American Indian
Children; Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities; Literacy
with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest.
Texts used by elementary education students to support the development of
knowledge and skills in literacy included: Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips and
Techniques; Literacy Moves On: Popular Culture, New Technologies and Critical
Literacy in the Elementary Classroom.
Texts used by secondary education students to support the development of
knowledge and skills in literacy included: In the Middle: New Understanding About
Writing, Reading; Learning and Speaking Volumes: How to Get Students Discussing
Books-and Much More.
MIT students examined their cultural filters and assumptions through reflective
writing, discussions, and participation in workshops including panels of relevant guest
speakers. Participants examined theories concerning the nature of learning.
Specifically, they read and analyzed texts by Plato, Rousseau, Dewey, Skinner, Piaget,
Vygotsky, Rogoff, and Noddings. They explored societal beliefs and conditions
concerning excellence, equity, democracy, and equality in America's public schools.
They also examined the relationships of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and ability to the
quality of education students receive. Students read, critiqued, discussed, created
workshops, and wrote extensive essays about the ideas and information in texts such
as The American School 1492-2006; The Mismeasure of Man; Other People's Children:
Cultural Conflict in the Classroom; The Inner Lives of Immigrant Children; The Pact:
Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream; Learning Outside the Lines;
Pedagogy of the Oppressed; Ten Little Indians; A White Teacher Talks About Race;
Asian Americans in Class: Charting the Achievement Gap among Korean American
Youth; Ain’t No Makin’ It; Tongue-Tied: The Lives of Multilingual Children in the Public
Schools; “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other
Conversations About Race; Boy Writers: Reclaiming their Voices; “I Won’t Learn from
You”: And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment; Beyond Diversity Day: A Q&A on
Gay and Lesbian Issues in Schools; No Time to Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of
Kuper Island Residential School.
For research and scholarly writing, each student completed an individual research
paper on a topic that had the potential to improve her/his ability to serve future students.
Students participated in workshops on research design and educational statistics, using
the texts Reading Educational Research and Writing Literature Reviews, to support their
ability to critique educational research. These papers included a substantial critical
review of the relevant literature, summative conclusions and specific recommendations
for practice. These papers required graduate-level writing that used the documentation
style of the American Psychological Association. These papers will be presented at a
conference during winter quarter of the second year of the program and will be
published in a conference proceedings book.
Faculty:
Jacque Ensign
Gery Gerst
Masao Sugiyama
Sherry Walton, Program Director