MAT in Elementary STEM Education
We will not be accepting applications for the Online MAT in Elementary STEM Education program for the 2023-2024 academic year. We are revising the program and will post updates on admissions in the near future. In the meantime, we welcome inquiries which may be directed to Brian Gravel.
The online Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary STEM prepares future educators for the deeply intellectual and humanizing work of teaching. We have a strong tradition of preparing thoughtful, creative, and empathetic educators. Recognizing that schools can both reproduce and disrupt the inequities of society, our candidates learn to listen to and value students’ thinking as they cultivate the perspectives and tools needed to thrive in the classroom. Our faculty build from their own research on learning and teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to support candidates in filling much-needed roles in elementary schools across Massachusetts.
Candidates graduating from the Elementary STEM Program receive a MAT degree and endorsement for Initial License for grades 1-6. The program is designed and approved to meet only the Massachusetts initial licensure requirements. For information on licensure in other states, see below.
Full-time students typically complete the program in 12 months. Part-time students can complete the program in 18-24 months. There are two in-person immersions per year, where students will come to the Tufts University Medford Campus for face-to-face engagements.
Message from Program Director
Brian Gravel
Director, Elementary STEM Education
Program Format
As an online candidate in the MAT in Elementary STEM, you can expect to:
- Participate in weekly, live online course meetings to interact with your faculty and peers in real-time.
- Use video intensively to bring moments and curiosities from the classroom into our shared digital space.
- Attend two, 3-day on-campus residencies, where online students come together with faculty and classmates to prepare for upcoming course and practicum work.
- Complete an 8-month placement in a school to do deep, immersive classroom-based learning and practicum work. Placement occurs concurrently with coursework. (see Field Placement)
Job Placement
Since our program began, many of our graduates are teaching in Boston-area school districts such as Somerville, Cambridge, Malden, as well as in public and independent schools in other regions of the country. Others are working in education-related roles in the nonprofit and private sectors.
Courses and Requirements
Courses in the Elementary STEM Program include introductions to theories of teaching and learning, consideration of teaching all students in the classroom, courses on the social and critical foundations of education, and courses contemplating the meaningful integration of the arts into classrooms. During the practicum experiences, students enroll in courses aimed at practicing and reflecting on teaching, on designing and refining curriculum, and on improving pedagogy across the content areas. The focus on STEM comes through a variety of courses that consistently link back to conversations about literacies, social and emotional health of classroom communities, and critical foundations for understanding how to build just and equitable learning environments. The specific courses include:
- EDO 230: Human Development and Learning
- EDO 260: Critical Foundations of Education
- EDO 290: Foundations of Literacies
- EDO 242: Education of the Exceptional Child
- EDO 203: Introduction to Teaching in Elementary Schools
- EDO 215: Elementary Mathematics and Science Learning Environments
- EDO 216: Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum I
- EDO 204: Practices of Teaching in Elementary Schools
- EDO 217: Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum II
- EDO 225: Practices of Teaching Elementary STEM
Optional additional course:
- EDO 295: Arts and Expression in the Elementary Classroom
Program Objectives
Graduates from this program will:
- Understand teaching as an intellectual, collegial, and rigorous profession.
- Reflect critically on classroom practice, student understandings, cognitive and social-emotional development, and teaching every student in elementary school classrooms.
- Practice close attention and responsiveness to students' thinking and the practices of the STEM disciplines.
- Develop a foundational understanding of how children learn to read and write, while considering multiple "literacies" that span STEM, ELA, social studies, and the arts.
- Construct understandings of the role of schools in communities and societies, and examine schools as complex and dynamic places using social justice and equity perspectives.
Disclosure on teacher initial licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Each state has its own requirements for licensure. It is our duty to disclose our approvals and requirements.
Our MAT program is an approved initial teacher licensure program by the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE). As such, the program requires that all required practicum hours for licensure be completed in person at a public or approved charter school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While the required course work is offered online, the program is limited to candidates who can commit to completing their practicum in Massachusetts.
If you intend to teach outside of Massachusetts once you complete the program, it is not determined whether this program meets your home state requirements for initial licensure. It is your responsibility to complete any due diligence for reciprocity with other state licensure requirements. Please see the following table link for contact information for your home state’s licensure agency to confirm whether this program will meet your home state’s requirement for licensure. (Table)