MAT in Middle and High School Education
Schools create exciting possibility and opportunity at the same time that they often reproduce the vast and troubling inequities in our society. As a future teacher, it is essential to begin examining the ways schools operate in society, the positions and expectations of teachers and students, and the particular pedagogies performed within their walls.
As a student in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Middle and High School Education program, you will re-imagine the possibilities of schooling, carefully observe and analyze moments of teaching and learning, participate in an extensive field experience, and develop the practices of teaching that push and guide students towards their highest potential.
The 12-15-month residential MAT program is for candidates who are seeking Massachusetts Initial teacher license at the middle and high school levels in the following areas:
- Grades 5-12: English, History, Latin & Classical Humanities, Social Sciences
- Grades 5-8 and 8-12: Mathematics
- Grades 5-8: General Science
- Grades 8-12: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics
- Grades PreK-8 and 5-12: Spanish and German
The Education department also partners with the Classical Studies department to offer a two-year Master of Arts with teaching licensure.
The MAT program in Middle and High School Education is designed and approved to meet only the Massachusetts initial licensure requirements. For information on licensure in other states, see below.
Message from Program Director
Ryan Redmond
Director, Middle and High School MAT Programs
Philosophy
In the Middle and High School Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, you will learn how to effectively move between the theoretical and the practical. Students will develop an understanding of the crucial theoretical frameworks in Education, attention to student thinking, the barriers that exist in learning contexts, the decisions that teachers make, and how to reflect on extensive field experience in order to develop effective and responsive teaching practices.
Courses and Requirements
The Middle and High School Education program requires 10 courses from the following areas.
1 Introductory Course
- ED 101: Introduction to Teaching in Middle and Secondary School
(includes a pre-practicum experience)
1 Foundations of Literacy Course
- ED 128: Foundations of Literacy
1 Course in Human Development and Learning
- ED 130: Human Development and Learning
1 Course in the Social, Cultural and Historical Foundations of Education
- ED 160: Post-colonial Theories
- ED 161: Anthropology and Sociology of Schooling
- ED 162: Critical Histories of U.S. Education
- ED 163: Philosophies
- ED 167: Critical Race Theory
1 Course in Exceptionalities in Learning
- ED 142: Education of the Exceptional Child
1 Course in Curriculum or a Related Guided Elective
- ED 110: History and Political Science/Political Philosophy Curricula
- ED 111: Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in the Science Curriculum
- ED 112: Mathematics Learning Environments
- ED 113: Language Arts Curricula in the Middle and Secondary School
- ED 114: Linguistic Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
(Cross listed with German GER 114 and Modern Languages ML 114) - ED 119: Development of Knowledge and Reasoning in Engineering
1 Course in the Practices in Teaching taken during the Semester of Student Teaching
- ED 120: Practice of Teaching: History and Political Science/Political Philosophy
- ED 121: Practice of Teaching: Science
- ED 122: Practice of Teaching: Mathematics
- ED 123: Practice of Teaching: English
- ED 124: Practice of Teaching: Languages
- ED 125: Practice of Teaching: Latin and Classical Humanities
- ED 129: Practice of Teaching: Engineering and Design
1 Student Teaching
- ED 102: Supervised Teaching in Middle and Secondary School and Seminar
2 Courses in the Academic Field
Specific Requirements for MAT Mathematics and Middle School General Science Students
MAT Mathematics Students
Middle School Mathematics
An MAT student for middle school Mathematics should have taken by the time of graduation from the MAT program:
- At least two semesters of Calculus
- Linear Algebra
- At least two proof-oriented courses like Discrete Mathematics, Number Theory, or Geometry
Some Probability/Statistics and experience with Computer Science are desirable.
At the time of application for the MAT middle school Mathematics program, a prospective student should have completed at least two semesters of Calculus and one more advanced course. Letters of recommendation from former Mathematics Professors are strongly encouraged.
High School Mathematics
An MAT student for high school Mathematics should have taken by the time of graduation from the MAT program:
- At least two semesters of Calculus (including multidimensional calculus)
- Linear Algebra
- Abstract Algebra
- either Real or Complex Analysis
Some Probability/Statistics and experience with Computer Science are desirable. Courses in Discrete Mathematics, Number Theory and Geometry are also strongly recommended.
Many students find Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis too difficult after just one semester of Linear Algebra. Often a course at an intermediate level (Discrete Mathematics, Number Theory, Geometry, or courses entitled "Transition to Advanced Mathematics" or "Introduction to Proof") can be a helpful stepping stone for more advanced Mathematics Courses.
At the time of application for the MAT high school Mathematics program, a prospective student should have completed at least two semesters of Calculus, Linear Algebra, and at least one course at a more advanced level. Those students who did not major in Mathematics in their undergraduate education should consider student teaching placement options that will allow them to spend most of the Fall Semester at Tufts. Letters of recommendation from former Mathematics Professors are strongly encouraged.
MAT Middle School General Science Students
Students in the MAT Middle School General Science program will receive the equivalent of two course credits in the sciences and one course credit in education if they take the following sequence of three courses:
- ED211: Some of What Matters about Matter: Intensive Properties
- ED212: Conceptual Distinctions: The Case of Heat and Temperature
- ED213: Earth's Energy Balance
Students who take only two of these courses will receive the equivalent of one course credit in the sciences and one course credit in education. Students who take only one of these courses will receive the equivalent of one course credit in education.
Program Objectives
- Understand the triangle of education and its components (the teacher, the students, and the subject) and consider them carefully.
- Critically examine teaching, learning, and schooling through the lenses of the culture of power and other complex theoretical frameworks.
- Maintain a strong academic knowledge of the content they want to teach and employ pedagogies that best meets students’ needs to foster learning.
- Draw upon the research in human development and learning, working with exceptionalities in the classroom, learning theory and cognitive development, adolescent psychology to design successful classroom cultures and practices.
- Identify the culture and structure of schools and understand how schools shape the values and work of teachers and students.
- Learn about the community in which they teach and to think of themselves as teachers in a community.
- Understand the profound ethical and moral considerations embedded in the decisions that teachers must make every day in their classrooms and the impact of those decisions on students and their learning, their families, and community.
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)