Accelerated graduate teaching degree targets science and math needs
The first group of graduate
students in the new Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program,
with UD associate professor of education Laura Eisenman
(back right).
UD’s new Master
of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is a new fast-tracked
graduate program aimed at both professionals and recent
graduates who want to pursue a teaching career.
Offered by the College
of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the MAT
program is unique in that it is designed to accommodate
students with different career backgrounds. For recent
college graduates who have a general subject degree in
the areas of math or science, this program offers a graduate
degree and teacher certification in just one year. The
program is also open to people who’ve decided to leave
their current career and become a teacher.
“I decided to apply to the Master of Arts
in Teaching program because I had heard many great things
about the School
of Education (SOE),” said Benjamin Berg, one of the
ten graduate students in the new program. “As a college
graduate with a science degree switching to teaching,
this program provided exactly what I was looking for.”
Reed Smith has worked for AstraZeneca for
22 years as a chemist in drug discovery. Now, he says
he wants to promote an interest and passion for pursuing
science as a career to students in the classroom. “I want
to be prepared to do the best job I can,” he said. “I
hope to bring the excitement I have for science to the
high school students I work with.”
Smith enrolled in the program with another
colleague from AstraZeneca, Russ Mauger. Mauger, 55, says
instead of retiring after leaving the company this year,
he’s looking forward to this career change.
“It’s a great opportunity for our candidates
who come with a strong content background to be immersed
for 12 months in education and school settings, preparing
for a career in teaching,” said Brad Glass, program coordinator
and assistant professor in SOE.
The program is a part of Delaware’s successful
application for Race to the Top funds. “This is a great
example of the value of UD partnering with the state,
addressing one of the state’s most urgent needs and bringing
strong students to the university,” said Nancy Brickhouse,
professor in SOE and deputy dean of CEHD. The first cohort
of students began the program in July 2010.
Jeffrey Gunther was the first graduate student
accepted into the MAT program and says he was immediately
drawn to it. A 2008 Cornell University graduate, Gunther
majored in neurobiology and behavior and environmental
engineering technology, but says he always had an interest
in environmental education.
While serving as a science tutor in Portland,
Oregon, Gunther says he realized how important it was
for students to have a strong foundation in basic science
concepts before trying to take on larger environmental
issues.
“I was seeing that most of the jobs that
I wanted in environmental education looked for teaching
certification,” Gunther said. “So at the same time I was
looking at getting a teaching degree, I was beginning
to appreciate the need for a better general science education.”
“Math and science are high-needs areas,”
said Glass. “This program is giving the students the training
they need to be successful teachers their first year,
but also the tools that will allow them to continue to
grow as educators throughout their career.”
