MATS650 - Foundations of Education: Legacies, Culture, and Teaching

• 3 credits

Historical foundations and the social, economic and political context of schooling in the U.S. Critical issues are considered, including: legal/ethical principles and expectations of professional conduct; practices for democratizing classrooms and schools; teaching for social justice and equity in a diverse society; multicultural education; stratification in classroom and school; school funding and school reform.

MATS651 - Theories of Human Development & Exceptionality

• 3 credits

Focus on knowledge of self, social constructs and developmental theories, within a framework of critical analysis. Attention to development, learning and diversity of children and adolescents, including special educational and multicultural perspectives, and interactions among students, families and schools.

MATS652 - Pedagogy of Social Justice Seminar

• 3 credits

Pedagogical principles of anti-oppressive, multicultural education and the democratization of knowledge. Methodologies for social justice education, including student-centered teaching, self-directed learning, peer and small-group instruction and cooperative learning. Community building as the basis for classroom management and for democratizing the classroom. Attention to subject-specific pedagogy.

MATS654 - Curriculum & Assessment in Equity Education Seminar

• 3 credits

Standards-based curriculum development and the assessment of student learning with a focus on curriculum reform. Design and implementation of instruction using principles of experiential learning, integrated curriculum, differentiated teaching and constructivist design; literacy and quantification instruction in and across the disciplines; curriculum and assessment in the democratized classroom; use of appropriate technology; teaching for social justice and world understanding.

MATS656 - Technology for Educators

• 1 credit

For teachers and administrators in K-12 and higher education: with Web 2.0 - the offering of applications online - technology for educators has never been easier to learn and apply to the classroom. Learn to: Use blogs and wikis for student journaling and communication with parents. Make a Webquest for students Build simple websites for delivering content that are free to host online. Understand learning environments such as Second Life, and the Vermont Young Writers Project. Learn about and use an industry-standard Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle. Manage and manipulate photos and graphics using online tools. Create podcasts and basic video screencasts as learning tools. Add animation and avatars, online drawing, photography, and other multimedia tools & applications, to your teaching strategies.

MATS660 - Internship: Teaching for Social Justice Seminar

• Variable credits

Placement in classroom appropriate to certification sought. Observation and application of principles of general and subject-specific pedagogy; standards-based curriculum design; use of appropriate technology; assessment; human development and diversity. Integration of anti-oppressive, multicultural, social justice education. Supervision by mentor teacher and faculty advisor. Practicum begins with mentor teachers' first contractual day of the academic year and continues until teachers' last contractual day.

MATS662 - Teaching Practices in the Content Area Seminar

• 3 credits

Subject-specific practices in the endorsement area, including pedagogy, standards-based curriculum design, assessment, interdisciplinary approaches, use of appropriate technology and methods for integrating social justice and multicultural education.

MATS664 - Applied Research in Equity Education

• 3 credits

Strategies and tools for designing and implementing research in education. Identification of topic and research question, review of existing literature, design of field-based study. Completion of field-based research project, including data collection, analysis and presentation of findings.