Teaching (M.A.T.) Program Requirements
Complete one of the following teacher certification sequences and then complete the additional required courses:
- Comprehensive Business (K-12)
- Dance Education
- Early Childhood Teacher (Preschool - Grade 3)
- Elementary Education (K-6)
- English as a Second Language
- English Language Arts Education (K-12)
- Mathematics Education (K-12)
- Music Education (K-12)
- Science Education (K-12) (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth Sciences and/or Physics)
- Social Studies (K-12)
- Theater Education
- World Languages (K-12) (French or Spanish)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Required Courses | ||
| CURR 531 | Strategies for Curriculum Development, Innovation and Change | 3 |
| SPED 500 | The Inclusive Classroom: Effective Practices for General Education Teachers | 3 |
| or CURR 538 | Assessment of Curriculum and Instruction to Improve the Performance of Teachers and Diverse Learners | |
| or CURR 548 | Curriculum and Instruction for Diverse Learners | |
| EDAD 521 | Using Research Strategies and Analysis of Data to Make Decisions in Schools | 3 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- Meet general master’s degree requirements;
- Successful completion of all academic requirements;
- Completion of 30 graduate credits with a minimum GPA of 3.00; and,
- Successful demonstration of professional dispositions and behavior.
Courses and Descriptions
CURR 541 Assessment and Student Learning 3 Credits
This course provides hands-on opportunities to create and design varied classroom assessments that help teachers align their teaching goals with student learning goals. With a focus on NJ Student Learning Standards across the curriculum content areas and grade levels, assessments will be designed for use in individual teaching practice and with a variety of diverse learners. Topics include designing assignment rubrics and effective essay prompts as well as developing evaluation criteria.
CURR 650 Understanding Gifted Learners 3 Credits
The course explores the ways in which the gifted and talented can differ from more typical learners in terms of their cognition, social-emotional dimensions, behavior, and long-term development. It focuses on theories of intelligence, differing conceptions of giftedness and talent development, and learning processes. Some specific topics include underachievement, perfectionism, dual exceptionality, gender issues, and underserved populations. The course also addresses the ways in which gifted education can evolve to fit the demands and opportunities embedded in complex, 21st-century socioeconomic, cultural, and technological contexts.
CURR 548 Curriculum and Instruction for Diverse Learners 3 Credits
This course will examine the curricular and instructional issues that educational leaders must address in accommodating the school program to the needs and abilities of diverse learners. A historical perspective will be developed with an emphasis on how schools have responded to meet the needs of the exceptional child. Legal issues and programmatic trends will be examined and assessed since the inception of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Multicultural issues will be introduced within the context of school and society. The responsibility of the educational leader in fostering a multicultural perspective pertaining to curriculum and instruction, governance, bias and prejudice and school climate and culture will be emphasized. Students will identify and develop curricular possibilities and solutions in school settings to accommodate learners’ diverse needs. Students will demonstrate course understandings through actual classroom and school applications that are referenced to state adopted core curriculum content standards, professional development standards, state adopted core curriculum content standards, professional development standards, standards and national school leadership standards.
SPED 504 Assistive and Augmentative Technology for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Disabilities 3 Credits
This course will emphasize the use of assistive technology, augmentative communication modalities, visual supports, and related instructional methods and strategies that maximize the learning of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other exceptional learning needs. Students will learn how to effectively customize materials and adapt learning environments using technology, with a specific focus on individuals with ASD. Students will become familiar with the use of high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech solutions that support the individualized needs of learners. An experience in the field will enable students to apply knowledge in a realistic classroom setting.
Prerequisite(s): SPED 512.
LITR 508 Literacy and the Bilingual/Bicultural Child 3 Credits
Presents multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on bilingual/bicultural children and their reading process. Strategies and materials for second language reading instruction are suggested and discussed.