Bard, A Place to Think - Master of Arts in Teaching

Improving Education

In line with their mission to make positive changes in the public schools, the faculty of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program supplies leadership in developing and applying a variety of approaches that differ from conventional classroom practices. Additionally, the MAT Program's teaching internship provides an opportunity to question the tacit assumptions, so often made by teachers as well as students, and to construct, instead, a new educational perspective based upon experience.

Bard College's MAT Program has built an exemplary model of college/public school partnerships that emphasizes professional collaboration and increased school capacity for the advancement of student achievement. Beginning in June 2010, a new chapter is being written in the history of teacher education, as the unique structures that define the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Program will be integrated into the daily life of partner public schools in the Hudson Valley, NY, Bronx, NY and California. This integration of graduate teacher preparation and a public school will provide a model of schooling and professional education based on the medical internship of physicians.