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

Preparing Teachers

Research indicates that teachers tend to teach in the same way they were taught. In the MAT Program, students:

• Participate firsthand in a different educational model
• Are challenged to rethink their assumptions about teaching and learning
• Are immersed in an approach to learning that recognizes the role of language in the development of thinking

Understanding within the discipline

MAT students continue undergraduate degree studies by taking six graduate-level courses in their elected discipline. This process culminates in a final research project that must demonstrate a high level of understanding within the field.

Focus on pedagogy

MAT students also take six graduate-level courses in education, covering a wide range of issues, ideas, and practices. These courses, which concentrate on adolescent education, are thematically designed to answer essential questions about teaching and learning. For example, curriculum design and cognitive psychology are studied by posing questions about what gets taught, how it is taught, and why it is taught. Courses are framed by practice-based research. Students are required to make relevant connections between their educational studies and the work of the public schools.

Academic advising

MAT students regularly meet with MAT faculty advisors and master teachers from partner public schools. As teaching interns, MAT students work closely with mentor teachers in Hudson Valley, New York City, or CA public school classrooms. Under the guidance of these teachers and Bard faculty, MAT students design and teach lessons, assess class understanding, and modify practices to adapt to their students' needs in the context of educational priorities. The mentor teachers and MAT students also participate in guided writing seminars and classroom research projects in which they collaboratively explore common educational questions.