Conceptual Framework and Program Themes
The Master in Teaching (MiT) program faculty believe the MiT program’s success lies as much in the learning processes used to investigate the content as it does in the content itself. Though particular subject matter content is taught, the processes are also “content.” Community building, seminars, collaborative learning, group problem solving, extensive field experiences and critical and reflective thinking are not just ideas MiT candidates read about and are then directed to use when they teach. Rather, these are the processes used daily in the program to help graduate students learn to become skilled, competent professionals who can assume leadership roles in curriculum development, child advocacy, assessment and anti-bias work. The MiT program is centered on the exploration of how public education might meet the needs of the diverse groups of people who live in this democracy. The program examines what it means to base teacher education and public education on multicultural, democratic, and developmental perspectives and how evidence-based assessment can promote these values. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the following three major themes inform both the content and associated processes of the program throughout the MiT curriculum.