Mat Program Overview

MAT PROGRAM OVERVIEW 

The Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences Master of Arts in Teaching Program responds to an urgent need for change in public education. This transformation requires teachers and principals who can help school students develop the thoughtful self-determination that builds from a genuine enthusiasm for learning. The core of the AQB MAT Program is an integrated curriculum leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching dual degree (one from Bard and one from Al-Quds) in one of five areas: Mathematics, Biology, English, History, or Sciences. Unique in its approach, the program requires an equal amount of advanced study in the elected academic discipline and in key education courses that challenge teachers to apply the results of research and pedagogical analysis to the actual work of teaching. The program’s instructionally innovative courses provide the basis for critical reflection about educational practice.

MAT PROGRAM MODEL

The MAT is a discipline-based program in education. The aim of this program is to emphasize the knowledge and its use through experiential learning. Graduates are expected to be able to undertake change through adopting active learning and teaching methods at the schools they are employed in. The teachers’ efforts are supported by a network of pioneer schools created by the program, as well as by the introduction of mentorship structures.

CORE AND RESEARCH PROJECTS

In addition to gaining a strong foundation in their academic disciplines, students in the AQB MAT Program engage in a course of study that challenges them to become knowledgeable and reflective practitioners and innovators in the teaching profession.

With these goals in mind, core education courses address a range of issues central to the work of effective teachers: adolescent development, cognition and learning, curriculum design, lesson planning, literacy, multiculturalism, and the social and historical contexts of schooling. Knowledge and practice in these areas are bridged through mentored application and classroom inquiry.

Click here for a description of the Core Education courses.