Sept. 9, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earning a\nmaster\u2019s degree from NAU\u2019s Center for Science Teaching and Learning is about to\nget a lot more accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starting\nin 2020, the center, also known as the CSTL, will revamp its two master\u2019s\nprograms into one fully online curriculum, with a focus on getting classroom\nteachers certified and helping already certified teachers prepare for the next\nphase of their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re\njust designing it to accommodate more teachers and have larger cohorts working\ntogether online,\u201d said Danielle Ross<\/strong>, the graduate programs coordinator\nin CSTL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Master of Arts in Teaching Science<\/a> (MAT-S)\nhas been a full-time, on-campus master\u2019s degree, designed for people who earned\na degree in a science field and wanted to begin teaching but didn\u2019t have a\nteaching certificate. The focus was on pedagogy\u2014how to teach science. It\nincluded a semester of student teaching, as well as hours in the classroom\nstarting in the first week of the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Master of Arts in Science Teaching<\/a> (MAST)\nwas geared toward in-service teachers who wanted to move into administration,\nbe a STEM coordinator or teach at a community college. Ranked 18th<\/sup>\nin the country for online\nmaster\u2019s in science education programs<\/a>, it was a hybrid program with\non-campus classes that students throughout the country could join via Zoom.\nHowever, they had to participate in class at the time it was offered, which was\nusually after the regular school day. That meant students on the East Coast\nfinished class at 10:30 p.m., then got up to teach the next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CSTL\nprofessors noticed a drop in MAT-S enrollment about three years ago that coincided\nwith Arizona allowing people who were subject-matter experts to teach in\nsecondary schools without certification. At the same time, they heard from\nstudents in other parts of the country who wanted to earn their MAST degrees\nthat taking the online classes at a set time was too hard on their schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey want\nto be able to work at their own pace and on their own time because of their\nprofessional and family commitments,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve noticed is when\nsomeone inquires about the program, I explain that they still have to show up\nat certain times and they say, \u2018I can\u2019t do because of work and family\ncommitments.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After some\nbrainstorming, she said, they came up with the idea to combine the curriculum,\nwhich would mean larger cohorts with fewer classes, and to make it all online,\nallowing students to complete their work on their own schedules. The MAT-S\nprogram will be geared toward teachers who are already in the classroom but who\ndon\u2019t have certification; although they will still have a mentor teacher, do\npracticum hours, student-teach and meet all of the state\u2019s requirements for\ncertification, that can all happen in their classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re\ntrying to be more accommodating to someone who\u2019s in the classroom and give them\nthe opportunity to get certified,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWe thought it would be more of a\ndraw for more people to say, \u2018hey, you\u2019re working, you\u2019re getting paid for\nteaching, now you can also get your teaching certificate by taking these\nclasses.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nbenefit of that, besides learning pedagogy from the experts, is if teachers\nwant to leave the state. Most states accept teacher certification from other\nstates with a few or no caveats; they will not accept subject-matter\ncertification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The MAST\ncurriculum will basically be the same, just all online; Ross has told about\nhalf a dozen excited applicants that they can apply this year and defer to next\nyear. It will still include either a thesis or a research project, which for\nmany students involved them developing curriculum to introduce what they\u2019re learning\nas students into their classrooms as teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s\nmore of a personalized, individualized, culminating project for their graduate\ndegree, bringing together everything they\u2019ve learned into one final piece of\nwork,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo address the extreme shortage of properly\nqualified and certified science teachers in our state and nation, we need a\nmultipronged approach to teacher preparation and professional development,\u201d\nsaid Max Dass<\/strong>, director of the CSTL. \u201cThe revised, fully online,\nmaster\u2019s degree programs for pre-certification and certified teachers will make\nteacher education and enhancement opportunities available to many more teachers\nthan was possible previously. We are essentially taking education to where\nthe teachers are, rather than expecting them to come to us. The fully\nonline option opens up this opportunity to teachers all across the U.S., which\nhelps advance the CSTL mission of impacting science education in Arizona and\nbeyond though innovative programs, partnerships and scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n People\ninterested in learning more about the revamped programs or about NAUTeach,\nCSTL\u2019s innovative program for preparing math and science teacher candidates, should\nvisit the CSTL\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"