Teaching
Coursework and practice leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is intended to prepare individuals for a teaching career in a specific subject of middle and/or secondary-level curricula (i.e., middle or high school). The MAT differs from the MEd degree in that the course requirements are dominated by classes in the subject area to be taught (e.g., foreign language, math, science, etc.) rather than educational theory; and that the MAT candidate does not already hold a teaching credential whereas the MEd candidate will. The MAT often is the initial teacher education program for those who hold a bachelor's degree in the subject that they intend to teach. Work toward most MAT degrees will, however, necessarily include classes on educational theory in order to meet program and state requirements. Work toward the MAT degree may also include practica (i.e., student teaching). This abbreviation is also sometimes used to refer to a Master's in Theology (see ThM).
The Master of Arts in Teaching, or MAT, differs from the M.Ed. and the other Masters degrees in education primarily in that the majority of coursework focuses on the subject to be taught (i.e. history, English, math, biology, etc.) rather than on educational theory. While some online MAT programs offer a more general overview of the foundations of effective teaching, most MAT programs combine the study of widely established ‘best practices’ in the classroom with a focus on teaching within a specific discipline. Either way, the MA in Teaching is truly a teaching degree. Individuals who pursue the Master of Arts in Teaching generally choose to remain in the classroom. An MAT can also provide an educator with the appropriate credentials to become a department chairperson. The online Master of Arts in Teaching can offer educational professionals an increase in earning power along with instruction in the most up-to-date and effective instructional techniques.
Read more about this topic: List Of Master's Degrees In North America
Famous quotes containing the word teaching:
“This teaching is not practical in the sense in which the New Testament is. It is not always sound sense in practice. The Brahman never proposes courageously to assault evil, but patiently to starve it out. His active faculties are paralyzed by the idea of caste, of impassable limits of destiny and the tyranny of time.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is sentimentalism to assume that the teaching of life can always be fitted to the child’s interests, just as it is empty formalism to force the child to parrot the formulas of adult society. Interests can be created and stimulated.”
—Jerome S. Bruner (20th century)