Program Information and Sequences - English, Mathematics, Social Studies 7-12

Certification

Application and Admission

One and Two Year Sequences, Individual sequence

One Year Sequence

Two Year Sequence

Individual Sequence

Internship and Student Teaching

Contact Information

Certification

The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree leads to certification in Art Education (grades K 12) and Adolescence Education (grades 7 12) in English, Mathematics and Social Studies. In addition to the degree program, candidates for certification must also complete three NYS Teacher Certification Examinations, for additional information see http://ohe33.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/certexam.htm : the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), Assessment of Teaching Skills Written (ATS-W) and the Content Specialty Test (CST) in the certificate title area. These tests may be scheduled at any time during the program, but should be completed by the time of graduation so that the candidate will be eligible for certification at graduation.

When candidates apply for graduation (October 1 for December graduation, February 1 for May graduation and June 1 for August graduation), their files are reviewed to determine eligibility for degree completion. Also at that time, candidates will begin to complete their applications for certification, including the required criminal background review through the Department of Criminal Justice Services which involves submitting fingerprints, for which packets may be obtained in the School of Education Office. Information about the requirements and application for certification may be located at http://ohe32.nysed.gov/tcert/.

Upon satisfactory completion of the criminal background check, submission of the three required NYS Teacher Certification Examinations, submission of the application for certification with payment and including the Sage transcript showing the conferral of the M.A.T. degree, the candidate is eligible for NYS initial teacher certification in the designated program area.

Application and Admission

Candidates for the Master of Arts in Teaching are expected to have an undergraduate degree in the area for which they are seeking certification Art, English, Mathematics or Social Studies. Those who do not have a major in the discipline, have completed a degree in a related area or have completed a minor rather than a major in the discipline may apply to the program and additional coursework will be identified to assist the candidate in developing the equivalent of a major in the certificate area. The requirements for admission include a 3.0 in the major, two satisfactory letters of reference, one from a professor in the discipline, a career goals statements, interview and a written critical analysis.

The written critical analysis is an on-demand writing sample which candidates complete in the School of Education Office, where they are given two hours to read a short essay and prepare a written response.

The application for admission to Sage Graduate School may be found online at https://www.applyweb.com/aw?sgs and may be requested by mail by calling SGS Admission at 1-888- VerySage or 518-244-6878. When applications are complete, including submission of the Written Critical Analysis, the file is forwarded to the School of Education for a recommendation regarding acceptance. When the file is complete, a decision is generally made within a week.

A provisional admission is offered to students who meet most of the admission requirements but who may need to complete additional undergraduate requirements or pre-requisite courses. Candidates who do not meet the admission requirements but who show promise, may be invited to complete coursework that will allow them to build a record of achievement that will support admission to the program. For further information regarding these decisions and options, prospective candidates should contact the M.A.T. program advisor.

One year, Two year and Individual Sequences

One year sequence

By mid-August, candidates must have completed all undergraduate requirements (e.g., language, additional coursework required in the major area), pre-requisites (EDU 201, 206 474/574 and a Developmental Psychology or Human Development course). EDU 201 and 206 are offered both Summer I and Summer II, as well as Fall and Spring semesters, with evening and weekend sections requiring 50% online study via Blackboard. EDU 474/574 is offered twice in Summer II, on Monday-Wednesday evenings, 6 to 9, and on the 2nd, 4th and 6th Saturdays in Summer II. The Saturday section requires 50% online study through Moodle. It is to the candidates advantage to complete the pre-requisites during their undergraduate program, if possible. If there are questions about which course at other institutions will satisfy pre-requisites requirements, the candidate should email the M.A.T. advisor (frazec@sage.edu), including the course description, for prior approval.

Internship: Candidates in the one-year program enroll in an internship in the Fall and Spring semesters. The internship involves a day placement in the schools from September through June. One internship will include a K-6 placement for Art Educators and a 7-9 placement for English, Mathematics and Social Studies Educators. The second placement for Art Educators will be in grades 7 12 and for English, Mathematics and Social Studies Educators will be in grades 9 12.

With all the pre-requisites and undergraduate courses complete by mid-August, candidates will complete their program in this sequence:

Fieldwork: All candidates for certification in any area must complete 100 hours of fieldwork, generally required before student teaching. In the one year M.A.T. sequence, candidates may not have completed all of their fieldwork before beginning their internship. In this circumstance, candidates must complete the required hours by the end of the Fall semester. The fieldwork hours will be scheduled in addition to the internship hours.

Required workshops: The three NCR workshops, NCR 070 Reporting and Identifying Child Abuse and Maltreatment, NCR 071 School Violence Prevention, NCR 317 Health Education Standards, must be completed before the candidate begins the internship. These workshops will ordinarily be offered during the week immediately preceding the beginning of the internship.

Internship seminar meeting: M.A.T. candidates attend a two-day required seminar immediately preceding the beginning of the internship semester, during which they will participate in activities designed to prepare them for the internship, the preparation of the portfolio, meet with their college supervisors and review the assessments and policies that are used during the internship by cooperating teachers and college supervisors. Candidates will also meet five times or more per placement, as scheduled by the Director of Student Teaching Placements and the college supervisors.

Two year sequence

Candidates in the two year sequence will complete any undergraduate liberal arts requirements (e.g., language other than English), the pre-requisites and the content area courses in the first year, during the Summer, Fall, Spring or following Summer. The content area courses are only offered once per year, so it is very important to complete these when they are offered. The pre-requisites are offered every semester, including summers, and some of them may be completed at other institutions. Candidates should forward course descriptions from other institutions to their advisor to receive prior approval of the content.

By mid-August of the second year, candidates must have completed all undergraduate requirements (e.g., language, additional coursework required in the major area), pre-requisites (EDU 201, 206, 474/574 and a Developmental Psychology or Human Development course) and the content area courses in the specific discipline Art, English, Biology, Mathematics or Social Studies. EDU 201 and 206 are offered both Summer I and Summer II, as well as Fall and Spring semesters, with evening and weekend sections requiring 50% online study via Blackboard. EDU 474/574 is offered twice in Summer II, on Monday-Wednesday evenings, 6 to 9, and on the 2nd, 4th and 6th Saturdays in Summer II. The Saturday section requires 50% online study through Blackboard. It is to the candidates advantage to complete the pre-requisites during their undergraduate program, if possible. If there are questions about which course at other institutions will satisfy pre-requisites requirements, the candidate should email the M.A.T. advisor (frazec@sage.edu), including the course description, for prior approval.

Fieldwork: 100 hours of fieldwork must be completed before student teaching. In the event that candidates are unable to complete these hours before beginning the second year of the program, the hours must be completed during the Fall semester, before the Spring student teaching begins.

Required workshops: The three NCR workshops, NCR 070 Reporting and Identifying Child Abuse and Maltreatment, NCR 071 School Violence Prevention, NCR 317 Health Education Standards, must be completed before the candidate begins student teaching. These workshops will ordinarily be offered during the week immediately preceding the beginning of student teaching.

Student teaching seminar meeting: M.A.T. candidates attend a two-day required seminar immediately preceding the beginning of student teaching, during which they will participate in activities designed to prepare them for the student teaching and the preparation of the portfolio, meet with their college supervisors and review the assessments and policies that are used during student teaching by cooperating teachers and college supervisors. Candidates will also meet weekly during each placement, as scheduled by the Director of Student Teaching Placements and the college supervisors.

The content area courses are offered according this schedule:

Student teaching: Candidates in the two-year program enroll in student teaching in the Spring semester. Student teaching requires two placements, a K-6 placement for Art Educators and a 7-9 placement for English, Mathematics and Social Studies Educators and a second placement for Art Educators will be in grades 7 12 and for Biology, English, Mathematics and Social Studies Educators will be in grades 9 12.

With all the pre-requisites, undergraduate courses and content area courses complete by mid-August, candidates will complete their program in this sequence:

Individual sequence

Some students may wish to complete their program over a period longer than two years, especially if extensive undergraduate coursework is needed to complete the equivalent of an undergraduate major or concentration. For example, an individual with a degree in Engineering may wish to prepare for the M.A.T. in Mathematics and might need to complete additional coursework in mathematics to be eligible for the program. This candidate would complete the undergraduate courses in mathematics in the first year, the pre-requisites and content area courses in the second year, and the courses in education and the student teaching in the third year.

Other candidates may wish to hold the internship or student teaching until all coursework has been completed. Often those who have fulltime employment and family responsibilities will wish to maintain their employment until all coursework is finished and complete a student teaching experience in the year after completing all course requirements.

Candidates who wish to complete an individual sequence will meet with their advisor to develop and plan and schedule.

Internship and Student Teaching Placements

All interns and student teachers complete two placements at two different grade levels. Interns complete the experiential component of their program through assignment to the schools in half days for a full academic year, September through June. Student teachers complete the experiential component of their program in two fulltime placements, each lasting for seven weeks.

Interns and student teachers will complete one of their placements in a NYS-identified high-need school. The second placement will be in another setting selected on the basis of availability, quality of experience, the potential to expand the candidates experience and other factors that affect the cooperative relationship between candidates, the college and the school.

Candidates are supervised by college supervisors and may expect an initial visit and three supervisory visits during each placement in which written feedback will be provided. The cooperating teacher and the college supervisor provide narrative evaluations which may then be placed in the candidates Career Services placement folder to support the candidates search for a position when the program is complete.

Applications for the internship or student teaching are submitted according to the following schedule:

Internship applications must be submitted no later than April 15^th.

Student teaching applications are due on the first day of the semester preceding the semester in which student teaching is requested.

Separate grades are given for each internship or student teaching placement, for the internship or student teaching seminar and for the internship or student teaching portfolio. The Internship and Student Teaching Seminar and Portfolio courses are zero credit and will be graded as Pass/Fail, but must be satisfactorily completed before graduation.

Program of Study

The program of study outlines the candidates program requirements, including undergraduate coursework and pre-requisite courses, if any, as well as the courses and internship/student teaching required for the masters degree.

Each candidate accepted to the program is expected to return a signed program of study. Choose the Program of Study you wish to view: Mathematics, English, Social Studies.

Contact names, numbers and email addresses