The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) Program is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and by the state of Indiana. An 11-month program for liberal arts and sciences graduates who want to become licensed teachers, this full-time program begins each year in early June and leads to teacher licensure the following May. After licensure and while teaching in a school, students take one more course designed to help support them in the first full year of teaching.

After successfully concluding that final course, students are awarded the master's degree. Earlham's M.A.T. offers licensure in social studies, English/language arts, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages, all at the middle and high school levels.

At Earlham, few activities are more esteemed and joyful than teaching — and creating teachers. The College's long-standing commitment to excellence in teaching encourages and develops students' passion and potential as teachers. Earlham's M.A.T. Program is unique in focusing on the cohort model and developing a culture of collegiality. The cohort is an entering class of students who work together throughout the program.

The College intends to do more than provide licensure for teachers. The program's purpose is to develop teachers who are leaders in their school communities, who model outstanding classroom practices, and who prepare their own students to be socially active and morally conscious citizens in this new century.

The Earlham M.A.T. Program also emphasizes the teacher as researcher, one who is able to locate the most recent social science and educational research on teaching and learning. Students become competent users of the Socratic seminar method of instruction as a means of helping their own students develop critical thinking and communication skills.

Cost

The cost of the M.A.T. Program is $25,000. This includes tuition, all fees and textbooks for the first three semesters, plus the final class taken during the first semester as a teacher. In addition, candidates offered admission to the program are expected to provide a $200 enrollment deposit.

Financial Aid

The Stafford Loan Program provides considerable funding for graduate students — up to $33,120. For more information, candidates are encouraged to contact the GPE Admissions Office or the Earlham College Financial Aid Office to discuss participation in the Stafford Loan Program. We also encourage candidates to search for scholarships and grants in their local communities or for foundations and organizations that offer scholarship opportunities to graduate students.

Assessing Academic Progress

End of Summer Semester. At the end of the first semester in the summer, M.A.T. faculty and practicum teachers review each candidate's grades and summer performance. Candidates with a G.P.A. falling below 3.0, with a C for any course in the program, or with unsatisfactory evaluations of performance may either be (1) placed on Probation for the Fall Semester with a written academic/performance contract generated by M.A.T. faculty or (2) dismissed from the M.A.T. Program.

End of Fall Semester. M.A.T. faculty and mentor teachers review each candidate's academic and fieldwork at the conclusion of the Fall Semester. Candidates with a G.P.A. falling below 3.0, with a C for any course in the program, or with unsatisfactory evaluations of performance may either be (1) placed on probation for the Spring Semester with a written academic/performance contract generated by M.A.T. faculty or (2) dismissed from the M.A.T. Program.

End of Spring Semester/Student Teaching. Each candidate must achieve a rating level of Proficient or Distinguished on his or her summative student teaching evaluation to be eligible to pass student teaching and be recommended for licensure. Candidates receiving a rating of Basic or Unsatisfactory receive a No Pass for their student teaching portion of the program and are required to complete another semester of student teaching to be considered for licensure recommendation.

If a candidate is unsuccessful in the second attempt at student teaching, the candidate may be dismissed from the program.

End of Spring Semester/Summative or Final Portfolio Review. Each candidate must achieve a level of Proficient or Distinguished on his or her summative or final portfolio evaluation to successfully pass the portfolio portion of the program. Although formative evaluations of the portfolio occur at the end of every semester in the program, the summative evaluation of the portfolio is the one used for determining successful program completion and recommendation for licensure.

If a candidate falls below the Proficient rating on their summative portfolio, he or she is placed on probationary status and is given a contract with stipulations for successful completion of the portfolio. Each candidate then is granted one additional semester to complete his or her portfolio.

Probation. For a candidate on Probation, the M.A.T. supervisor draws up a contract in consultation with the mentor teacher and/or the candidate. The Probation Contract specifies areas of concern and areas for growth or improvement, along with specific benchmarks and additional information for the candidates. It also specifies that performance in the program must improve by a certain date, usually a semester in length, or dismissal from the program could result.

The M.A.T. Program faculty also determine whether the possible investment of additional resources would remedy the candidate's probationary status. Such resources might include:

• additional field supervision for a candidate experiencing difficulties with the teaching assignment

• additional support in the supervised teaching experience

• additional visits by the M.A.T. faculty

OR

• a change of placement for the candidate.

Satisfactory Progress on Probation. If a candidate successfully completes the Probation period, he or she returns to regular candidate status.

Unsatisfactory Progress on Probation. If a candidate fails to make satisfactory progress after one semester on Probation, the M.A.T. faculty, in consultation with the mentor teacher, determines possible dismissal from the program.

Appeals. If a candidate wishes to appeal, he or she must submit the appeal in writing to the Appeals Committee, consisting of the M.A.T. faculty, the Earlham Dean of Admissions, and the program's Assistant Director of Admissions.

Licensure Standards and Completion of the Degree

The Earlham College Graduate Programs in Education Department makes recommendations for licensure to the state of Indiana only upon a candidate's:

• successful completion of the course work with a 3.0 G.P.A. and no C in any course

• successful completion of supervised teaching with a rating of Proficient or Distinguished

• faculty satisfaction that Interstate New Teacher and Support Consortium (INTASC) principles and Indiana Professional Standards Board (IPSB) standards have been met at a level of Proficient or Distinguished and with sufficient documentation

• achieving the minimum score required by the state of Indiana on the Praxis II exam in the candidate's area of specialization

AND

• successful completion of the summative portfolio with a rating of Proficient or Distinguished.

Degree Requirements

M.A.T. degree candidates complete 43 semester credits of course work as a cohort. The courses are sequentially ordered over 11 months, with the final course being taken during the first semester of full-time teaching.

State and National Requirements

Candidates for the M.A.T. degree at Earlham College must meet the standards for P-12 teacher licensure of the state of Indiana and by the U.S. Department of Education. These standards are available in the Graduate Programs in Education Office or online at this location:

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium principles (INTASC)