Transcript of the video "Master of Arts in Education, Learning and Teaching"
Dr. Nicol Howard, Associate Dean: The Department of Teaching and Learning adheres to an equity conceptual framework. We work with our students in supporting their acquisition of an equity understanding and an equity mindset.
Dr. Mousumi De, Assistant Professor: One of the most important and unique aspects of our program is that we have a very strong focus on social justice. When teacher candidates are more aware about social justice issues that relate to education and they're in a better position to actually teach and support their K-12 students.
Natalie O'Harra, Assistant Director of Academic Advising: Something really special about the Department of Teaching and Learning is the expertise of the professors that we have here.
Dr. Mousumi De, Assistant Professor: It's a master's program so we prepare students to be change agents as informed learners about educational concepts enabling them to connect educational theory with teaching practice.
Natalie O'Harra, Assistant Director of Academic Advising: Students have a practical learning experience in the field - student teaching or an internship. So student teachers are paired with a veteran teacher in a school district in our communities to really get a sense of what it's like to be a teacher in the classroom. We also have a route for students to complete an internship. Our students are hired as full-time teachers in the classroom and they are employees of the district. They have to be ready to take on that challenge of running the classroom by themselves every day just like a brand new teacher would be doing.
Dr. Nicol Howard, Associate Dean: We work within our communities and work with our communities. That definitely sets us apart from many other programs.
Natalie O'Harra, Assistant Director of Academic Advising: Along the way they are supported in their coursework as well as by our office, The Office of Student Success. They have an advisor assigned to them so they know exactly who their one person is who they can go to with any of their questions. Along the way, they will be developing relationships with their professors and those professors become mentors. While students are out doing their fieldwork, they're each assigned what we call a university supervisor and this is someone who comes to visit them onsite and sees them succeeding and struggling in the classroom, and is giving them feedback on how to become a better teacher.
Dr. Nicol Howard, Associate Dean: The faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning really aspire to support our students while they're in the program but also once they leave our program. We are really invested in their success. We love to collaborate with our students once they become teachers in their own classrooms.
Dr. Mousumi De, Assistant Professor: Teacher candidates don't just go inside a classroom and teach content and leave the classroom. They build relationships with their students. They try to understand the students' backgrounds and what challenges they have and provide support to the students to help them succeed and this is the difference between equality and equity.
Dr. Nicol Howard, Associate Dean: Our program really calls for our students to think about who they are and who they want to become in the future.