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Campus Review
July 3, 2013
Experiential learning is also a major com-
ponent in the graduate level Master of
Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs. As in
the undergraduate programs, MAT candi-
dates spend spring semester of their senior
year in the field. Key differences between
the baccalaureate and master’s level pro-
grams are the intensity of the graduate
curriculum and an Action Research
Project. Led by Clayton State’s Dr. Mari
Roberts, the Action Research Project is
designed to encourage candidates to see
the classroom as a research environment,
teaching them to observe and later present
on classroom dynamics such as absen-
teeism, language acquisition, and other
issues prevalent in the education process.
Whether it’s middle grades, secondary
education, music education or the MAT,
experiential learning is at the crux of
teacher education at Clayton State
University.
“All students learn better by ‘doing,’”
explains Caillouet. “For teacher candi-
dates, that ‘doing’ is crucial to developing
the art of teaching. We can talk about
being a good teacher for days and not
accomplish anything close to having our
students in the classroom learning on their
feet, working with students and under-
standing it from that side of the teacher’s
desk. Good teaching has to be taught, but
it also has to be learned. It’s become the
building block for the entire program.”
This new degree program fits nicely into
the University and surrounding communi-
ty. According to a survey conducted by
the Clayton State School of Graduate
Studies, 94 percent of the area principals
who completed the survey are very sup-
portive of this degree being offered by
Clayton State.
The degree brings new opportunity to the
University as well as working with other
programs. Most of the already-established
Department of Teacher Education faculty
will be actively involved in this program,
and some of the content faculty from
across campus may also teach in the pro-
gram.
The new program proposal points out that
other graduate degrees offered on campus
may share some coursework with candi-
dates in the new degree, like content dis-
cipline classes. This benefits the campus
and these other degrees with increased
enrollment in the shared classes.
“This program allows the university and
its faculty to become more active in pro-
moting teacher leadership skills and, in
turn, strengthening schools across the
state,” states Caillouet.
Curriculum for the program includes a
track in Teacher Leadership and is com-
pleted in 36 credit hours, which is spaced
out between three “blocks:” the
Professional Education Block, Methods
of Research Block, and Content Block. It
is designed to be delivered over the course
of two years with individual programs of
study developed for each participant.
Since the M.Ed. in Leadership builds
upon the work of classroom teachers,
course offerings are made to accommo-
date their workday and work load.
Because of this, the degree will be offered
primarily through distance learning.
Admission requirements to the program
include being a certified teacher, having at
least three years of experience in the
classroom, having a minimum undergrad
GPA of 3.0, having a minimum GRE
Score of 850, and attaining recommenda-
tions by administrators and peer teachers.
Enrollment projections for the first year
predict 15 new student majors accepted
into to the University for this program.
Second year projections predict 20 candi-
dates accepted.
This program, as well as all other educa-
tion programs at Clayton State University,
is accredited through the Georgia
Professional Standards Commission and
the National Council for Accreditation of
Teachers.
Read the cover story from the spring 2013 issue of
The Laker Connection
, featuring Teacher Ed:
https://academicinfo.clayton.edu/laker-connection/
Teacher Ed Program, cont’d. from p. 7
M.Ed., cont’d. from p. 1