Advising

Advisors in Education and your Major Field

Each student has two advisors for disciplinary courses: the MAT Director (who serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the MAT Program) and the member of the Faculty Advisory Committee from your major field. The MAT office can provide information on courses within each department that meet Department of Public Instruction (DPI) requirements in specialty area (major field) and licensure. It is essential that you take those courses required for licensure in your chosen teaching fields, so you will need to work closely with both advisors. Both of your advisors must approve course work to be taken toward the MAT. You are also encouraged to seek advice on disciplinary courses from the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in your major field. The MAT office has notebooks of evaluations on courses taken by previous MAT candidates for students to review.

Advising for Independent Studies

Independent study (MAT 791) can be taken if:

  • current course offerings in the major field are incompatible with your needs,
  • you want to explore new or emerging areas of knowledge, or
  • you want to combine pedagogical inquiry with study in the discipline.

If you are interested in pursuing an independent study, submit a brief description of the project to the DGS and the Faculty Advisory Committee member in your major field, who will recommend a supervisor for the project.

Advisor Approval for Undergraduate Courses

The Graduate School allows two undergraduate level courses to count toward a master's degree if, in the opinion of the Director of Graduate Studies, those courses contribute significantly to your preparation. Therefore, two of the five major field courses in the MAT Program may be taken at the undergraduate level if the Program determines that selecting such courses is in your best academic interest.  For example, if you are seeking licensure in general science with a concentration in chemistry, it might be useful to take survey courses at the undergraduate level in the sciences which are outside of your field. If you are seeking certification in social studies with a concentration in history, you may want to take an undergraduate course in cultural anthropology or one of the other social sciences outside of your major field. You must receive at least a grade of B- (B minus) in order for undergraduate courses (those with course numbers of 499 or lower) to count toward the MAT.

Internship Supervisor

The primary supervisor of the internship is the mentor. They are responsible for monitoring progress and determining your skill and developing ability. The MAT Program Director is the liaison between the University and the schools and is the administrative supervisor of the internship. An additional University Supervisor provides additional observations and feedback to you. The Director and the University Supervisor will coach you through the formal cycle of assistance (see below). Typically, you will be observed by university personnel four times in the fall semester and twice during the spring semester.

The cycle of assistance is a method of clinical supervision built upon adult development theory and the theory of supervision. It is a way that novice (and experienced) teachers are provided developmentally appropriate feedback on teaching strengths and weaknesses. Each mentor conducts at least two formal cycles of assistance during the fall semester and one such cycle in the first half of the spring semester. Each MAT student will have a minimum of eight formal cycles of assistance during the year – three by their mentors and six by Program faculty.