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GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (M.S. Ed.)
Program | Certification | Application Info | Faculty | Contact
TEP is still accepting applications! Classes begin on July 14th, 2008 (program orientation on July 11, 2008).
This urban-focused, full-time, ten-month degree program prepares
students to become reflective, collaborative, creative teacher leaders.
Students simultaneously pursue certification in elementary education
and earn their master’s degree.
In the elementary education program, coursework and the supervised
student teaching experience mutually inform each other. The student
teaching fieldwork provides the context for learning to teach, and it
grounds the intensive coursework in meaningful, practical experience
and active research. Student teaching occurs in both the fall and
spring semesters. Students may choose either a full-year placement in
an urban public school or two semester-long placements, one in an urban
public school and the other in a suburban public school, an independent
school, or a charter school. Students are clustered within schools and
each has a Penn mentor who visits weekly, responds to journal postings,
and facilitates site meetings among the school teams.
In their graduate coursework, students work closely with faculty and
field mentors in learning to teach. Throughout each term, students have
one main assignment that cuts across courses. Graduate courses are
integrally connected to field experiences through these integrative
assignments. Active teacher research is a core element of the
Elementary education program. This focus prepares students to sustain
their professional growth through all phases of their careers. Program
requirements include courses in sociocultural and psychological
foundations of learning, and methods of teaching, as well as seminars
on such topics as health and human sexuality, learners with special
needs, classroom management, pedagogy, and curriculum development.
Instructional technology is woven throughout the coursework. As
students , capture and edit video, design websites, and explore
educational software and productivity tools, they learn how to
introduce this technology into classroom settings.
The M.S.Ed. in Elementary Education requires completion of 11
course units of approved graduate work. Because of the interdependence
of the program’s coursework and fieldwork, students may not transfer in
course credits from other graduate programs. Students are expected to
participate in the program on a fulltime basis, beginning in mid-July
and finishing the following May. Each student is expected to complete
all coursework as specified in her/his planned program of study, as
well as two full semesters of student teaching. Each student must
complete a culminating portfolio project, which includes an artifact
collection and an extensive analytic essay based on a research question
that frames a review of her/his year of learning.
The program is designed for students who have a solid undergraduate
career in the liberal arts and sciences, and have experience with and
commitment to working with children. Coursework is built around
students’ development in the field. The program is divided into five
terms, each with a particular focus: neighborhoods and schools;
learners and learning; pedagogy; curriculum; and praxis—the unity of
reflection and practice. In each term, students complete one major
assignment that cuts across courses, further integrating their academic
coursework with their field experience. These integrative assignments
include studying the neighborhoods in which the student teaching is
taking place; conducting an individual child study; and designing a
curriculum.
Student teachers begin their fall student teaching by observing and
working with individual students and small groups in the classroom. As
students move toward their full-time student teaching in the spring
semester, they gradually take on responsibility for the entire class.
Students choose either a single year-long placement or two
semester-long placements, with at least one of these being in an urban
public school. The development of a trusting learning community among
each cohort enriches the experiences of students and models a community
of learners for future professional settings.
Courses
Summer
- EDUC 523 Social Studies in the Elementary and Middle Schools
- EDUC 544 School and Society in America
Fall
- EDUC 513 Development of the Young Child
- EDUC 520 Literacy in Elementary Schools
- EDUC 521 Science in Elementary/Middle Schools
- EDUC 531 Mathematics in the Elementary and Middle Schools
- EDUC 555 Field Seminar
Spring
- EDUC 55 Advanced Field Seminar (three course units)
- EDUC 535 Literature for Children and Adolescents
To view the Elementary Education Program Student Handbook, please click here.
Certification Requirments
Students will be recommended to the Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE) for Instructional I teacher certification when they
have completed the degree requirements and passed all portions of the
Praxis examinations required by the PDE. In addition, students are
required by the PDE to have completed the following academic
requirements in their undergraduate coursework: one course in English
or American literature; one course in writing; one standard, college
level math course; and a second math-intensive course (which could be
another standard math course, or a math-intensive course, such as
micro- or macro-economics or statistics). These requirements can also
be met through Advanced Placement waivers, which must appear on an
applicant’s transcript. We urge students to complete these courses
prior to the July program start date.
- Penn GSE Application
- Application fee
- GRE scores
- Personal statement of purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
- Academic transcript(s) from all undergraduate and graduate institutions
- Personal interview after a prelminary review of the application credentials
Application Deadline
The Elementary education program accepts students on a rolling
admissions basis. Admission is for the summer term only—the ten-month
program begins in July.
Program Faculty
NancyLee Bergey, M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania
Douglas A. Frye, Ph.D., Yale University
Joan F. Goodman, Ed.D., Harvard University
Janine Remillard, Ph.D., Michigan State University
Katherine Schultz, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Lawrence Sipe, Ph.D., Ohio State University
Maureen Cotterill
Manager, Center for Collaborative Research and Practice in Teacher Education
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education
3700 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216
Phone: 215-898-7364
For more information please contact us or call 1-877-PENNGSE (736-6473) |
