Characteristics

Program Alignment & Required Evidence

1. Master teachers are self-directed in their personal and professional growth as educators.

Master teachers take responsibility for their own learning; they initiate professional inquiry through conversations with colleagues and parents, through critically reading the professional literature, and through voluntary participation in personal and professional development opportunities; they have high expectations for their own academic and instructional performance; they continuously seek improvements in their instruction and are willing to learn from and with students, parents, colleagues, and other education professionals.

• ELED 6111: Critical Issues in Elem. Ed.
• ELED 6691: Sem./Professional & Ldrshp. Dev.
• Two planned, approved electives (6 hrs)

Within most courses:

• Choices with rationales for those choices
• Responses and applications re: reading professional literature

2. Master teachers are responsive to children’s differences influenced by development, exceptionalities, and diversity.

Master teachers have an advanced understanding of child development; they both expect and respect differences among children which are influenced by development, exceptionalities, and diversity; they promote understanding and respect for all members of the classroom community; they help children, parents, and colleagues develop a global perspective. Master teachers apply their knowledge at all levels of interaction with students: from modifying instruction for individuals to creating a classroom environment where all children feel welcome and can be successful learners.

• ELED 6101: Application of Theory of Human Development/Learning.
• EDUC 6254: Individual Instruction for Diverse Learners

Within most courses:

• Examination of relationship of content and pedagogy to variety of ages, exceptionalities, cultures

Basic portfolio:

• Cross-cultural learning experiences

3. Master teachers are well-grounded in the content and pedagogy of the entire elementary curriculum.

Master teachers have extensive knowledge about the wide variety of content taught in the elementary curriculum; they can demonstrate knowledge in all content areas beyond that expected to be taught to students at any of the elementary grade levels; they are experts in helping students to acquire knowledge and skills appropriate for their grade level and development through many effective instructional and assessment practices; they use technology in a variety of ways to support students’ learning; they are effective in helping students develop literacy competencies; they are experts in assisting students to make sense of their learning by connecting school content and their lives outside of school and by integrating curriculum.

• ELED 6220: Integrating the Elem. Program
• ELED 6221: Teaching/Learning K-6 Science
• ELED 6241: Teaching/Learning K-6 Soc. Studies
• ELED 6252: Teaching/Learning K-6 Math
• READ 6250: Language Dev. and Reading

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Within Phase II courses:

• Action research projects re: teaching

Basic portfolio:

• Growth in use of technology
• Growth in use of assessment measures and data
• Self-evaluation with a videotape
• Self-reflections re: changes in beliefs and practices in responding to classroom diversity  

4. Master teachers are self-reflective, self-evaluative, educational researchers.

Master teachers engage in continuous improvement of teaching and learning; they actively investigate and solve educational problems through data gathering and assessment; they continuously monitor the learning problems and successes of each student and are highly effective in making appropriate adjustments in both instruction and learning environments; they regularly monitor the effect of their actions on students’ learning.

• RSCH 6101: Intro. to Educ. Research

Within many courses:

• Self-evaluations with data
• Action research projects
• Critical reading of research literature

Basic portfolio:

• A data-based classroom instructional improvement project
• A data-based educational improvement project beyond the classroom 

Capstone Experience:

•  Master’s Research Project or
• Master’s Comprehensive Portfolio

5. Master teachers are collaborative educational leaders.

Master teachers actively participate as leaders in arenas where they can contribute to solving educational problems, such as School Advisory Teams and committees in professional organizations; they take responsibility for sharing in decision-making relative to school-wide issues; they readily ask for and share successful instructional approaches and solutions with colleagues, parents, and students; they share responsibility for children’s education with parents and the students themselves; they provide mentoring to colleagues.

• ELED 6474: Advanced Practicum in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

Within most courses:

• Collaboration/sharing/leadership with colleagues, students, and parents within and beyond the graduate classroom re: learning w/in the courses

Basic portfolio:

• Professional team, committee, or work-group participation and contributions
• Self-reflections re: growth in collaboration and leadership