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Scenes from the School of Education

School of Education


Master's of Arts in Education


Secondary Education

Academic Specializations

As a graduate student interested in secondary education with a major or concentration in one of the Arts & Sciences areas (English, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, History, Mathematics, Foreign Language, etc.), you are required to show evidence of knowledge and implementation of both the Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards (RIBTS) and content standards from your content area’s professional association (see the attached lists for the RIBTS and to identify and contact your professional association to obtain the content standards).

As you take education courses you will be submitting assignments for each class relative to the Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards. However, as you complete coursework in your Arts & Sciences concentration you will be responsible to keep work samples that demonstrate your competencies in the RIBTS and in the content standards of your professional association(s). We recommend that you do the following to prepare for this performance-based assessment required by URI’s School of Education:

  1. Purchase a copy of the content standards from your professional association(s) and become familiar with them (see next page for web address).
  2. Begin a file system for work samples. Be sure to save course syllabi, instructor feedback, directions for all tests and assignments, criteria for grading, and to date your work. We recommend an accordion-style folder or a portable file box that you’d find at an office supply store.
  3. Soon after completing Arts & Sciences course assignments, look back at your work and consider which Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards and which content standards this work best demonstrates. Make note of this briefly for now. We suggest using post-it notes or clipping an index card to each sample. 
  4. Meet with your advisor individually or in a group session each semester to stay up-to-date on program requirements and to share ways that others are organizing Arts & Sciences coursework.

In education courses, especially your methods courses, you will be asked to bring your Arts & Sciences coursework to reflect on and to demonstrate your content knowledge. Please attend to this important program requirement as you begin this Fall semester 2001. We ask that you seek any previously completed coursework and add it to your file, but know that some work may have been discarded. 

If you would like more information about URI’s School of Education requirements, please visit our homepage , request an appointment with a Secondary Education advisor, or email questions to dkern@uri.edu.

Professional Associations and Required Publications

  • Social Studies Education with dual major in History
    • Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (1994)
  • English Language Arts Education with a dual major in English
    • National Council for the Teachers of English (NCTE) http://www.ncte.org
    • Standards for the English Language Arts (1996)
  • Foreign Language Education with a dual major in Latin, Spanish, Italian, French or German
    • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) http://www.actfl.org
    • Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996) *note…an e-version is available
  • Mathematics Education with a dual major in Mathematics
    • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) http://www.nctm.org
    • Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) *note… an e-version is also available.

 

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