Secondary Education, M.A.T., English/Language Arts Concentration (Resident Teacher Program)
With this program, NLU partners with the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) to deliver the M.A.T. Secondary Education program in a model which integrates a ten-month teaching residency and 12 months of graduate level coursework.
Program participants spend one year working full-time in Chicago Public Schools classrooms with mentor teachers. While gaining classroom experience, participants take the coursework that allows them to earn a full Master of Arts in Teaching degree from NLU.
Graduates contract to work in an underperforming Chicago Public School for a minimum of four years.
Graduates will be eligible for a Professional Educator License endorsed for secondary education /English/Language Arts (grades 9 to 12). Visit Licensure and Endorsement at NLU for more details.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs):
PLO1. Candidates demonstrate knowledge of English language arts subject matter content that specifically includes literature and multimedia texts as well as knowledge of the nature of adolescents as readers.
PLO2. Candidates demonstrate knowledge of English language arts subject matter content that specifically includes language and writing as well as knowledge of adolescents as language users.
PLO3. Candidates plan instruction and design assessments for reading and the study of literature to promote learning for all students.
PLO4. Candidates plan instruction and design assessments for composing texts (i.e., oral, written, and visual) to promote learning for all students.
PLO5. Candidates plan, implement, assess, and reflect on research-based instruction that increases motivation and active student engagement, builds sustained learning of English language arts, and responds to diverse students’ context-based needs.
PLO6. Candidates demonstrate knowledge of how theories and research about social justice, diversity, equity, student identities, and schools as institutions can enhance students’ opportunities to learn in English Language Arts.
PLO7. Candidates are prepared to interact knowledgeably with students, families, and colleagues based on social needs and institutional roles, engage in leadership and/or collaborative roles in English Language Arts professional learning communities, and actively develop as professional educators.
In addition to National College of Education Graduate Admissions Requirements, applicants must:
- Have a grade point average of 3.0 or better in English coursework
- Have 32 semester hours of coursework in English (12 semester hours of upper division)
- Pass the Content Test in English/Language Arts
In addition, candidates must fulfill all of the areas listed below:
- 9 SH in Writing Skills: 6 SH of Composition (Comp I/II, advanced writing courses or writing-intensive courses) and 3 SH of Creative Writing
- 17 SH must be in Literature: one course in each of the following areas:
- Intro to Literary Criticism
- American Literature
- English Literature
- Non-Western or Ethnic American Literature
- Shakespeare
- Poetry or Adolescent Literature
- 6 SH can be in writing, literature, speech or journalism
Program Details:
- Requires 36 SH for completion
- Requires student teaching
Required Courses
MAT Core - 2 SH
| EPS 511 | Human Learning and Development in Instructional Contexts | 2 |
Secondary Education – English/Language Arts Requirements - 28 SH
| CIL 505 | Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language | 3 |
| RLR 540 | Teaching Content Area Literacy at the Middle and Secondary Level | 3 |
| SEC 502 | Introduction to Teaching at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| SEC 512 | Methods of Teaching English at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| SEC 597B | Resident Student Teaching in English/Language Arts | 2 |
| SPE 500 | Introduction to and Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities | 3 |
| TIE 535 | Instructional Design Foundations for Digital Age Learning Environments | 1 TO 3 |
Notes: SEC 512 must be taken for 5 semester hours. SEC 597B must be taken for a total of 6 semester hours. TIE 535 must be taken for 3 semester hours.
Secondary Education Elective Options - 6 SH
Choose one pair of the courses below:
| SPE 501 | Educational and Diagnostic Assessment of Exceptional Children and Adolescents | 3 |
| and | |
| SPE 506 | Frameworks, Perspectives, and Collaboration in Special Education | 3 |
| or | |
| CIL 500 | Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education | 3 |
| and | |
| CIL 510 | Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students | 3 |
| or | |
| MGE 501 | Introduction to Middle Grades Education: Young Adolescents in Context I | 2 TO 3 |
| and | |
| MGE 509 | Integrated Curriculum in the Middle Grades | 1 TO 3 |
| or | |
| RLW 541 | Teaching Writing | 2 TO 3 |
| and | |
| RLL 520 | Survey of Youth Literature, PreK-12 | 3 |
Note: If selected, RLW 541 must be taken for 3 semester hours.
Secondary Education Student Teaching Enrollment Requirements
Admission to and continuance in student teaching are contingent on the following actions.
Candidates must:
- Be accepted into the graduate program of National College of Education
- File, by the designated deadline, the application form for student teaching
- Submit to their advisor a report of a TB test taken within 90 days of the student teaching placement, results of criminal background check and acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter status form
- Turn in a signed log of all the pre-clinical hours specified in their pre-clinical hours required for the program
- Complete all of their licensure courses except for SEC 597B (Student Teaching)
- Pass all methods courses at National Louis University with a grade no lower than a B
- Participate in faculty assessment and receive approval of his or her portfolio (Livetext)
- Provide evidence of emotional stability, adequate personality adjustment and competency as indicated by licensure coursework and departmental assessments