MAT Requirements

Academics / Majors and Minors / Master of Arts in Teaching / MAT Requirements

Requirements in brief for the Combined BA/MAT

Students in the Combined BA/MAT Program first complete their BA in their relevant teaching content area (any content area for Elementary) while earning a minor in Education. Students then continue at Lake Forest College to complete their MAT and remaining licensure requirements. Thus, Combined BA/MAT students fulfill four sets of requirements (to earn their BA and subsequently their MAT) to graduate with a recommendation for licensure:

Completion of the Lake Forest College FFC towards earning the BA. (See an advisor in the Department of Education for recommended courses).
Completion of course requirements within the Department of Education. (See course requirements below)
Completion of a major outside of the Department of Education towards earning the BA:
- for Secondary and K-12 education – a major in the content area of licensure
- for Elementary education – any content major at the College
Additional courses as necessary to meet content area standards in broad fields for licensure.

Requirements in brief for the Post BA MAT

Students in the Post BA MAT Program have already completed a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at another institution (with a major in an area of study offered by Lake Forest College) or at Lake Forest College. Post BA MAT students fulfill the following requirements to earn their MAT with a recommendation for licensure:

Completion of the course requirements within the Department of Education. (See course requirements below)
Additional courses as necessary to meet content requirements via transcript evaluation by content-area specialist and education department.

Required Education Courses for Combined BA/MAT and Post BA MAT

The below Education courses are required for all Combined BA/MAT and Post BA MAT students.

Note that additional content area courses are required for the area of licensure for teaching (and additional content courses for Elementary candidates). See also the Planning Forms for Coursework & Licensure for specific required content courses and sequencing of courses.

See an advisor in the Department of Education, as formal entrance into the Education program is required for most 400 and all 500 level courses.

The following courses are required for all secondary/K-12 MAT students:

Psychology 110: Introduction to Psychological Science
Psychology 210: Developmental Psychology
Education 210: Observing the School Process
Education 215: Instructional Communication
Education 220: Philosophy of Education
Education 413: Reading Methods in the Content Areas
Education 414: Inclusive Learning Environments
Education 415: Middle School Fieldwork and Seminar
EDUC 501: Introduction to Teacher Research
MAT Seminar: Themes in Philosophy of Education
EDUC 502: Teacher Action Research Project
Education 519: Adolescent Curriculum and Instructional Design / Senior Seminar
Education 520: Discipline Specific Methods Teaching Adolescents / Senior Seminar (only for those seeking Secondary licensure)
Education 522 Discipline-Specific K-12 Curriculum and Instructional Design / Senior Seminar (only for those seeking K-12 licensure)
Education 521: Student Teaching in Adolescent Classrooms

The following courses are required for all Elementary MAT students:

Psychology 110: Introduction to Psychological Science
Psychology 210: Developmental Psychology
Education 210: Observing the School Process
Education 215: Instructional Communication
Education 220: Philosophy of Education
Education 312: Arts in the Learning Process
Education 403: Elementary Reading Methods
Education 404: Elementary Fieldwork
Education 414: Inclusive Learning Environments
EDUC 501: Introduction to Teacher Research
MAT Seminar: Themes in Philosophy of Education
EDUC 502: Teacher Action Research Project
Education 516: Elementary Content Area Literacy and Social Studies Methods / Senior Seminar
Education 517: Elementary Math and Science Methods / Senior Seminar
Education 518: Elementary Student Teaching

Planning Forms for Coursework & Licensure (BA & MAT)

Elementary Education

Elementary Planning Sheet

Secondary Education

K-12 Education

Additional requirements:

All MAT students are required to meet with an advisor in the Department of Education to:

determine a specific program (secondary, K-12, elementary)
declare the major (for Combine BA/MAT candidates only)
plan a tentative 4-year course of study to meet program requirements
learn about other program requirements, including developmental portfolio (checkpoint) requirements
learn about necessary state licensure exams, including content area tests and edTPA

Policies

Grade Policies

A student must earn a B- or better grade in any Education (EDUC) course for the course to count toward the Education major and licensure.
A student must earn a C or better grade in all non-Education licensure course requirements, including content major courses and cross-listed EDUC courses, for the course to count toward the licensure program.
No course that counts towards the Education major and licensure, including content major courses and cross-listed EDUC courses, may be taken with the Pass/Fail grade option. All Pass/Fall grades earned toward the Education major and licensure must be converted to the actual (A-F) grade equivalent and factored into the GPA.
All other courses are subject to the College’s grade policy.
See the Education Department Policies and Procedures for additional information.

Academic Grievances for Teacher Education Students

Teacher education candidates have the same academic rights and responsibilities as all Lake Forest College students. There are, however, specific situations in the teacher education program when decisions may be cause for student grievances. These situations include the following:

Admission to or dismissal from the teacher education program, a clinical experience, or student teaching
Evaluation of the candidate’s performance in courses, clinical experiences, or student teaching
Recommendation for state licensure or for employment

Students who wish to appeal any of these teacher education matters should first confer with the Chair of the Education Department. Appeals must be made in writing to the Education Advisory Council through the Chair of the Education Department. Students may have personal, academic, or legal support in hearings concerning teacher education matters. If an issue remains unresolved, the student may take his or her grievance to the AAB or the Dean of Faculty, depending on the nature of the grievance, and, finally, to the President of the College.

Policies and Procedures Handbook

Developmental Portfolio (Checkpoint Process)

The developmental portfolio comprises four checkpoints, each at different stages throughout your education trajectory, from becoming a teacher candidate (entering into the program) through exiting the program. Each checkpoint involves reflecting on your progress utilizing artifacts from your coursework (i.e., papers, tests, presentations, etc.) and fieldwork experiences (i.e., lesson plans, student work samples). The portfolio will be officially assessed at each checkpoint to determine your progress in meeting the standards and advancing through the program.

The Development Portfolio is available online as well as in Word Document form.