Master of Arts in Teaching

Frequently Asked Questions

How much field experience will I have the opportunity to complete?

Each MAT Aspire teaching candidate has the following field experiences:

Pre-student teaching—approximately 80 hours of observation and participation in classes over the first year in the program.
Practicum—approximately 80 hours of observation, participation, and teaching of one 15 hour unit with a work sample over fall of the second semester.
Student Teaching—Full-time for the entire spring semester of the second year.

Waivers are possible for Pre-student teaching and Practicum hours in Aspire, but not student teaching (see below).

May I make my own placement for field experience in schools?

For the Pre-student teaching field experience, 90 hours of observation and participation in a classroom are required. This must be completed during the first year of the program. Aspire candidates may make their own arrangements to complete this requirement, or seek help from their Guide Group leader to find a pre-teaching opportunity.

Willamette University will make all placements for your Practicum and Student Teaching experiences.

May I waive the field experience?

Pre-Student Teaching

Aspire pre-service teachers are able to waive all or part of their Pre-student Teaching field experience based on prior experience. To do so pre-service teachers must take the following steps:

Notify your Guide Group leader of your intent to waive the hours.
Ask the Aspire Administrative Assistant for the official waiver form. This form will detail the hours and requires signatures by site administrators of the schools in which you worked.
Submit a paper (five page minimum) to your Guide Group leader detailing your experience and how it related to the Observation Guidelines for the Pre-Student Teaching experience at WU Aspire.
Complete the above items before May 1st.

Practicum

Aspire pre-service teachers may carry over 30 hours of their Practicum field experience from their first year (including Summer) into the Practicum requirements of the second Fall semester. To do so pre-service teachers must take the following steps:

Notify your Guide Group leader of your intent to carry hours forward.
Ask Beth for the official waiver form. This form will detail the required hours and must be signed by a site administrator of the school in which you worked. Work must be done at the same grade level as your practicum assignment, although not necessarily at the same site.
Submit a three page paper to your Guide Group leader detailing your experience and how it related to the observation guidelines for the Practicum teaching experience at WU Aspire. (Contact your Guide Group leader for details.)
Complete the above items by December 5th.

Student Teaching

You may not waive student teaching.

When do I teach my Work Samples?

Practicum

The window for teaching your work sample in the Practicum is from Thanksgiving (end of November) through the middle of January. Candidates are encouraged to teach the work sample prior to the winter break so that they can begin to focus on their Student Teaching placements as soon as possible in January. Work samples may not be started prior to Thanksgiving, as the Planning and Assessment course is aligned with the timing of the work sample.

Student Teaching

Pre-service teachers may complete their Student Teaching work samples at any time during the spring semester. However, we encourage pre-service teachers to not do their work sample during the first two weeks of their teaching so that they get to know their students and classroom. The deadline for turning in the work sample is by Spring Break. If for any reason you are not able to finish your work sample by Spring Break, please notify your Guide Group leader. Pre-service teachers in Early Childhood or Elementary School placements do not need to teach their work sample at the same time as their full-time, three-week teaching opportunity.

May I use my current teaching position for my field experience? How does an Internship work?

Pre-service teachers who currently have a paid teaching position may use their teaching for their pre-student teaching, practicum, and/or student teaching field experience requirements.

Pre-student teaching

It is important that all pre-student teaching Observation Guidelines (available from your Guide Group leader) be covered, so if you have a paid teaching position it will be important for you to use your preparation time during school hours to accomplish some of those tasks.

Practicum

It is possible to use your teaching position as your Practicum field placement as long as a licensed teacher with 3 years of experience can supervise and mentor you. The supervising teacher at the school where you currently teach must be available to do at least 2 formal observations, informal observations, come to two meetings at Willamette University, meet with you regularly, and provide mentorship throughout the Fall semester. If you are teaching full-time, you need to use your prep period(s) or take time off so you can observe other teachers and teach your work sample in another authorization level. In addition, you should spend time at a school that has students of different socio-economic status than those you currently teach. Additionally, you will need to spend a minimum of 2 full days in a school at your chosen Practicum authorization level.

Student Teaching

It is possible to use your teaching position as your Student Teaching field placement as long as a licensed teacher with 3 years of experience can supervise and mentor you. A written Internship Agreement will be created that defines roles and responsibilities of each person involved. The supervising teacher at the school must be available to do at least 6 formal observations, informal observations, come to two meetings at Willamette University, meet with you regularly, and provide mentorship throughout the Spring semester.

How do I document my pre-student teaching hours?

In order to document your pre-student teaching hours (at least 90 hours) you use the "Pre-Student Teaching Observation Hours Record" form available from the Administrative Assistant or online. The form asks you for the school you observed, grade, date, and hours of observation, and for a school official's signature. That signature can be from the teacher you observed or the principal. You should observe in multiple schools and observe multiple teachers so you get a full range of experience.

When do I need to pass my tests?

Candidates need to pass their basic skills test as part of their application to the MAT Aspire program.

In order to continue in the MAT Aspire program, candidates need to pass their content tests by the beginning of the second year of the program.

However, in order to place pre-service teachers in their field experiences for the second year, candidates need to have passed their content tests. We begin placing pre-service teachers in schools in March and placements fill rapidly, as we are in competition with other institutions. Therefore, pre-service teachers should plan to pass their tests by March of the first year of the program.

What do I do if I miss a class?

Let the instructor know before you miss a class. If you do miss a class, be sure to contact the instructor to find out what you missed and how you can make up your lack of attendance.

Where can I see my grades and courses in which I'm enrolled?

JASON is the name of the university student information system. You can access all your information by going to the internal web and clicking on JASON under the area "For Students" and "University Services".

When do I need to quit my job?

Each student will answer this question differently, based on their unique situation and the following demands:

Student Teaching Responsibilities:

All candidates must be in their student teaching placement for the teacher contract day from the first day to the last day of the second semester of the second year of the program.
All candidates must establish a relationship with their supervising teacher such that the supervising teacher has confidence in relinquishing their classroom to the pre-service teacher. Therefore, candidates may need to quit a position earlier to make time to establish that relationship and comfort with the student teaching environment.
All candidates must complete a work sample for their practicum. Some candidates may find that they will need to quit their jobs in early January in order to complete their practicum field experience.
If you are teaching in a classroom without a license, you may be able to use your classroom as your field experience and get paid while you are doing your student teaching through an internship.
If you are an instructional assistant, you may be able to work 1-2 hours per day as an instructional assistant at your student teaching placement. Anything more than that would interfere with your student teaching experience.

What are Cohorts and Strands?

The MAT Aspire program is divided into two cohorts, based on which year of the program they are in. Each cohort is K-12.

The full-time program divides their teaching candidates into three strand cohorts: Strand I (candidates for Early Childhood and Elementary authorization); Strand II (candidates for Elementary, Middle, and High School authorization) and Strand III (candidates for Middle and High School authorization).