Course of Study
The Course of Study is intense and combines clinical experience with rigorous academic work. We expect hard work and long hours to be a habit that is sustained through the work of teaching after the program is over. Each semester combines a clinical teaching responsibility with a number of seminar based courses. The final summer course work serves as a bridge between the previous year’s learning and preparation for the initial teaching assignment. All courses are worth one credit except where indicated.
TPRP 598, An Introduction to Urban Education. Linda Cole-Taylor.
Introduction to a way of thinking about teaching, one that involves an understanding of one’s discipline, sociological understanding of context and psychological knowledge of students.
TPRP 594, Education Psychology: Learning Theory and Urban Classrooms. David Berg.
Introduction to cognitive and social psychology as well as the intersection of adolescence with race and class.
TPRP 595, Special Education: Legal and Psychological Issues. Barbara Shiller.
Introduction to the legal mandates of IDEA legislation as well as a survey of the various learning styles of students eligible for special education.
Summer School Teaching (non-credit)
A five-week teaching assignment with New Haven high school students.
TPRP 590a, Schools, Community and the Teacher. Jonathon Gillette.
A survey of the important historical shifts in the purpose of education as well as the growing literature on the role of race in achievement. Students identify different philosophical stances and begin to generate their own guiding principles.
TPRP 600-605a, The Methods of Teaching. Staff.
A design seminar based on translating content knowledge into instructional practice. Students demonstrate an ability to break down complex concepts and develop higher order learning experiences for students.
TPRP 599a, Seminar on Teaching and Learning. Linda Cole-Taylor.
Daily teaching in a local middle or high school classroom, supported by an on-campus seminar.
TPRP 650a, Advanced Issues in Urban Settings. Jonathon Gillette.
An integrative seminar for advanced learning, half of the session is devoted to the presentation of case studies from the collaborative teaching experience. Students develop the habit of disciplined analysis in the context of these real cases. The other half is devoted to deepening study. The topics for the fall include: in-depth conversations with an FAS faculty member, the challenge of making student thinking, visible, issues of power and pedagogy in adolescent literacy and the role of anxiety in urban learning.
TPRP 620b Student Teaching (3 credits)
Full-time student teaching supported by a once-a-week seminar that addresses common issues across sites. Partner Schools.
TPRP 650b, Advanced Issues in Urban Settings. Jonathon Gillette.
Structured like the fall seminar, topics for the spring include: stereotype threat and cross racial feedback, advances in cognition and their implication for learning theory, theories of student resistance and theories of organizational change.
TPRP 660, Theory into Practice. Jonathon Gillette.
A capstone seminar in which candidates examine the dual dynamics of “teaching against the grain.” Elements include articulating an instructional stance as teachers, and different approaches to creating and managing an alternative class culture.
Immediately follwing the completion of your Master's Degree, it is expected that you will fulfill a two-year teaching commitment in the New Haven Public School District.
