Chigusa answers the question:
Why JOIN the TEP program at PennGSE?

M.S.Ed. Degree in Elementary and Secondary Education

In these urban-focused, full-time, ten-month programs, students simultaneously pursue certification and earn their master’s degrees.  The master’s of science in education degree programs are designed for students who not only have a solid undergraduate background in the liberal arts and sciences but who have a commitment toward working with young people, particularly those who live in urban areas.

Building on children’s and adolescents’ strengths, curiosities, and interests, we invite prospective teachers to take an inquiry stance to teaching and learning. All graduate coursework is intended to support students in developing critical thinking about theoretical underpinnings, current research on teaching and learning, and contemporary issues in urban education. Coursework and supervised student teaching experiences mutually inform one another; course assignments are integrated with fieldwork experiences so that students learn to think deeply and reflectively about their practice in the classroom. Student teaching placements are carefully selected to provide meaningful experiences. Students are clustered within schools and each student has a Penn mentor who visits weekly to provide in-depth feedback on student teaching and learning, responds to journal postings, and facilitates site meetings among the school teams.

Students may choose to specialize in either elementary education (grades K–6) or secondary education (grades 7–12 with content areas in religious studies, English, mathematics, social studies, sciences.

The M.S. Ed. degree in elementary or secondary education requires completion of 11 course units of approved graduate work. Because of the interdependence of the teacher education program’s coursework and fieldwork, students may not transfer in credits from other graduate programs. Students are expected to participate in the program on a full-time basis, beginning in mid-July and finishing the following May. Each student must complete a culminating portfolio project, which includes an artifact collection and an extensive analytic essay based on a research question that frames a review of her/his year of learning.