Urban Pedagogy (for Teach For America Detroit corps members)
Kristin Holmstrom
After teaching elementary school for 12 years, Holmstrom returned to her alma mater to teach and investigate areas including instructional coaching, teacher collaboration, and the relationships between the organization of schools and teaching expertise. Among others courses, Holmstrom teaches the introductory course for the elementary undergraduate teacher education program and the professional seminar for first-year educational studies doctoral students.
Degree: Master of Arts in Educational Studies
The Teach For America Master of Arts in Educational Studies program builds upon the School of Education’s Teach For America (TFA) interim certification program and the existing Master of Arts in Educational Studies program. It is a 30-credit program for existing TFA-Detroit corps members who are enrolled in the interim teaching certification program and who are interested in studying issues and practices pertinent to teaching and learning in urban contexts. It is appropriate for those who want to deepen their understanding of teaching and learning during their time in the TFA-Detroit corps and for those who imagine remaining in the profession beyond two years whether as a teacher, school leader, or policymaker.
As is the case with the existing Educational Studies MA Teaching & Learning thread on which this program is built, the Urban Pedagogy thread focuses on instructional “doing,” including learning about classroom practices, the development of classroom materials, and ways in which teaching occurs in classrooms. Students will gain the knowledge necessary to examine theory and research with a critical eye towards improving teaching and learning for all students.
Classes are cohorted and occur in the late evenings or weekends on the Ann Arbor campus or at the University of Michigan Detroit Center to accommodate corps members’ regular work schedules in Detroit-area schools. They are also scheduled so as not to conflict with required certification program courses, which are a legislated mandate for those teaching under an interim certification. Additionally, coursework done in the interim certification program is counted as credit in this master's degree plan, making it possible to complete both within the two years in the corps.
A generous scholarship award of up to $25,000 is available for non-resident students. This award is in addition to an $8000 credit of the certification program fees which is granted to all TFA corps members in the master's program. The total cost of the two-year certification program is $9700 (payable with an AmeriCorps award, if eligible). The estimated total cost of the master's degree program after the scholarship and credit is applied is approximately $21,000 for non-residents and $19,000 for residents. Students may also be eligible for additional financial aid and are encouraged to complete a FAFSA when applying to the program.
| Term (subject to change) | Courses |
|---|---|
| Fall of Year One | NO COURSES |
| Winter of Year One | EDUC 649 "Foundational Perspectives on Educational Reform" |
| Spring of Year One |
ENGR 599 "Educational Entrepreneurship Workshop" EDUC 606 "Developmental and Psychological Perspectives on Education" EDUC 638 "Internship and Directed Field Experience" |
| Fall of Year Two |
EDUC 547/739 "Current Issues in Educational Studies" EDUC 552 "Instructional Leadership in Schools" |
| Winter of Year Two |
EDUC 695 "Research and Educational Practice" EDUC 737 "Topics in Educational Studies" |
| Summer of Year Two |
EDUC 540 "TFA Summer Institute" with additional assignments Cognate EDUC 655 "Directed Research in Educational Studies" |
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Contact
Teach for America Interim Certification Program
University of Michigan
School of Education
610 E. University Avenue,
Room 3112
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Telephone: 734.936.0947
Email: TFACertProgram@umich.edu
