Don't Forget:
MAC Info Night
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
6:00 - 7:15 PM
Room: Whitney Room (Room 1309)
For further information about Elementary MAC, e-mail Instructional Specialist, Leah van Belle at vanbelle@umich.edu.
For further information about Secondary MAC, e-mail Secondary MAC Asst. Coordinator, Prof. Patricia Kenney at pakenney@umich.edu.
Are you a recent or soon-to-be BA or BS in a field such as English, mathematics, history, or physics, but not necessarily planning on advanced study in the discipline? Are you currently employed in business or industry but thinking about changing careers? Do you enjoy working with middle and high school-aged youth? Have you thought about teaching but also about doing graduate work?
Consider spending an intellectually engaging and challenging year acquiring a teaching certificate and a Master of Arts degree in education. As a student in the Secondary Master of Arts with Certification Program at the University of Michigan, you will work closely with a cohort of fellow students and faculty as you develop the essential knowledge and skills that will transform you into an effective and caring teacher. As part of the dynamic process, you will participate in university and school-based experiences that will enable you to meet the challenges facing today’s educators. You will have the opportunity, should you desire, to concentrate on teaching for social justice in an urban setting.
Would you like to make a significant and meaningful difference in the lives of young people?
The Secondary Master of Arts with Certification Program is designed to help you develop as a thoughtful, critically reflective, inquiring educator who is prepared both to teach in schools as they currently exist and to be an agent of change for schools as they might be. As a Secondary MAC student, you will be challenged to think deeply about what it means to be an effective teacher by reflecting on your practice as an educator and as a learner; you will be encouraged to think about your goals, values, beliefs, and assumptions about education as a foundation for exploring the craft of teaching; and you will be encouraged to think about schools in their broad social, cultural, political, and historical contexts.
The Secondary MAC Program prepares you for teacher certification in:
With successful completion of the program, you will earn both Michigan teacher certification and a Master's degree in education. "Successful completion" means candidates have satisfied requirements in each of the following areas:
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This degree specialization is housed within the Educational Studies Program, which fosters links among students and faculty in a number of specializations sharing a commitment to the integration of theory and research on teaching, learning, and educational access in P-12 settings.
I would like to see a list of faculty and their research interests.
I have questions about the Secondary MAC Program which still need answering.
“Making the transition from corporation to classroom is no small challenge. The School of Education’s innovative Master of Arts with Certification (MAC) program expedites the process.”
Tony Moskus always knew he wanted to be a teacher. Even as a kid back in elementary school, he’d find himself thinking, “if I were teaching this class …”
But teaching jobs were scarce when he went to college, so he steered toward his second goal, which was to work his way up the ranks of a large corporation. As a business analyst for Electronic Data Systems, he did exactly that, earning steady promotions on the track to upper level management.
But something was missing. “If I’m going to work this hard,” he decided, “it has to mean more than making money for a big company.”
Making the transition from corporation to classroom is no small challenge. The School of Education’s innovative Master of Arts with Certification (MAC) program expedites the process. The MAC program concentrates field placement and coursework into one intensive 12-month experience. 
Launched in 1991, the MAC program was at first geared to recent graduates and career changers seeking to teach at the secondary level. Based on its success, the program was expanded to include elementary level certification a few years later. Both Secondary MAC and Elementary MAC run from late June through the following June. “Amazingly intense, wall-to-wall learning,” is how Moskus describes the experience. “It really prepares you for what you will face in the classroom.”
Charles W. Peters, Clinical Professor and Secondary MAC Coordinator, receives 120 to 150 applications each year, split about equally between recent graduates and second career people. The latter group covers a wide range, from physicians to attorneys to engineers.
“The five things we look at are commitment and passion for teaching; undergraduate grades; GRE (Graduate Record Exam) scores; recommendations; and life experience,” he reports.
To meet state requirements, secondary teachers must have two majors, or a major plus a minor, within two of five areas: social studies, English, foreign language, mathematics, and science. Many applicants take a year or two fulfilling pre-requisites before they are admitted to the program, often taking advantage of the increasingly available on-line course options. Peters and Pat Kenney, Secondary MAC Assistant Coordinator, spend considerable time counseling applicants about ways to channel their experience and interests into future teaching opportunities.
“For example, someone with an engineering degree may have enough credits to fulfill a physics major and math minor, and is well positioned to teach high school science. But we also encounter the person with a PhD in theology who could qualify as a Latin teacher, yet wants to teach math. The second person will need additional math courses in addition to our theory and practice content.” Peters and Kenney try to monitor where the needs are, not only in Michigan but also across the country. MAC graduates find jobs. “We get highly dedicated, enthusiastic students,” Peters says. “It is exciting to work with the kinds of people who are attracted to this program.”
“As he began taking courses, it looked like a very long road to earning a second bachelor’s degree in education. Then he discovered the MAC program, and his teaching goal moved immediately within reach.”
Each MAC program accepts approximately 50 students each year; these are split into cohorts of 25 students who take most of their classes together. This structure promotes a unique sense of community that both faculty and students cite as a key strength of the program. “We’re just like a family,” says Rhonda Jordan, Elementary MAC ’05. “Each of us brings our unique personalities and experiences to our cohort, which makes learning within our cohort rich and colorful.”
“Your absolute best support group is your family and friends, but next to that is your cohort. They take the same classes, work in the same schools, and share the same heavy workload,” says Professor Stu Rankin, Elementary MAC (or ELMAC) Coordinator.
The cohorts are organized to include students of a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and interests. Similarly, the field placements are chosen to expose MAC participants to youth of various racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, with emphasis on some of the poorer school districts. Rankin, who coordinates the Elementary MAC cohort assigned to Detroit schools, explains the rationale: “You often hear educators saying, ‘We believe all children can learn.’ But they do not necessarily believe they themselves can teach all children. We want our graduates to be convinced that they can teach anyone who comes to them. And we think the best way to believe that you can teach anybody is to actually have done it!”
Steve Kotre, Secondary MAC ’03, was attracted to this philosophy, because it seemed to him that low-income urban school settings offered him the greatest opportunity to make a difference. He had experienced this one-on-one as a mentor in the county-sponsored Big Brother program.
Kotre drifted into engineering because math came easily to him. Since graduating from Michigan in 1989, he had worked at Ford Motor Co., most recently as part of the team designing Ford’s new hybrid electrical vehicle.
But if Tony Moskus had come to a career crossroads, his friend Steve had reached an impasse. “The positive aspects of working on this new technology were far outweighed by the frustration of dealing with a bureaucracy,” he stated.
“We get highly dedicated, enthusiastic students, it is exciting to work with the kinds of people who are attracted to this program.”
Kotre’s revelation moment came during a family vacation. He found himself especially enjoying the company of his friends’ young children, and they responded to him easily. “It finally dawned on me how natural it felt to be engaging with kids,” he noticed. “Why wasn’t I doing something to influence children or shape their futures? I was certain this had to happen.”
As he began taking courses, it looked like a very long road to earning a second bachelor’s degree in education. Then he discovered the MAC program, and his teaching goal moved immediately within reach.
“I chose elementary level because I wanted as much exposure as possible to a targeted group of kids,” Kotre concludes. “I think that’s where I can have the most impact.”
Having significant experience with young children is essential to being accepted in ELMAC, says Clinical Assistant Professor Cathy Reischl, who co-coordinates the program.
“We start with the assumption that all children can learn, and it’s the teacher’s responsibility to make this happen” Reischl explains. “It’s the job of the teacher to establish the conditions that ensure growth.
“We look for applicants who understand cultural differences, and want to engage children deeply in subject matter. They should show an interest in social issues, including the role that school plays in our society.”
Over the past year, Reischl has been working with Diane Larsen-Freeman, Professor of Education and Director of the English Language Institute. Through their efforts, the Elementary MAC program now offers an ESL (English as a Second Language) endorsement. Roughly half of ELMAC students earn the extra 18 credits to qualify as ESL teachers in the increasing number of school districts with multi-lingual children.
“I believe our emphasis on under-served populations is a big part of what distinguishes us among other teacher certification programs,” Reischl says. “When interns are learning to teach in settings that include multi-lingual students, they pay more attention to one of their primary tools, which is language. Therefore, they teach all kids more effectively.
The MAC coordinators also credit the contribution of the cooperating teachers, many of whom take on a U-M intern year after year. “They are tireless mentors. The MAC students are deeply involved in the classroom – not just observing, but co-planning and co-teaching,” Reischl notes.
Despite its intensity, the Master of Arts with Certification (MAC) program has practically no drop-outs. One reason is that the participants have already sacrificed a year’s income in addition to tuition costs. But while MAC graduates have an excellent placement record, the payoff is not instant. As a fifth grade teacher, Tony Moskus brings home less than half what he earned at EDS, and he and his wife now have three sons to support.
Yet he would recommend the MAC program to anyone. “Be ready to work harder than you have ever worked in your life,” he advises. “The faculty is outstanding, and the structure and content of the work specifically prepares you for what life will be like as a teacher. I was offered the job three days before it started, but I was able to draw upon everything I’d learned in the MAC program and put it straight to work.”
Moskus believes that his preparation for becoming a teacher has also made him a better parent. “I can hear Cathy Reischl’s voice in my head: ‘It’s a way of teaching children to think, so that they solve problems on their own, with your guidance.’ I’m not sure I’d have come to this realization on my own.”
Reischl reflects, “it is incredibly rewarding to be part of such significant growth in the lives of adults, knowing that many have changed their lives to pursue a dream; knowing that they will impact the lives of a generation of children.”
“It is a privilege to work with such enthusiastic, dedicated people,” adds Peters. “These are the educational leaders of tomorrow.”
-by Pat Materka
This article originally appeared Winter 2006 edition of Innovator.
“Especially second semester, says Andrea Zellner, Secondary MAC ’02, “when you spend every day in the classroom, and every evening taking a class, grading papers, or writing your own.”
The intensity is part of the appeal, she adds. U-M is the only school in Michigan and one of very few in the country that offers a Master’s Degree with certification within one year. Conventional graduate programs take at least twice as long. Factoring in the additional cost of lost income also makes them far more expensive.
Paying out-of-state tuition was not an option for Zellner, who worked for a non-profit before deciding to enter teaching. But after making comparisons, she believes the U-M Master of Arts with Certification is on a par with Stanford and Harvard.
“Coincidentally, my cousin completed Harvard’s MAC program around the same time, and I found we had much the same readings and coursework. In fact, some aspects of Michigan’s program were superior, like its emphasis on best practice, and evaluating research. MAC prepared me to be a critical consumer of research; to evaluate data before rushing to adopt new instructional strategies,” Zellner said.
“For me, one of the most valuable aspects was being in the classroom for an entire year,” notes Rachel teBrake, MAC ’04, a former automotive engineer. “And this is unusual; most programs give you six weeks of student teaching experience. Working with my mentor teacher from the very beginning of September gave me a much broader perspective of classroom management.
“MAC sees student contact as the primary focus and weaves the pedagogy around that,” she continues. “You’re not just getting book knowledge. When I applied for jobs, interviewers were very impressed that I’d had a full year of hands-on experience.” Another of the program’s major strong points, both women agree, is its built-in support system. The Secondary MAC program and the Elementary MAC program divide students into 25-member cohorts who take all of their classes together.
“From the first meeting, there is an emphasis on camaraderie and team building,” teBrake recalls. “This is the boot camp of certification programs, and your cohort really helps you get through it.”
Zellner, who now teaches 11th grade English and tutors in a learning disabilities clinic, says the cohort system was an opportunity to learn to depend on other people. “I’m sort of independent,” she observes, “and it was good to be part of a community. It taught me how to create a community within my own classroom.”
Returning to the intensity topic, teBrake says MAC’s demanding pace honed her time management skills. “It is really true that if you make it through the MAC program, your first year of teaching will seem easy by comparison.”
Now a high school civics and science teacher, she reflects the views of many of her peers when she says, “I liked my job before but it was wearing me out. Teaching gives me a sense of purpose. It’s hard work and sometimes exhausting, but you’re doing it for a reason. You’re doing it for the kids.”
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2006 edition of Innovator.
The Secondary Master of Arts with Certification Program is designed to help you make strong connections between theory and practice. Issues related to curriculum, instruction assessment, classroom management, philosophy, psychology, history, and the social context of education are interwoven throughout the program, and connections are made between your day-to-day experiences in schools and assigned readings, discussions, projects, and assignments. School and classroom issues are discussed as they arise, and faculty members offer various perspectives for understanding these issues and their relation to current educational research and practice. Continuous attention is paid to studying the adult and youth cultures in a variety of schools throughout southeastern Michigan with an eye to understanding the various factors that shape teaching and learning.
Two unique features that shape the Secondary MAC Program:
Cohorts – Throughout your time in the Secondary MAC Program, you will be a member of a 20-25 person cohort and will work closely with the members of your cohort and with cohort faculty. This will provide you with the opportunity to make sense of and interpret your experiences with others sharing in those experiences. At the same time, you will be developing a network of colleagues who illuminate the multiple perspectives different individuals bring to the field of education. Secondary MAC students typically span an age range from 22 to 55 and have a huge range of work and life experiences.
Fieldwork – Program-long involvement with, and experiences in, schools is central to the Secondary MAC Program and its curriculum. This emphasis will make it possible for you to delve deeply into issues related to public school education and to work closely with experienced school colleagues as you begin to build a teaching practice. You will examine the tensions between the theories and practices learned in your courses and the realities of everyday life in classrooms in your regular interactions with faculty, experienced teachers, and Secondary MAC colleagues. Secondary MAC students work with 7-12 students in a variety of schools and school districts throughout southeastern Michigan. These sites will afford you the opportunity to work with youth from a range of social, cultural, economic, and linguistic backgrounds. For students specifically interested in an urban experience, the program offers the opportunity to work in Detroit Public Schools. If you are interested in teaching in an urban setting, please indicate this in your application to the program.
Another important feature of the 12-month Secondary MAC Program is a course schedule designed to allow program faculty to integrate most of the School of Education’s required courses into a series of interconnected topics. Rather than teaching a given Education course during a single term, the content of Education courses is taught across several terms. This arrangement allows faculty to transcend traditional term time constraints and teach topics when they are most beneficial to Secondary MAC students.
All Secondary MAC students take the following courses:
| EDUC 402 (3 credits) Reading and Writing in the Content Areas |
EDUC 649 (3 credits) Foundational Perspectives on Educational Reform |
| EDUC 490 (3 credits) Topics in Professional Education |
EDUC 650 (12 credits) Reflective Teaching Field Experience |
| EDUC 504 (3 credits) Teaching with Technology |
EDUC 655 (1-3 credits) Directed Research in Educational Studies |
| EDUC 606 (3 credits) Developmental and Psychological Perspectives on Education |
EDUC 695 (3 credits) Research and Educational Practice |
| EDUC XXX (3 credits) Methodology course for academic major |
2 cognate courses (3 credits each)* A cognate is defined as a graduate level course offered outside the School of Education. |
* In addition to School of Education and Secondary MAC Program requirements, all Rackham master’s students are required to elect and successfully complete two cognate courses.
The Year at a Glance
The MAC program is designed to be completed in 4 terms, over 12 months.
The Year at a Glance:
The Secondary MAC Program is designed to be completed in 4 terms, over 12 months.
Last Week of June – Orientation for all Secondary MAC students.
July and August – Students complete two university courses and participate in an “externship” experience several mornings a week.
Late August – Students meet with their assigned cooperating teachers and assist them with preparations for the school year.
September thru December – Students work two full-days per week in their placement classrooms, attend seminar, complete a methods course in their academic major courses, complete their cognates, and begin other Education coursework.
January thru April – Students are fully immersed in their student teaching, taking on the schedule of the cooperating teacher with whom they worked throughout the Fall term, meaning students are usually in schools all-day, five days per week. Students also take two university courses in the late afternoon or early evening.
May and June – Student teaching continues until the end of the public school calendar, and one university course is taken. The course is completed by the end of May.
PLEASE NOTE: The Secondary MAC Program does not generally follow the UM calendar. In summer and fall terms, Secondary MAC classes begin earlier than the University calendar indicates and, in spring term, Secondary MAC classes end earlier than does the University calendar.
The State of Michigan requires that all teacher certification candidates have a teaching major and minor or two teaching majors in order to be recommended for teacher certification.
The Secondary Master of Arts with Certification Program offers teaching majors and minors in the following areas:
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See also the major minor requirements archive
Due to the intensive nature of the Secondary MAC Program, candidates are expected to have all of the coursework necessary for the required teaching major(s) and minor(s) completed prior to beginning the program.
A coursework evaluation must be done using transcripts from every undergraduate and graduate institution attended (including community colleges) to help determine what teaching major and minor will be most appropriate for you. An Application for a Coursework Evaluation should be submitted as early as possible. There is no cost for this evaluation.
In addition to the requirements of our program, the State of Michigan has requirements with which any teacher candidate must comply in order to receive teacher certification. These requirements are applicable to all of the teacher certification programs within the state.
Michigan Public Act 18 of 2003 requires all teacher candidates to be certified in CPR (Child and Adult) and First Aid prior to being recommended for teacher certification. The legislation stipulates that this training must be completed through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association .
NOTE: Because the CPR certification is valid only for one year, the program recommends that teacher candidates complete this training during their student teaching, or final, term in the program (whichever is later).
In order to help our teacher candidates meet this certification requirement, the School of Education has partnered with the Washtenaw County chapter of the American Red Cross to offer this certification course to School of Education students during fall and winter semesters. Information about course dates and times will be distributed to teacher candidates at the beginning of their student teaching term. Teacher candidates also have the option of contacting the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association directly to arrange to take a CPR/First Aid course.
Teacher candidates must send copies of the front and back of their CPR/First Aid cards to the Teacher Education Office (Room 1228) in the School of Education, to the attention of the academic advisors. Cards should include both the instructor and student signature.
Criminal Background Check and Fingerprinting
Michigan's "School Safety" legislation (2005) requires that all potential employees of public schools in the State of Michigan be fingerprinted and subjected to a criminal background check prior to hire. A teacher candidate can be denied initial certification, or certification can be delayed, if his or her background reveals a felony or certain enumerated misdemeanor convictions.
All newly admitted teacher candidates must provide proof that a State of Michigan and FBI criminal background check (via LIVESCAN fingerprinting) has been conducted. The results of the criminal background check must be submitted to the program according to current policy. This must be done before any field placement in a K-12 setting can occur.
Additionally, two signed criminal affidavits are required: 1) prior to student teaching, and 2) prior to recommendation for certification to the State of Michigan.
It is likely that school districts in which teacher candidates are placed for practicum and/or student teaching may ask for fingerprint results before agreeing to host the teacher candidate.
Teacher candidates are expected to report any criminal convictions that occur during their tenure in our teacher education program to their program coordinator as soon as they occur.
Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC)
The MTTC Basic Skills and Subject Area tests are designed and implemented by the Michigan Department of Education, and are meant to ensure that each certified teacher has the necessary basic skills and subject area knowledge to serve in Michigan schools.
Basic Skills Test:
Candidates in our teacher education programs must take and pass all three sections (Reading, Math, and Writing) of the Basic Skills test prior to being eligible to student teach.
Subject Area Tests:
The Subject Area tests should not be taken before the teacher candidate's final year in the program.
Elementary candidates: Before being recommended to the State for teacher certification, elementary teacher candidates must take and pass the MTTC test in Elementary Education. Additionally, elementary teacher candidates who wish to teach in subject-specific classrooms in grades 6-8, must take and pass MTTC tests in their teaching major and minor. The program strongly encourages elementary teacher candidates to take and pass the appropriate subject-area tests. So, as an elementary teacher candidate, you can expect to take 2-4 MTTC tests while in our program.
Secondary and K-12 candidates: Before being recommended to the State for teacher certification, secondary teacher candidates must take and pass the subject area tests in their teaching major(s) and minor(s). As a secondary teacher candidate, you can expect to take at least three MTTC tests while in our program.
Test Registration Information:
MTTC tests are offered four times each year: in January, April, July, and October. MTTC registration information, as well as test objectives and study guides for each subject-area test, are available online at: http://www.mttc.nesinc.com
Please visit http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-5234_5683_5857-116214--,00.html#MTTCTestReg for MTTC Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the steps for completing an application to the Secondary Master of Arts with Certification Program. ( Links will open up in a new window. Close the new window to return to this page.)
1. Fill out a Rackham program inquiry form so we can contact you to inform you of the latest recruiting events and admissions updates.
2. Submit a Secondary MAC Application for a Coursework Evaluation (Adobe PDF).
Please submit the Application for a Coursework Evaluation along with one official transcript from each of your undergraduate and graduate institutions (including community colleges) prior to submitting other application materials. Your transcripts will be evaluated to be sure that you have met all general education and teaching major and minor course prerequisites. (For further description of each certification major and minor click here .) There is no charge for this evaluation. Note that the process may take 3-4 weeks to complete.
Once you have received the results of your coursework evaluation, please contact Secondary MAC Assistant Coordinator, Patricia Kenney at pakenney@umich.edu or (734) 615-6589 to schedule an office or phone appointment to discuss your academic preparation for the program.
Applicants with coursework and/or degrees from non-U.S. colleges or universities must have their transcripts evaluated by an international credit evaluation center. Coursework evaluations cannot be completed until evaluated transcripts are submitted to the Office of Student Services. Click here to view a list of centers we accept .
3. Submit all other documents listed on the MAC Application Checklist (Adobe PDF)
4. For the latest application deadline, please see our deadlines page.
5. Do you have any questions not addressed above? If so, view the School of Education Frequently Asked Questions page or contact the Secondary MAC Program .
If you are interested in other School of Education programs, return to the "Academic Programs" page by clicking on the tab above or by clicking here .
You can view a list of program faculty by visiting the “People” link to the right. If you have any questions contact:
Professor Charles W. Peters
Secondary MAC Coordinator
School of Education
610 E. University Avenue, Room 1228G
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Email:
cwpeters@umich.edu
Phone: 734-615-6503
Fax: 734-647-9158
Professor Patricia Kenney
Secondary MAC Assistant Coordinator
School of Education
610 E. University Avenue, Room 2608
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Email:
pakenney@umich.edu
Phone: (734) 615-6589
If you have a general question about the Secondary Master of Arts with Certification (MAC) Program, or would like to talk to a current student about the program, please visit the contacts page.
Faculty: To view a faculty member's research interests, click on his or her name. (Links will open up in a new window. Close the window to return to this page.)
Charles W. Peters (Secondary MAC Coordinator)
Patricia Kenney (Secondary MAC Assistant Coordinator)
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