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For student teachers: Michele Morales, Director, 212-875-4588
For working teachers: Diana-Elena Matsoukas, Director, 212-875-4616
For assistant teachers: Stan Chu, Director, 212-875-4499
Master of Science in Education: 45 credits
This 45-credit program in Childhood General Education prepares you to work effectively in grades 1 through 6. You will learn to work collaboratively in general elementary and inclusive classrooms and to become an advocate for the children you teach.
Classrooms are exciting places where children learn best when they are engaged in exploring the wonder of the world around them. The wonderful mix of excitement and security that a sensitive and imaginative educator brings can launch children on a lifetime of learning. As a graduate student, you will learn to develop age-appropriate curricula that encourage children to explore the full range of subject areas (reading, math, science, social studies and the arts), follow their own curiosity, and forge their own paths of learning.
The integration of coursework and field experiences is central to a Bank Street education. You will learn to observe, engage and educate children based on a solid grounding in what makes children tick. Through a variety of guided fieldwork experiences, you will experience hands-on, meaningful interaction with students of various ages and learning styles, while at the same time studying child development, foundations of education, classroom management, and the various elementary curriculum areas.
Special attention is given to learning to work in urban settings and to collaborate with fellow teachers and with parents.
Certification in Education
You will earn initial and professional New York State certification in Childhood General Education, which allows you to work with general populations of children in grades 1 through 6.
Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement
During one academic year, while you take courses, you will gain teaching experience and intensive advisory support through supervised fieldwork/advisement. If you are not currently working in an elementary school setting, you will do your student teaching with placements both at the grades 1 through 3 level, and at the grades 4 through 6 level. Working teachers and assistants who stay with a particular grade in the age range may use their own classroom as their primary site for college-supervised teaching, but they will also need additional college-supervised field experiences with children of diverse populations and other ages within the certification range. This requirement might be met, for example, through after school or summer school experiences.
Throughout your year of supervised fieldwork/advisement, your advisor will visit you in your setting each month. You will meet individually twice a month with your Bank Street advisor, and you will gather with a small, supportive peer group once a week throughout the fall and spring terms. The year of supervision and advisement is central to your professional growth and development as you become a successful educator.
Integrative Master's Project
Before graduating, you will complete an independent study (master's thesis), directed essay or portfolio. Your choice will depend on your own goals and learning style. This project allows you to pursue an area of particular interest to you, or to weave together the threads and understandings of your Bank Street graduate experience.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants to the Childhood General Education program need to have a strong background in the liberal arts and sciences.
Further information
More Childhood Education programs (grades 1 to 6):