Montessori teachers gain hands-on experience developing STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics ) activities for their classrooms.
Education
Education programs in the School of Professional Studies integrate practical courses with an emphasis on fieldwork. They focus on educating teacher leaders, whether they are just entering the field or returning to higher education for graduate study. Programs include:
Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative (TC2)
St. Catherine University is a member of the Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative » TC2 is a progressive effort initiated in 2009 to establish a new paradigm for teaching and learning in order to improve teacher effectiveness as a means to close the achievement gap.
As part of the collaborative, TC2 has launched a blog to support new teachers.
Bachelor’s degree programs
St. Kate’s future teachers are in school settings early and often — long before a formal student-teaching experience in their senior year. An emphasis on fieldwork serves our students well, preparing them for the realities of the classroom. The School’s professional development school (PDS) model takes advantage of collaboration and expertise from both suburban and urban elementary schools and St. Catherine University.
Elementary education majors spend two, six-week rotations assigned to one of St. Kate’s PDS partner schools. A literacy sequence focuses on teaching reading and writing. The second concentration, our EcoSTARs (Students, Teachers and Real Science) program, highlights interactive science activities with both St. Kate’s students and cooperating teachers strengthening their STEM teaching skills. When it’s time for student teaching, St. Kate’s students are familiar with and comfortable in classrooms and they perform at high levels from day one.
St. Kate’s prepares undergraduate students for teaching licensure in the following areas:
- Elementary K-6
with possible endorsement options
- Preprimary (age 3 to age 5)
- Middle level (grades 5 through 8) - Secondary
- Kindergarten through grade 12
- Second-major teaching certificate
Master’s degree programs
St. Catherine offers Master's of Arts in Education (MAED) degrees to meet the needs of two unique audiences. They are:
- Curriculum and Instruction: Advanced-level studies for current licensed teachers.
- Initial Licensure: Entry-level studies for those with a bachelor’s degree now seeking a teaching credential.
Our master’s degree programs, open to both women and men, are based on action research. Using this model, classroom teachers identify a problem in their classrooms and then conduct evidenced-based research to solve it. The program focuses strongly on assessment strategies to improve the teaching-learning cycle and drives results that are relevant and applicable to our students’ immediate classroom settings. In the initial licensure program, action research is conducted during a fieldwork experience.
The advanced-level MAED program takes advantage of distance learning so teachers in the field can balance graduate study with their teaching responsibilities. The entry-level MAED program meets in a weekend format throughout the academic year over a three-year period.
Montessori programs
The Center for Contemporary Montessori Programs, a 30-year institution at St. Catherine University, has prepared 95 percent of the Montessori teachers in the Twin Cities’ public Montessori schools. We are one of only six Montessori training centers across the country affiliated with a college or university, and we’re proud that women and men from around the world begin or advance careers in Montessori education here. Montessori fields of study include:
- Early Childhood
- Elementary I and II
- Administrator
- AM2: Masters (MAED) - a one-year program that includes a three-day summer learning experience on campus followed by a nine-month, web-based course of study.
