COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Transition to Teaching track at Wichita State University is a 36-credit-hour alternative licensure program designed for individuals seeking initial teacher certification through a structured combination of pedagogy coursework, classroom-based internship experience, and research or capstone work that connects theory to practice in real educational settings. The program’s core curriculum is built around approximately 21 credit hours of study in child and adolescent development, instructional design, differentiated instruction, literacy, diversity, classroom management, and educational foundations, including key courses such as CI 707 Adolescent Development, CI 701 Foundations of Education, CI 702 Introduction to Exceptional Children, CI 710B Differentiated Instruction, CI 760A Creating an Effective Classroom, CI 761A Instructional Planning and Technology, CI 779 Disciplinary Literacy and 21st Century Fluencies, CI 794 Diversity and Culture in a Global Society, and CI 789 Working with Diverse Student Populations. In addition, students complete a structured 8-credit internship sequence (CI 743, CI 744, CI 748, and CI 749) that places them in supervised teaching environments with university mentorship, allowing them to progressively build classroom teaching skills while meeting licensure requirements. The program also requires 7 credit hours of research and reflective practice, which may be completed through an action research portfolio or a master’s thesis option (CI 849, CI 860, and either CI 862/CI 863 or CI 875/CI 876), ensuring students develop evidence-based inquiry skills and the ability to analyze and improve instructional practice. A zero-credit licensure capstone (CED 501) is also included to support program completion and certification readiness. Overall, the MAT Transition to Teaching program integrates academic preparation, applied classroom experience, and reflective research to prepare candidates for effective teaching careers in diverse K–12 educational environments.