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Teacher Education

Social Studies

Lewis & Clark has a reputation for preparing excellent teachers of the liberal arts. The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) with Preliminary Teaching License continues this tradition by offering candidates the opportunity to teach at the middle level or high school grades. Our program prepares new teachers to think analytically about their subject matter and the school curriculum, their practice of the teaching craft, and their role in the ethical and organizational dilemmas of schooling.

The Preservice MAT in Social Studies degree complements similar programs in other subject areas and early childhood/ elementary education. These programs all stress a strong disciplinary background and commitment to critical appraisal of curriculum in the candidate’s field.

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Jobs Update, Class of '14

  • Jessica Cantu: Social Studies
    Reynolds High School, Troutdale, OR

  • Lee Lipton: Social Studies
    Clackamas High School, Clackamas, OR

  • Jason Barnes: Social Studies
    Canyon Creek Middle School, Washougal, WA

  • Gillian Sullivan-Bing: Social Studies
    Stoller Middle School, Beaverton, OR

  • Julia Broxterman: Social Studies
    Highland Park Middle School, Beaverton, OR

  • Rachael Twitty: Social Studies
    Brown Middle School, Hillsboro, OR

  • Kaitlyn Karsten: Social Studies/Language Arts
    Wood Middle School, Wilsonville, OR

  • Clara Richardson: Social Studies
    Wood Middle School, Wilsonville, OR

  • Camila Arze Torres Goitia: Social Studies
    Madison High School, Portland, OR

  • Eliana Machuca: Social Studies
    Jefferson High School, Portland, OR

  • Betsey Jensen: Social Studies
    Sunset High School, Beaverton, OR

  • Hernan Eaves: Social Studies
    McKay High School, Salem, OR

 

The program prepares students to:

  • Be effective citizens by engaging them in the examination of pressing community, state and national issues.
  • Understand the ways in which students’ individual identities and cultural backgrounds influence their learning in social studies, and to adapt their teaching accordingly.
  • Design curriculum around deep and powerful concepts and questions.
  • Use writing in social studies classes to extend students’ learning.
  • Be knowledgeable about theory and research behind approaches to teaching social studies.
  • Teach about the broad diversity of people and perspectives in U.S. society and the world.
  • Approach their teaching from a liberal arts perspective.
  • Use, as well as, critique current state standards for social studies.
  • Use engaging and innovative teaching techniques to promote student understanding of the social studies.

Program Features

  • A school-year-long internship in a middle or high school in the Portland metropolitan area working with an experienced social studies/history mentor teacher.
  • Campus studies in education, history and the social sciences, and curriculum theory and construction.
  • Fulfillment of the requirements for an Oregon Preliminary Teaching License at the middle level and high school grades.

Admission Expectations

Recent college graduates and adults in career transition who hold a baccalaureate degree with a major in U.S. or world history or one of the social sciences such as political science, sociology, or geography are welcomed to apply.

Candidates with a minor or coursework in history or the social sciences may also be considered.

Contact Information

For further information about licensing, degree program, and course offerings in social studies, pleases contact :

Dyan Watson, EdD
watson@lclark.edu
(503) 768-6124