C & I OUTCOMES for the Master’s in Education C&I Specialization

Academic Knowledge: Students will demonstrate a deep understanding of knowledge bases related to curriculum, instruction, learning, and core concepts in more specialized areas of interest.
Practical Competence: Students will demonstrate the ability to translate academic knowledge into expert practice related to their professional roles and specialized areas of interest.
Inquiry: Students will demonstrate a reflective stance toward their professional practice and competence with the key tools of inquiry related to this practice.
Democratic Commitment: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between schooling and the complex process of democracy and a commitment to pursue this process with a focus on access to quality education for all learners in their own professional work.
Professional Engagement: Students will demonstrate an intellectual engagement with education as an area of scholarly inquiry.

Benchmarks

Admission
- Minimum one academic year of PK-12 classroom experience (or equivalent)
- Transcript evaluation for undergraduate degree completion
- 3 letters of recommendation
- Letter of Intent: Written statement of career and academic goal(s) [serves also as a writing sample; see attachment]
Mid-program Evaluation
- - completed and submitted no later than 2 semesters (may include a summer semester) before graduation as course assessment for EDCI 5400 Portfolio Reflection—1 credit hour**
- - Portfolio Assessment
  - Reflective Summary [sample questions: How has the program thus far impacted your professional growth and development? What additional academics/experiences/learning opportunities do you think are necessary to meet the five Outcomes?]
  - Five assignments or projects
    For each inclusion, students: (1) select the assignment or project that demonstrates growth toward one or more of the Outcomes; (2) provide the original document with any and all feedback/grading rubrics/etc. from the professor who assigned the work, (3) comment on their perception of how this effort reflects progress toward meeting one or more of the Outcomes, and (4) write a minimum half-page reflection of what they learned from this work and the feedback they received. The five assignments or projects must come from at least three different courses.
  - APA abstracts
    Students will write 8 abstracts of research/academic scholarly work (e.g., text, book chapter, journal article) on a theme or topic identified by the student. Each abstract will include the APA formatted citation. These may be abstracts used for another course or they may be references reviewed for other assignments or projects. These abstracts must be independent summaries and students are to be reminded of the constraints of Fair Use and plagiarism in EDCI 5400 Portfolio Reflection. In summary of these abstracts, students will include a reflection of the works abstracted that compares and contrasts how effectively these pieces of research build an argument for or against the theme or topic. In addition to the APA practice, these abstracts become resources students can use to complete Benchmark III.
  - Program of study - Students will submit a completed, approved Program of Study.
  - Committee – Students will submit documentation of appropriate graduate committee membership.
Exit The summative assessment for students in the MCI is either (with guidance from the Academic Advisor) a Plan A thesis or a Plan B non-thesis. For students in
the MTL, the summative assessment is the Plan B non-thesis option. For additional details and descriptors for the Plan A and Plan B, see other CoEd documents.
Post-graduation (see Candidate Data Tracking Form)
** EDCI 5400 Portfolio Reflection—(1 credit hour; Pass/Fail) is intended to replace the current EDCI 5870 Capstone. It would be a new course, required for the MCI to be completed at least two semesters prior to graduation. Prerequisite: formal Graduate School approval of a Graduate Committee. Taught only by CoEd faculty with Graduate Faculty status.

GUIDELINES FOR THE LETTER OF INTENT

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for applying for admission to the Curriculum and Instruction graduate program. We would like you to submit a letter of intent with other required admissions materials. This is an important letter and will be used as one criterion for determining admission. We are looking for both quality and depth in your writing. [The following are guidelines for writing the letter and a rubric we will use to assess these letters.]

The letter should be typed (double-spaced) on 8½ by 11 inch paper, stapled together, and no longer than three pages.

In your letter please respond to the following two prompts:

Describe what you consider to be crucial aspects of your teaching experiences (or other experiences you have had that are relevant to education). How did you develop as a teacher as a result of your experiences and how will your background influence your graduate studies?
What goals do you have for graduate study? Why are these goals important to you? What are your current research interests? How do you envision using your graduate degree?

The Curriculum and Instruction Graduate Admissions Committee members and other faculty members will read your letter. Committee members will be interested in:

your teaching experiences (or other relevant experiences)
what they have meant to you
why you are pursuing a degree in higher education
the correspondence between your experiences, goals, and interests and UW’s graduate programs
the quality of your writing

Your letter should:

answer the prompts, directly
elaborate on your goals and experiences so that readers can get a sense of your personal philosophy of education
be presented in a clear and organized manner

RUBRIC FOR ASSESSING LETTERS OF INTENT

The categories and scoring for the letter are as follows:

Ideas and content development

1=Unsatisfactory – Ideas and content are poorly developed and not clearly expressed

2=Basic – Ideas and content are evident but are not thoroughly developed or are difficult to follow - Enrichment needed to write successfully at graduate level

3=Proficient – Ideas and content are developed and expressed at a level appropriate for success in the applicant’s graduate program

4=Distinguished – Ideas and content are clearly expressed and well developed – writing exceeds required level of proficiency

Organization/Structure/Mechanics/Format

1=Unsatisfactory – Multiple errors and/or poor organization prevent thoughts from being clearly communicated

2=Basic– Errors cause interruptions for the reader - Organization is difficult to follow - Enrichment needed to write successfully at graduate level.

3=Proficient – Occasional errors or misuse. Errors do not cause major misunderstanding of the thoughts expressed – Organization and mechanics are at an adequate level for success in the applicant’s graduate program

4=Distinguished– Very few errors - Organization follows a logical pattern. Exceeds required level of proficiency.

Forms: Academic Evaluation of the MCI Portfolio Assessment

C & I OUTCOMES for the Master’s in Education C&I Specialization

Benchmarks

GUIDELINES FOR THE LETTER OF INTENT

RUBRIC FOR ASSESSING LETTERS OF INTENT

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