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Curriculum and Teaching

About the Department

Mission Statement
Program Characteristics
Portrait of a Teacher

Mission Statement

The Curriculum and Teaching Department showcases a rich cadre of scholar-practitioners, with expertise across content areas, Special Education, and Educational Technology, among other fields. The Curriculum and Teaching mission speaks to the impact of our work, and can be encapsulated in a statement we paraphrased from the philosopher Maxine Greene:

Radical Imagination: Educators Who See Things As They Are Not Yet

Our departmental mission reflects our charge to prepare educators who:
  • Believe in and nurture every learner;
  • Pursue pedagogical excellence;
  • Magnify the possibilities of democratic and inclusive practices, and;
  • Transcend systemic forces that perpetuate mediocrity.
We see learners, teachers, institutions, and society as interdependent parts of a harmonious whole. We see them as they are not yet.
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Program Characteristics

Our vision is consistent with good teaching in a social and political context, a moral and ethical charge to prepare professionals to be effective stewards of education in a democracy, to educate all children irrespective of learning style or language, and to nurture all learners within a rapidly changing democratic context.

We work closely with faculty in the Arts and Sciences and with public school partners to provide a coordinated "tripartite" approach to teacher education, ensuring our students are well-versed in both content and pedagogy.
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Portrait of a teacher

The Montclair State University community is committed to the continuing development of teachers who exemplify the character, dispositions and habits of mind reflected in this portrait. They:
  1. Have expert knowledge of the disciplines they will teach and can use various strategies, including media and technology, for creating learning experiences that make the subject matter accessible and meaningful to all students.
  2. Understand how children and adolescents learn and develop in a variety of school, family and community contexts, and can provide learning opportunities that support their students' intellectual, social, and personal development.
  3. Understand the practice of culturally responsive teaching. They understand that children bring varied talents, strengths, and perspectives to learning; have skills for learning about the diverse students they teach; and use knowledge of students and their lives to design and carry out instruction that builds on students' individual and cultural strengths.
  4. Plan instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, families, communities, and curriculum goals and standards; and take into account issues of class, gender, race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, age, and special needs in designing instruction.
  5. Understand critical thinking and problem solving, and create learning experiences that promote the development of students' critical thinking and problem solving skills and dispositions.
  6. Understand principles of democracy and plan and carry out instruction that promotes democratic values and communication in the classroom.
  7. Understand and use multiple forms of assessment to promote the intellectual, social, and physical development of learners and to inform instruction.
  8. Create a community in the classroom that is nurturing, caring, safe, and conducive to learning.
  9. Are reflective practitioners who continually inquire into the nature of teaching and learning, reflect on their own learning and professional practice, evaluate the effects of their choices and actions on others, and seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
  10. Build relationships with school colleagues, families, and agencies in the community to support students' learning and well-being, and work to foster an appreciation of diversity among students and colleagues.
  11. Possess the literacy skills associated with an educated person; can speak and write English fluently and communicate clearly.
  12. Develop dispositions expected of professional educators. These include belief in the potential of schools to promote social justice; passion for teaching; and commitment to ensuring equal learning opportunities for every student, critical reflection, inquiry, critical thinking, and life-long learning, the ethical and enculturating responsibilities of educators, and serving as agents of change and stewards of best practice.
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