Overview

The Solstice MFA Applied Track in Pedagogy is designed to give students the training they need to teach creative writing through the college level. Students will also enrich their study with a related internship to gain real-world teaching experience, which is invaluable to those students who would like to start or continue their college teaching career. 

The Pedagogy track starts in semester three. Over the course of the two-year program, Pedogogy Track students participate in four class units that address the essentials of classroom practice:

  • Pedagogy: Current approaches to teaching composition
  • Course Design: Planning instruction
  • Assessment: Assessment and grading
  • Classroom Management: Issues in the management of the college composition classroom

Each unit requires advance reading and writing, and follow-up readings will be assigned for the semester. Students in the Pedagogy Track are also expected to respond to a series of short readings (no more than three per semester) designed to enhance and extend the material covered in the units. This is in addition to the creative work and craft analyses that comprise the usual MFA Program workload.

Over the course of their four semesters, Pedagogy Track students also analyze and annotate (in their annotated bibliographies) a minimum of two composition textbooks.

The Solstice MFA is one of the few low-residency programs to offer an Applied Track in Pedagogy providing their students with the added benefit to those hoping to find work in higher education after graduation.

Gain Practical Experience

Pedagogy Track students have the opportunity to complete an internship to gain some teaching experience. It combines observation of an established instructor with teaching a course of their own, in a traditional or non-traditional setting. Students will use this experience to write their critical thesis, combining experiential knowledge and analysis. 

What our students are saying

headshot of Daniel Summerhill

Daniel Summerhill
Poetry & Pedagogy Track Alum;
Professor of Poetry/Social Action Composition, California State University;
Monterey Bay Poet Laureate of Monterey County

“Kathleen Aguero didn't teach me how to teach students: she showed me ways to help students discover their voices. Her mentorship and unfailing attention to diversity showed me how to be inclusive and effective at the college level." 

 

 

headshot of Joyce McPherson

Joyce McPherson
MFA with Pedagogy Track
 
“The pedagogy aspect of this program enriches every other part. I have gained a lot of confidence in teaching since I began this program.”