Centre for Mindful Engagement, the Equity and Inclusion Office and Karen Ragoonaden, Faculty Senior Advisor to the President’s Office present Systemic Racism and Anti-Racism in Teacher Education with Dr. Cranston

The Okanagan School of Education is pleased to announce that Dr. Jerome Cranston, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Regina will be providing an online keynote lecture on Monday, September 21. His presentation will focus on Systemic Racism and Anti-Racism in Teacher Education. In this keynote lecture, Dr. Cranston will address how amid the current period of racial reckoning, those involved in teacher preparation, pre-service and in-service education, need to confront and (re)consider how higher education has conceptualized systemic racism.

Monday, September 21
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Via Zoom

The event is open to the public, UBCO staff, faculty and students. While attendance is free, you still need to register to receive the Zoom link. Current Bachelor of Education candidates do not need to register as the presentation takes place during class time and they will be emailed the link.

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT

About the speaker

Cranston holds a Ph.D. (Manitoba), M. Ed. (Lethbridge), B.Ed After-Degree and B.Sc. (Alberta). Prior to becoming an academic he spent 16 years in the K-12 education system as a teacher, principal and superintendent in a career that spanned Canada’s “prairie” provinces. He researches and teaches as part of an interdisciplinary, international “community of inquiry” on topics that explore formal and non-formal teacher preparation and the ethical dimensions of school leadership with a particular focus on how capacity building in the education system can transform a set of seemingly random acts – like teacher hiring – into a just enterprise.

His maternal grandparents originated from tribal communities in what are now Nepal and Burma/Myanmar and who were anglicized and evangelized as part of the colonial contagion. His paternal grandfather, a travelling book-keeper with the East Indian Rail Company was killed in 1941 during a Japanese bombing of a railway station. His then widowed grandmother, a mother of five, died in 1942 of malnutrition; an outcome of the British manufactured famine in West Bengal. He accepts a distant yet unvarying connection to the trauma that echoes through their colonized histories.

New faculty member, Dr. Cohen is from the Okanagan Nation and specializes in the areas of Indigenous knowledge, research, education, and transforming pedagogy.

This upcoming winter semester Dr. Cohen will be teaching a graduate course, EDUC 562B “Coyote Stories: Pedagogy and Praxis.”

In the course, students will critically examine how respective Indigenous traditional knowledge stories and storytelling practices inform organic theoretical frameworks, teaching methods and practice in place-based schooling, community, and peoples’ transforming projects.

There will be a focus on Coyote Stories from Syilx Okanagan contexts which will extend to include Indigenous peoples’ stories and understanding from the Americas, Australia, Aoteroa/ New Zealand and other sites.

By the end of the course, students will have developed their understanding of reciprocal relationships between humans and their local ecologies; and understand indigenous concepts, ways and methods from Indigenous languages and practices, and the relational webs described metaphorically through traditional stories.

Register for the course today at courses.students.ubc.ca.

Whether you’re interested in applying for the Bachelor of Education program this year, or in the future, here are a few tips to guide you along the way.

1. Admission requirements

The most often asked question is ‘what courses do I need to get into the program?’ While we have the admission requirements listed for each pathway on our Bachelor of Education page, we have also developed self-assessment worksheets to assist you in reviewing (and checking off) the academic admission requirements for your chosen pathway: Teaching Children and Teaching Adolescents.

For students interested in teaching French, you will also need to:

• Successfully complete the Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF) OR
• Demonstrate completion of all of your education in the French language OR
• Provide a letter from a Francophone Education Authority indicating your proficiency OR
• Provide a written assessment by Faculty of the French Department of a Canadian university, acceptable to the Teacher Regulation Branch, attesting that you have demonstrated knowledge of the French language to indicate you are capable of conducting all French language teaching

TIP: We recommend completing the DELF by your third or fourth year of your undergraduate degree as there are limited seats and dates available for the exam.

2. Experience

A minimum of 75 hours of practical experience (volunteer or paid) working with children or youth is required. We recommend you work/volunteer with the age group that you wish to teach. You will be asked about your experience when you submit your Supplemental Application Form. On this form, you will also be asked to write a personal essay on what your goals as an educator are, and examples of the qualities and experience you bring.

TIP: We understand you might change your mind about what you’ve written. We do allow you to re-submit a Supplemental Application Form. However, you must resubmit as a fully completed application. We recommend you save copies of your written answers in a word document, so if you wish to modify your answers, you don’t have to re-type everything.   

A range and variety of instructional experiences is encouraged to better prepare for the program. Typical experiences for applicants include but are not limited to working in school classrooms as a volunteer or assistant, teaching dance, coaching team sports or working as a summer camp counselor.

TIP: Not sure where to go for experience? You can contact your local school district, recreation/community centre, youth group, art gallery or museum to see if they have any opportunities.

Recently, two UBC alumni have created a free online tutoring service designed to pair tutors with K to 12 students in B.C. The organization is called Mentoring the Stars Foundation and is always seeking volunteer tutors.

3. References

You will need two professional references from individuals who have personally observed you working with children and/or youth in a face-to-face instructional capacity, either in a group or with an individual.

References must be credible authorities who can speak to your abilities, experiences and interests relevant to the teaching profession. They cannot be a family member or a personal friend.

Examples of appropriate references:

• An individual who has personally observed you in a face-to-face (as opposed to an online) context where your primary role was to instruct or interact with children and/or youth
• School administrator (e.g., principal, vice-principal)
• Teacher at an elementary, middle or secondary school
• Camp director
• Daycare program coordinator
• TA-supervising professor

You will send each of your references the link to the Reference Form, your student number, name and email as provided in your BEd application, and the pathway you are pursuing.

This form is confidential and is only used for admission purposes. As the applicant, you should not see the completed form. You will receive an automatic email when your reference has submitted the form.

4. Status

You can check the status of your application through the Student Service Centre. Prospective students will be notified of admission between March and May.

5. Need help?

Let our Student Recruitment & Advising experts guide you: call 1.877.807.8521 or email advising.ubco@ubc.ca.

You can also book an appointment by calling 250.807.9100.

It’s Pride Week in Vancouver!

Check out the Faculty of Education’s Pride Wall full of videos, podcasts, expert interviews and more.

See our SOGI related events and resources.

Okanagan Pride Week is scheduled for Sept. 19 to 27, 2020. Learn more.

Message from our Director, Margaret Macintyre Latta

Classrooms are increasingly foregrounded as sites to address civil, racial, ecological, and social tensions and concerns, and inspire transformation and reconciliation. The Okanagan School of Education (OSE) continues to invest accordingly, embodying inclusive pedagogies and practices. Race, racialization, and racism in educational contexts matter, and all OSE programs are concretely exploring ways to build more equitable relations among different racialized groups. Sexual orientation, gender identity, and mental health shape individual and collective well-being, and OSE programs invest in the creation of learning contexts that invite all learners to grow their potential –learning with, from, and through each other.

The Okanagan School of Education faculty and staff have developed a shared statement on the School’s anti-racist commitment.

Anti-Racist Commitment

Faculty and staff of the Okanagan School of Education are committed to fostering genuine dialogue around issues of racial injustice in education with educators, students, colleagues, and the greater community—bringing to bear policies and practices in our local and global institutions. We aim to empower educators and their students to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in school and community settings, and invest in developing more democratic and more just societies.

Our hopes calling us to actions are to:

• Realize more sustainable intellectual, ecological, and cultural diversity, and more appreciation for gender identities, sexual orientation, peoples of colour, and the natural world
• Gain greater conscientiousness about inequalities that arise from social class differences and social stratification
• Transform patterns of intolerance (including but not limited to intolerance towards different intellectual and political viewpoints/traditions), exploitation and homogenization, towards patterns of respect, appreciation, and diversities
• Foster interdependent, caring relationships between humans and the natural world, and between diverse individuals and communities
• Learn from the past, stay alert in the present, and continuously create a just and sustaining world, for the children now and for future generations; for  peoples to be

View Race, Indigeneity and Social Justice resources

Whether your Bachelor of Education (BEd) courses are online or in-person the Okanagan School of Education is committed to your learning. We invest in our students’ responsive capacities so they can continually adapt to emergent and diverse situations and needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the program start?

Orientation will take place online on September 8. Your first day of EDUC 403: Becoming a Scholar-Practitioner begins on September 9 and will be online. You will receive more information by late August about your first week of school.

What does Winter Term 1 look like?

Our program has a look and feel quite different from others. Our courses are organized into Blocks.  Your Winter Term 1 will consist of two blocks: Block 1 (EDUC 403) takes place from September 8 to October 2.  Block 2 (EDUC 438) takes place from October 5 to December 4. You will then have a two-week Field Experience from December 7 to 18.

Most of your courses will have a synchronous learning component, where you’ll be engaging with faculty, other teacher candidates and guest speakers in real-time. There will be some asynchronous learning during your Blocks. This means that the instruction doesn’t occur in real-time. There may be pre-recorded video lectures to watch or it may be time to work on an assignment. Candidates will participate in online discussions related to key topics with each other and their instructors. Some current candidates have found it helpful to organize study groups to help stay on track and focused during these times.

In addition to your blocks, you will be assigned to an Advisory group by the end of September. Your Advisory sessions will prepare you for school visits and extended field experiences. It is anticipated that these Advisory sessions in-person in small groups on campus. These sessions are facilitated by a faculty advisor and will be held throughout the year.

We understand some students may be nervous about online learning. The faculty of the OSE, who will be your instructors, will work with you to help you navigate this online learning experience in meaningful and engaging ways. UBC uses a powerful user-friendly learning management system (Canvas) that supports students’ educational goals. Supports will be in place throughout the Blocks to ensure you can access and use Canvas.

What will my daily time commitment be?

We suggest being available from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday for your coursework. You will be sent a calendar that outlines how each week will be arranged in terms of exact learning times for each Block.

Do I have to be in Kelowna for Winter Term 1?

Your field experiences in schools are planned to begin in October. We ask that you are in the UBCO area in-person by October 1. You will be meeting with a mentor teacher and students in some capacity.

Will we physically be placed in K-12 schools?

In-situ coursework begins in Block 2.  These are classes that are held in K-12 schools where you will be working with students and teachers. The courses in Block 2 will likely be blended, some face-to-face small classes on campus, some work in schools, and some online work (synchronous and asynchronous).

The Ministry of Education will be providing ideas regarding the next steps for schools in late August. The BC K-12 Education Restart Plan has a frame that will guide next steps. You should familiarize yourself with the Restart Plan as well as with the Public Health Guidance for Safe & Healthy Schools (please note that this document may be updated in the summer).

Additional resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and UBC’s Response: Information and FAQs available. Read More.

Okanagan Campus: List of closures and modified hours for services. Read more.
Students seeking emergency assistance funding should contact UBCO’s financial aid office at sis.ubco@ubc.ca

Okanagan School of Education: Announcements and updates. Read more.

Questions and concerns

If you have concerns regarding your courses, please check Canvas. If you need to contact your course instructor about concerns, please email education.ubco@ubc.ca.

Your faculty advisor is here (once you’ve been assigned) to support your learning needs. Please feel free to contact your faculty advisor if you have questions or need assistance.

If you still have concerns or academic issues, email: Wendy Klassen, Director of Undergraduate Programs, the Okanagan School of Education at wendy.klassen@ubc.ca

As COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation, these online learning expectations may change as we get closer to the start of school or as the semester progresses.

Please join us in welcoming Amber McLeod to the Okanagan School of Education.

McLeod will be the Program Coordinator for the English Foundation Program as well as a lecturer. She has been an EAL instructor for more than 17 years and has lived abroad in Mexico and Guatemala. She invites intercultural awareness and communication to transpire through respectful environments in her classroom.

We’re growing! As of July 1, we’re the new official home of UBC Okanagan’s English Foundation Program.

Join us in congratulating Professor Scott Douglas in his new role as Director of English as an Additional Language Programs.

Dr. Douglas enjoys working with teacher candidates, graduate students, and in-service teachers exploring English as an additional language teaching and learning in a wide range of contexts.  His research interests include English for academic purposes, short-term study abroad, intercultural communicative competence, teacher education/development, and materials design.

He is also the editor of the BC TEAL Journal, the peer-reviewed publication of the Association of BC Teachers of English as an Additional Language.

Learn more about the program.

On June 24, we hosted our first online Celebration of Learning.

The Celebration of Learning is an opportunity for our teacher candidates to share their significant learning to date and incite conversations about educational issues and concerns. Each year, the candidates present in groups of their peers and experienced educators who act as table hosts. This year presented a new challenge as the presentations were completed entirely online. Despite this challenge, the candidates rose to the occasion and showcased their resiliency and thoughtfulness as future educators.

“The teacher candidates [had] amazing presentations and displayed some deep thinking and passion for teaching.  It truly was a privilege to hear and see their journeys,” says Carol McAndrew, one of the table hosts. “An area that was key to me was their understanding of the importance of building strong relationships with students, staff, parents and community. An area that they all recognized as one to work on is differentiating instruction.”

Table host, Bruce Weicker echoed McAndrew’s sentiments, “I thoroughly enjoyed the candidates who shared their learning – or moreso, shared from their hearts.  I was truly impressed with each of them. I know each of them will be fantastic teachers as they have the interest and lives of kids front and center.”

“What an incredible experience this morning!” exclaimed Veronica Dumontet. “I felt so privileged to be part of the celebration of learning, to meet four amazing interns who each displayed compassion, empathy, curiosity, caring, sincerity, and a passion for learning.  I was inspired by them and thank all who have guided their journey thus far.”

Doctoral student, Darlene Loland noted that “They were clearly passionate about teaching and were well prepared to share their learning. The values that they all articulated made me feel so hopeful for the future of the teaching profession.”

Following the presentations, our teacher candidates crossed off another milestone as they graduated from candidacy to interns. This event is marked by candidates switching from the blue lanyards used during their candidacy to yellow ones that will be used during their fall internships.

Below are a few presentations that our new interns allowed us to share.

[click to enlarge image]	Aron Robinson Parker Palmer’s quote, “we teach who we are”, has resonated with me throughout the course of this BEd program. I hold a position of privilege as a teacher, and I aim to be a role model for my students in showing care and respect to everyone, developing an inquiry mindset, and building positive, healthy habits in my life. If I can demonstrate qualities like these every day, it will go a long way in building and developing these qualities in my students.
[click to enlarge image]	Stephanie Graham My favourite video we watched during the last 10 months was Rita Pierson’s Ted Talks “Every Kid Needs a Champion.” Rita is an inspiring teacher and the video made me laugh and cry all within eight minutes. The power of connections, caring, and relationships is central to teaching. My favorite quote from the TEd Talk is “Children don’t learn from people they don’t like.” This video inspires me to become the best I can possibly be so that I can be all of my students’ champion.
[click to enlarge image]	Lindsay Ellis I sought to use this opportunity to share how my personal and professional virtues (wonder, working hard, standing up and having fun) have grown through blocks 1-5 and affect my teaching practice. In particular, I drove home the following points: 1.) We must take it upon ourselves to preserve the natural sense of wonder in kids. This is their greatest gift and our biggest responsibility., 2.) Working hard looks different for everyone and we must, as educators, provide ample opportunities for our kids to show their hard work in individualized ways;  moreover, we need to model this ourselves through differentiated instruction. 3.) As educators, we must stand up for the under- and mis-represented populations in our personal and professional lives. One way to do this is by authentically living our truths; by doing so we give a voice to our kids.
[click to enlarge image]	Sandy Grob-Arnold The central focus is connection over content. I believe building positive relationships and teaching in a culturally responsive way, including Indigenous perspectives of knowing will be crucial for our internships and beyond. Teaching a growth mindset and providing children will SEL skills and strategies to be resilient in a continuously changing world is one of my main goals.
[click to enlarge image and view full infographic]	Keyanna Burgher To summarize the learnings from the last 10 months in the program was an impossible task, as the experience really has been immeasurable. But overall I’ve learned more about who I am as a person, who I want to be as a teacher, and how I want to impact my students as learners and as global citizens. I look forward to continuing to explore my passion for education and my love for connecting with people.

Congratulations once again to all of our new interns! And thank you to our wonderful table hosts.

Congratulations to our Outstanding Master-Level Student Award recipient, Fabiano Camara!

Camara is more than deserving of such an award. Not only has he maintained an A+ average in his coursework, but he has also been a research assistant for a SSHRC-funded study pertaining to early learning environments and physical activity, and was recently hired by Dr. Cherkowski to help develop a graduate student online portal.

“UBC puts your values into practice and supports students in all matters. I feel very lucky and privileged to be surrounded by amazing people at UBCO,” says Camara. “I have had many opportunities to develop my studies and career as a whole. The Okanagan School of Education is continually offering high-quality options to help me flourish in my academic career. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, I’ve been provided great opportunities to enhance my teaching skills and to build a learning community. And as a Research Assistant, I have been able to immerse myself in all the aspects of research in the Education field.”

Question and Answer session with Fabiano camara

What receiving the award means to you?

This award is one of the highest accomplishments in my career and personal life. I believe that the academic journey is composed of many aspects: courses, events, projects, meetings. I try to be involved in these activities as much as I can. I am honoured to receive this award because it symbolizes the recognition of years of studying, working and living education.

What was your research project?

My study focuses on the role of mentoring groups in the professional development of Physical Education (PE) Teachers.  The purpose of my research is to understand the potential of a mentoring group for the development of PE teachers’ autonomy, based on critical pedagogies, through the Action Research methodology. I am preparing to organize the data collection to start in August 2020.

Why did you choose that project?

I have been involved in mentoring groups and service projects all throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs in Physical Education. In these academic activities, I realized that courses might not be enough to promote a proper transition from academic life to the professional environment. As a university Professor and Mentor, I have perceived a lack of studies regarding mentoring in PE practices. It is not completely clear what type of pedagogical trend the mentoring routine has been applying. I hope my research can contribute to making a model of mentoring that would be able to help mentor and students to a healthy and less stressful transition from the school to the workplace.

What advice do you have for future graduate students?

Be involved as much as you can! Try expanding beyond your courses. Research, service and internships are fundamental components of the graduate journey!

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Berg