Elementary & Middle Years

While becoming qualified to teach all elementary grades, K to 7, the focus of ABC, Arts-Based & Creativity, is on inquiring into education through the practices of teachers and artists. Instructional leaders in the cohort include specialists in music, art and drama. A background in visual or performing arts is not necessary, but a passion for the arts is an asset. Teacher candidates will be encouraged to develop their own philosophy of teaching in an atmosphere enriched through exposure to arts-based instruction.

Practicum placements are in Vancouver schools.

The CITE cohort embodies community oriented inquiry in teacher education in four ways:

• A community of learners
  The CITE community is a collaboration of teacher candidates and instructors.
• School-based workshops
  A number of workshops are undertaken within schools.
• District level participation
  The Richmond School District embraces innovation. CITE works in partnership for various initiatives, including inquiring into the integrated use of technology.
• Recursion and growth
  CITE is also a far-reaching community composed of current students and past graduates who are now teachers.

Learn more about CITE! Visit the CITE website for more details about this cohort.

Practicum placements are in Richmond schools.

Teacher candidates experience the regular teacher education program with a special emphasis on Critical and Cultural Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning (C-SEL). Current research and practice demonstrates the significance of critically inquiring into approaches to social and emotional learning and designing culturally responsive ways of engaging K-12 students. Culturally responsive approaches promote healthy development and academic achievement while acknowledging variation in the lived experiences of all students, their families, and communities. This cohort emphasizes the importance of active learning and classroom community building, the central role of student-teacher relationships in learning, and the importance of teacher well-being.

Practicum placements are in Langley or Surrey schools.

The Education for Sustainability cohort will support, inform and inspire teacher candidates, and their students and mentors, to develop deeper knowledge, understanding and competencies related to education for sustainability. Core aims of the cohort also include development of an ethic of stewardship and care for people, place and planet, formation of deep connectedness to the environment and the systems that sustain us, and cultivation of healthier, thriving communities.

Grounded in ecopedagogy through inquiry, collaboration and action, the cohort is open to all teacher candidates seeking to enact the BC curriculum with a focus on place-based, experiential and community-connected approaches to learning. Cohort members will develop rich, innovative and effective teaching practices through practica, field experiences and other professional development opportunities in partnership with Lower Mainland school districts and established community partner organizations.

Teacher candidates will be required to participate in place-based learning activities off campus.

Practicum placements are in Burnaby, North Vancouver, Surrey or West Vancouver schools.

The Elementary EDI-D cohort aims to prepare future educators to work with diverse learners to enrich and realize their learning potential. The cohort will support teacher candidates to explore, develop, and deepen curricular and pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning that promote equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization. Teacher candidates selected to participate in the cohort will collaborate with their peers in cross-curricular Inquiry settings.

Practicum placements will be in selected schools within the Burnaby and New Westminster school districts.

This cohort is designed for teacher candidates who wish to specialize in teaching French as a second language (French immersion and intensive French) or French as a first language (in a Francophone school) at the elementary level. Most courses are delivered and assignments are completed in French. This allows teacher candidates to continue to develop their proficiency while in the program.

Learn more about the French specialization here.

Practicum placements are in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, or West Vancouver.

The HOPE (Health, Outdoor, and Physical Education) cohort is focused on supporting teacher candidates (TCs) who are interested in teaching and promoting healthy active living and outdoor learning. Through the cohort, TCs will focus on the interrelated areas of health, outdoor, and physical education while becoming qualified to teach all elementary grades, K to 7. Themes explored through the cohort include social justice in HOPE, experiential and outdoor learning, land and place-based pedagogies, comprehensive school health and student wellbeing, and physical activity and physical literacy. 

Cohort members will have opportunities to work with and visit HOPE related programs in both formal school contexts and in non-formal community-based contexts throughout the Lower Mainland.

In addition to practicum visits, teacher candidates in this cohort will spend one day a week at Pinewood Elementary in the Delta school district for coursework and in situ learning.

Practicum placements are in Delta or Surrey.

This Indigenous Education cohort is open to all teacher candidates who are keen to develop deeper understandings and innovative approaches that advance Indigenous education perspectives, content, and pedagogies in teaching and learning. This thematic cohort aims to prepare teacher candidates for the changing educational landscape that prioritizes Canadian Indigenous education in the curriculum, practices, and policies of schooling, and to work respectfully with parents, Indigenous community members and organizations.

Practicum placements are in Delta, Surrey or Vancouver.

Teacher candidates selecting the Primary Years Programme (IB-PYP) cohort have an interest in international education that is student-centred and inquiry-driven for students in Kindergarten through Grade 7. Guided by the key tenets of the program such as the Approaches to Teaching and Learning, the Learner Profile, the Key Concepts, and the Transdisciplinary Themes, teachers create enriching, hands-on learning opportunities that promote discovery, exploration and critical thinking about real-world issues.

Please note that there is a mandatory August orientation session during the week before the program begins. More information to follow.

Practicum placements are in the Delta, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver or West Vancouver school districts or independent schools.

The middle years school setting celebrates young adolescents’ talents and supports their learning during important transitional years. The middle school context enables students to gradually prepare for the demands of the secondary school while recognizing and attending to their unique developmental needs.

Teacher candidates also learn how to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) by establishing SRL supportive structures (e.g., in tasks, classroom routines, and visual displays), involving students in making decisions about learning, and creating a community for learning, such that students feel safe and supported to engage deeply in learning. Support for developing SRL promoting practices occurs in the context of professional workshops, practicum placements, coursework and the inquiry seminars.

In addition to practicum visits, teacher candidates in this cohort will spend one day in Coquitlam school district each week for coursework and insitu learning in terms 1 and 2. For this, travel to and within Coquitlam will be required.

Middle Years practicum placements are in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Langley or New Westminster schools.

While becoming qualified to teach all elementary grades, K to 7, teacher candidates in the Primary Years cohort develop expertise in meeting the needs of learners in Kindergarten through Grade 3 (ages 4 to 9 years). Cohort instructors highlight issues in primary years education course work, as teacher candidates learn to create rich, joyful spaces where children, adults, ideas, and materials come together, and where knowledge is constructed about learning and living in ways that are local, inclusive, ethical, and democratic.

Practicum placements are in North Vancouver, Vancouver or West Vancouver schools.

Members of the TELL-3C cohort engage in a unique case-based inquiry cycle as they prepare to teach in diverse K-7 learning contexts. TELL-3C teacher candidates develop critical thinking skills and explore different pedagogies, with a focus on English Language Learning strategies, in order to support all the students in their classrooms. Case-based inquiries emphasize inclusive teaching practices that honor and expand multiliteracies, multilingualism, and multimodality and center around a commitment to equity, antiracism, and social justice.

Practicum placements are in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond or Vancouver schools.