Master of Education

Program Completion Date: 2018

Hello, my name is Paul Ferrara, I am an Ontario Certified Teacher and a @brockueducation Master of Education (`18) alumnus specializing in Teaching, Learning, and Development. I have completed both my M.Ed. and B.Sc/B.Ed (`16) degrees at Brock University. During my eight years at Brock, the connections I have made have allowed me to excel academically as well as professionally. With a focus on experiential education, I had many opportunities to apply theory to practice with a variety of professional internships, volunteer opportunities, and professional development workshops. The focus of my M.Ed. was Caring Teachers: Supporting Socio-Emotional Learning Within Elementary Classrooms. I explored what it means to be a caring teacher and how the implementation of socio-emotional learning within academics can help reduce the impact that barriers, such as stress and anxiety, have on student learning and wellbeing. I was able to gain a front-line perspective through completing internships and working alongside educational professionals within classrooms to help guide my understanding and learn about both traditional and alternative education programs. I am currently working as an elementary teacher in Niagara and as the Program Coordinator for the Brock Learning Lab where I mentor undergraduate and graduate students completing a degree in education. Pursuing a graduate degree at Brock helped me gain a critical perspective on current topics in education. I was able to explore the gaps in education and how I can help bring research-based programs into my work. Brock provided me with unique experiences that many teachers do not have the opportunity to be a part of, such as teaching in a hospital school classroom, getting to explore education in forest schools, or teaching English language learners in China.