News and events

• Online courses give teacher candidates unique teaching practice

  Monday, April 27, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  

  The transition to online classes has given Brock University’s teacher candidates an unexpected professional development opportunity by adapting their teaching demonstrations for online delivery.

  “This has been a really steep learning curve for me as well as for teacher candidates,” said Shelley Griffin, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education. She says she’s never taught online before the COVID-19 pandemic.

  First-year teacher candidates in Griffin’s Music Education class suddenly found themselves planning online lessons designed to teach music principles to elementary school-aged children. The course allows students to learn pedagogical strategies as well as the elements of music.Read more

  Tags: COVID-19, Music Education, Shelley Griffin, Teacher Education
  Categories: News

• Dean’s Update to Teacher Candidates

  Tuesday, April 21, 2020 | By Michael Owen

  First, I trust that all are doing well and are taking care socially, emotionally and physically. For Brock University this is an unusual circumstance. Second, there are many questions about grades, spring 2020 convocation, how individuals will complete their practicum, how we enable teacher candidates to meet their minimum Ontario College of Teachers requirements for practicum experiences, access to Additional Qualifications
  (AQ) courses for graduating teacher candidates, and how the requirement for successful completion of the Math Proficiency Test (MPT) will have an impact on licensure requirements. Let me address these and related issues, briefly.Read more

  Categories: News

• Faculty of Education shares online teaching resources

  Thursday, April 16, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  

  With K-12 students across Ontario engaged in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, experts in Brock University’s Faculty of Education have been gathering online teaching resources and recommendations for teachers and teacher candidates alike.

  The sudden move to online platforms has many educators at all levels looking for appropriate tools and resources without the time it should usually take to develop online learning experiences.Read more

  Tags: COVID-19, Instructional Resource Centre, online learning, online teaching
  Categories: News

• Brock Learning Lab shares resources for online learning

  Tuesday, April 14, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  

  In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of Ontario’s K-12 students have found themselves trying to teach math, reading and other subjects at home.

  With the latest news from the province, students will be learning at home until at least May 4 through a new teacher-led program.

  Finding appropriate resources and advice can be a challenge for parents trying to support learning at home.

  To help the parents of students they tutor each week, the team at the Brock Learning Lab (BLL), which is part of the University’s Faculty of Education, have posted resources on its Facebook page when schools first closed in March. This informal outreach with a small group of local families has now become a toolkit of online resources available to families across the province.Read more

  Tags: Brock Learning Lab, COVID-19
  

• Education Associate Professor nominated for local arts award

  Tuesday, March 10, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  

  Kari-Lynn Winters, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, is being recognized for her commitment to engaging the St. Catharines community through arts education activities.

  Winters was nominated for the Arts in Education Award by a group of Brock University students and her colleague Shelley Griffin, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education.

  “I just feel honoured to be nominated,” said Winters. “It’s touching when your students think so highly of you that they’re willing to take the time to write the letters.”

  For Winters, her work at Brock and in the community brings together her passion for education and her love of the arts.

  “I think the arts are what make us human,” she said. “It’s our way to connect with each other.”

  Winters teaches drama, language arts and dance in Brock’s Teacher Education programs and supervises graduate students in the Faculty of Education. As a graduate supervisor and researcher, she works with students and other faculty members to conduct research studies throughout St. Catharines.

  In her classes at Brock, Winters helps teacher candidates learn the elements of an artform, such as dance or drama, and strategies for using these elements to teach other subjects. Teacher candidates might use movement and storytelling to design a math lesson, for example.

  “I just try to create an artful space where students can explore with one another and actually learn together,” said Winters. “By the time they leave, they feel like they’re part of a bigger community. I think they’re just open to exploring new ways to teach.”

  These new ways of teaching will help teacher candidates incorporate different ways of learning into their future classrooms. As well as new teaching strategies, Winters’ classes offer teacher candidates a safe space to take risks and make mistakes, helping them to be more fearless educators.

  Outside of Brock, Winters works with local arts groups, children, parents, librarians and teachers as an artist and children’s book author.

  In collaboration with the Carousel Players, Winters created the early years curriculum for the award-winning professional theatre in Niagara. As a workshop facilitator and educator, she inspires members of the community, including marginalized teens and adults, to create plays. Each year, Winters visits schools across Niagara and around the world to share her enthusiasm for creative writing and literacy education with thousands of K-12 students.

  The St. Catharines Arts Awards ceremony, set to take place May 1 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, celebrates excellence in all areas of artistic creation in Niagara’s most populous city.

  Two Brock graduates, Katherine Gottli (BA ’10, MEd ’13) and Colleen McTigue (ADEC ’15), have also been nominated for the Emerging Artist Award category, which celebrates the achievements and potential of an emerging artist in St. Catharines working to establish a career and become a recognized professional artist in their field.

  Tags: Kari-Lynn Winters
  Categories: News

• On-the-spot admissions opportunities

  Wednesday, February 19, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  Update: Please note that the March 24 table at Niagara College (Welland) has been cancelled. 

  Ready to Apply? Staff will be on hand provide on-the-spot admissions to the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and the Adult Education programs. Students who apply in person must bring unofficial copies of transcripts or a printed copy of their mark-book, $100 for full-time study/$55 for part-time study (cash or credit accepted) and a piece of photo ID. Have a question? Contact futurestudent@brocku.ca. Learn more about the program or apply at:

  • On-the-spot admissions/information table at Mohawk College on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • CANCELLED: On-the-spot admissions/information table at Niagara College (Welland) on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• From the Dean’s Desk: Hamilton Campus update

  Tuesday, February 11, 2020 | By Michael Owen

  As you are aware, the Board of Trustees has decided to sell the current Hamilton Campus. There are many reasons for this decision, including the desire to expand our undergraduate and graduate programming in the Hamilton-Burlington-Oakville (HBO) corridor.

  The University is exploring a variety of options for our continued presence in the HBO corridor.

  The senior administration has committed to remain at the current Hamilton Campus until the spring of 2021. The Faculty of Education (FOE) will continue to offer its professional Teacher Education programs at the current Hamilton Campus in the 2020-21 academic year and in the HBO corridor for many years to come.

  As part of our commitment to engaging students, faculty and staff in the process, I invite you to share any questions or concerns with us through the contact form available on the Hamilton Campus page of the FOE website.

  As I receive information about the next steps in the planning process, I will post this information on the FOE website and social media accounts. Updates will also be sent to your Brock email address.

  We remain committed to providing you Ontario’s very best professional education and preparation to be a successful teacher in Ontario and contribute to Ontario’s exceptional school-based learning environments.

  Tags: Hamilton Campus
  Categories: News

• New edition of Brock Education Journal available

  Tuesday, February 04, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  The latest edition of “Brock Education: A Journal of Educational Research and Practice” brings together several timely essays that engage pressing educational topics, making it a must read for researchers, practitioners and students across the disciplines in which the varied works are grounded.Read more

  Categories: News

• Event: Writing Productivity Workshop

  Friday, January 24, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  

  Do unfinished manuscripts languish in your drawers and hard drives? Do you often feel it takes much longer to finish a writing project than it should have? Do more urgent tasks take you away from writing projects? Do you often have high hopes for your writing projects but not meet your own goals?

  Please join the Faculty of Education for its inaugural writing and research productivity workshop run by Dr. Trevor Norris to learn writing strategies can you use to increase your weekly writing productivity. The Workshop takes place on Feb. 12 and 13 in Welch Hall 128A. The Workshop is open to all Brock faculty ($300/participant), Brock students and staff ($200/participant), and general public ($450/participant). To register, email Snezana Ratkovic at snezana.ratkovic@brocku.ca.

  Workshop aims

  • Develop skills and strategies to thrive and flourish
  • Increase your writing effectiveness and productivity on a daily, weekly and semester basis
  • Develop more efficient writing structures, strategies and habits
  • Help manage projects by setting goals, making a plan and breaking tasks into smaller parts
  • Clarify your sense of professional and scholarly identity

  Schedule

  Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

  1. Introduction and overview
  2. Components of writing effectiveness and productivity

  Thursday, Feb. 13 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

  1. How to make a plan for the semester
  2. How to make a plan for the week

  Thursday, Feb. 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

  1. Writing productivity strategies
  2. Thinking ahead: Coaching and accountability

  Tags: Writing Studio
  Categories: Events

• Ontario College of Teachers feedback invitation

  Monday, January 13, 2020 | By Tarryn Landman

  The Ontario College of Teachers is reviewing the accreditation of the following pre-service teacher education program offered at Oshki-Pimache-O-Win: The Wenjack Education Institute in partnership with Brock University:

  • Concurrent program of professional education that combines studies in Aboriginal Education with an area of study in the Primary/Junior divisions, leading to a Bachelor of Education degree (Aboriginal)

  Students in the program, members of faculty, associate teachers, alumni or an interested community members are welcome to share their thoughts on, concerns about or praise for the program.

  To help ensure that Ontario’s teacher education programs continue to reflect the standards of the profession, please offer your insights. Feedback can be shared until Feb. 14, 2020 through two channels:

  • Emailing accreditation@oct.ca
  • Completing this feedback form

  View the poster here.

  Tags: Tecumseh Centre
  Categories: News