• Programs are offered in primary/junior, junior/intermediate and intermediate/senior education.
• A unique Triple-C model scaffolding learning and development.
• A four-semester/two-year program allowing time to learn, practice, and reflect.
• School-based learning beginning as early as the September of first term.
• Professional development activities and specially planned conferences to personalize learning and develop a unique experience portfolio.
• Specialized courses in inclusive education, teacher as researcher, and teaching with technology.
• Primary/junior and junior/intermediate programs also receive instruction in all four arts disciplines.
• A range of practice teaching options are available to qualifying students, including:

• • International placements
  • Alternative instructional placements such as museums
  • Experience in a diverse range of school settings
• A mid-program break (roughly May- August) to enroll in optional courses, pursue extra teaching experiences or summer employment.
• Support to develop job search, resume, and interview skills.
• Brock University has two campuses offering Teacher Education programming: St. Catharines and Hamilton, with placements in Niagara, Hamilton-Wentworth, Halton, Peel, and Brant Haldimand Norfolk and in both Catholic and public school boards.

Students in the primary/primary junior program do not need a teachable subject. But those applying to all other programs are required to have teachable subjects. Brock offers the following teachables (subjects offered each year may vary).

The Junior/Intermediate teachable subjects include: Dramatic Arts, English, French, Geography, Health and Physical Education, History, Mathematics, Music — Vocal, Science — General, and Visual Arts.

Intermediate/Senior teachable subjects include: Dramatic Arts, English – First Language, French as a Second Language, Geography, History, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, Science — Biology, Science –Chemistry, Science — General, Science — Physics and Visual Arts.

Teacher candidates are invited to enrol in a wide variety of optional non-credit courses (regular course fees still apply). Topic may vary by year. Possible courses include:

• Religious Education (Roman Catholic)
• The Occasional Teacher
• Coaching School Athletes
• Teaching Internationally
• Environmental/Outdoor Education
• Early Primary Learning in Kindergarten Classrooms

Optional courses are non-credit and appear as a 0.25 or 0.50 non-credit course on the university transcript, depending on the course.  No numeric grade appears on the transcript. Instead, the transcript show S or US for satisfactory or unsatisfactory completion of the course. No numeric grade is given. Fees apply to non-credit courses at the same “credit rate ” as a credit course and reflect the same number of course hours. Teacher candidates are also encouraged to reference the optional courses they take in their CVs, cover letters and interviews when applying for teaching jobs, in order to demonstrate their commitment to ongoing professional development and advanced studies in a particular topic area. There is an additional cost for optional courses.

There are limited spaces in optional courses. Enrolment is on a first come, first serve basis. Where schedules and travel times allow, teacher candidates are welcome to enroll in optional courses on either campus.

Registration

To register for an optional course, log in to Brock University’s Portal. If this is your first visit to the Portal, navigate to the “Account Activation” tutorial link under the “Tutorial and Resources” heading. Note that when registering, the applicable program/session to select for the teacher education program is “Pre-service Fall/Winter”. Once you have logged in, if you not sure how to register, navigate to the “Feedback” tab and then the “I need Help (How do I…)” link.

Additional Information

Enrolment in optional courses is not a requirement for successful completion of the program. Nor are optional courses equivalent to additional qualification (AQ) courses. Teacher candidates are reminded that the core teacher education program is intensive. It is strongly recommended that teacher candidates enroll in no more than two optional courses throughout the year. The Department of Educational Studies reserves the right to cancel an optional course if there is insufficient enrolment. The Registrar’s Office will notify enrolled teacher candidates of cancellations.

Applications to the Brock University Teacher Education program – and to all Faculties of Education in Ontario – must be completed at the Teacher Education Application Site (TEAS) at www.ouac.on.ca/teas. At this site you will find detailed information regarding admissions requirements and will be able to download the Experience Profile package.

Profiles are available through the TEAS application site at www.ouac.on.ca/teas or at our website www.brocku.ca/registrar/teacher-education/admission-criteria

Selection of applicants is based equally (50/50) upon both academic achievement and related experience (as outlined in your completed Experience Profile). For more detailed information about admissions including specific information about the components of the Experience Profile, please refer to the application package located at www.ouac.on.ca/teas or at our website www.brocku.ca/registrar/teacher-education/admission-criteria

Note: the Experience Profile cannot be accessed and completed until AFTER you have made application and payment via the TEAS application and we are in receipt of the application from TEAS (depending on payment type, this can take up to one week after you submit your TEAS application and payment).

You need an approved/recognized degree from an accredited degree granting institution, with a minimum average of 70% based upon your best 10 full or equivalent undergraduate credits. Transfer credits granted for courses completed in a college diploma program will not be considered.

Classes for both the St. Catharines and Hamilton campuses typically commence in late August and conclude in late May. There are no alternate start dates.

The Faculty of Education offers courses that lead to the BEd degree at two campuses: the main St. Catharines campus and a campus in Hamilton.

Applicants may indicate a preference of campus after admittance to the program (at the time you accept your offer), and your preference will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that the I/S program is only offered at the Hamilton campus. All applicants should be prepared to study at either campus.

For information on tuition and other fees, please refer to the Finance Office website at: brocku.ca/finance/students

For universities in Canada, we utilize a grade translation scale to determine letter equivalencies. Generally, if your transcript indicates both numeric and letter grades, we will use the numeric grades provided. The scale used to calculate academic letter averages is as follows:

A+ 92   A 87   A-82   B+ 78   B 75    B- 72   C+ 68   C 65   C- 62   D+ 58   D 55   D- 52

Grade translations for universities outside of Canada are completed on an individual basis, and scales are generally unique to each country.

For information on student awards, please visit our Student Awards and Financial Aid Office at www.brocku.ca/safa, you may contact the office directly at: safa@brocku.ca for details.

The minimum required average of 70% for the academic component is based on your best 10. full undergraduate credits only. Credits earned within a Masters or Doctoral program or degree will not be considered in the calculation of your average.

Masters or Doctoral courses may be eligible for consideration towards the teachable subject areas.

In order for a course credit to be eligible for consideration toward a particular teaching subject, as a general rule, it is best that they be presented from the teachable subject in question (i.e. if your teachable subject is mathematics, a course in political statistics or engineering will not be recognized). In most cases, only courses eligible to meet requirements for major programs can be counted in support of teachable subjects. There are exceptions. A course that is cross-listed can normally be used towards satisfying teaching subject requirements. Please refer to the admissions criteria section located at www.ouac.on.ca/teas or at our website brocku.ca/registrar/admissions/ for further information.

If you have earned credits in specialized programs or in disciplines not consistent with the list of teachable subjects listed in our program information, please refer to the following guidelines:

1. Review the particular credits you have earned to see if some courses may be eligible for consideration as an identified teachable subject. Check your academic calendar to determine if courses can be used to satisfy the degree requirements in that teaching subject. (ie. If some Geology courses at your university can be used to satisfy degree requirements in Biology, then you could use those credits to count towards your teaching subject).
2. Contact the institution and particular department at which the credits were earned and request that they be reviewed for eligibility in another teachable subject area. (e.g. a Kinesiology course may be eligible for consideration as a Health and Physical Education credit or a Science credit)
3. Ask that the Department or the Dean’s Office issue a letter stating that the course has been assessed and deemed eligible for consideration as a credit towards a teachable subject.
4. Submit this letter with a course description to the Admissions Office by the application deadline date.

The admissions officers will not have course descriptions readily available from other institutions. Course assessments will be done on the basis of the documentation you provide at the time of application.

Please note that our admissions staff cannot pre-assess nor pre-approve courses for application purposes.

Yes, as long as you provide current contact information and the individual is easily accessible so that we can verify your experience with them.

Candidates must complete their practica within the school boards with which we have partnerships. These boards are the District School Board of Niagara, the Niagara Catholic District School Board, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, the Halton District School Board, the Halton Catholic District School Board, the Grand Erie District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Dufferin-Peel District School Board and designated schools within these boards. Any arrangements with outside boards must be made through your Faculty Advisors and the Out-of-Region Coordinator, and is conditional upon their approval.

The Department of Educational Studies will not to place candidates in schools where they have personal contacts due to potential conflicts of interest.

Yes, you can. Upon acceptance into the Teacher Education Program candidates will be asked what school system they would like to practice teach in (Public or Catholic). That information is taken into consideration when candidates are placed in the Public or Catholic Cohort Groups. Once candidates are placed in Catholic Cohort Groups they complete their practica in the Catholic school system.