University of the Fraser Valley
TEP Round Table

UFV hosts its first Teacher Education Roundtable

UFV hosts its first Teacher Education Roundtable

Submitted by Barbara Salingré, educational advisor, Teacher Education program.

TEP Round Table
(L to R) Speaker panel Rod Allen, Dr. Karen Nelson, Dr. Paul Neufeld and Dr. Sheryl MacMath.

 

The Teacher Education department together with the Dean of Professional Studies, Dr. Rosetta Khalideen hosted a Teacher Education Roundtable at the Abbotsford campus on May 3 and 4, 2012. This was the first time UFV was the host to members of faculties of education from BC universities.

On the first day, two liaison workshops were offered by the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Regulation Branch and the BC Teachers’ Federation. The roundtable started with a wine and cheese reception hosted by the Dean of Professional Studies. Nine universities sent their Deans of Education, program coordinators, advisors, and program developers with a total of 75 individuals attending.

The theme for the event was “21st Century Learning and Teacher Education: A Complicated Conversation”. Panelists included Rod Allen from the Ministry of Education who addressed the BCED Plan framework related to quality teachers and quality teacher education to meet the changing needs of students in the coming years. Dr. Karen Nelson represented the viewpoint of school districts and addressed key themes such as assessment for learning, aboriginal education, student voice and school district innovations. The other panelist Dr. Paul Neufeld from SFU addressed the implications of research in teacher education towards preparation for 21st Century learning.  Finally, UFV’s TEP faculty member Dr. Sheryl MacMath rounded out the discussion with a more critical view about the relationship between the government and the profession/academy in creating and implementing educational reform measures such as the BCED plan and 21st century initiatives.  The roundtable included break-out discussion groups and a sharing of innovative program developments in teacher education within BC. There was a lot of opportunity to network and give updates on admission trends, certification requirements, future direction of teacher education programming, and student placement coordination.

Feedback from our guests has been very positive. This was the first time for UFV’s Teacher Education Program to take their turn in hosting this roundtable and comments received were particularly appreciative of the engagement in current topics such as 21st Century Learning, but feedback also included praise for the overall organization of the event, TEP’s team spirit and the excellent authentic lunch that was served by Sodexo.

TEP Roundtable 2012