Posted by CYH: We had an Ad Hoc Design Committee meeting for those at the PG Campus this SATURDAY from noon – 3pm. We wanted to complete the work (or at least continue the work) from our Nov.2/3 meeting. Bill, Bonnie, Deb, and Christine were in attendance.
What we did was look at the courses currently being offered (that are Senate approved) at UNBC School of Education. This was a task that we started at the end of our 2-day meeting a couple of weeks ago. What we did is, we printed a list of courses and cut them into strips to situate them within the framework of Questioning, Exploring, Focusing, and Refocussing. We added the fourth category of “refocussing” to our thinking. We reviewed each course and placed them accordingly with 300-level courses (Year 1) and 400-level courses (Year 2).
After we placed the courses onto a poster paper (photo not shown), we then looked at how we could offer courses in a 16-month framework. The “refocusing” of Year 1 (old language) is the “questioning” of Year 2 (old language). They overlapped. “Refocussing” for Year 2 (old language) would be the Capstone e-Portfolio, where e-Portfolios would be ongoing learning for the entire BEd Program along with Teacher Inquiry (EDUC 431) starting after the first 13-weeks of the program.
We started to talk about the ideas of “blocks” of time for courses and practicum and how these courses could be placed. We were essentially scaffolding coursework. It was an amazing process. We worked on a DRAFT construction for half the program. What would it look like? We hope to continue this conversation Thursday, Nov. 22nd to see how the second half could unfold. We are just playing and innovating. Great conversation. Worth noting, we would like to offer an ETHICS course at the beginning of the BEd program but there is currently no existing Senate approved course. Something to consider.
The blog entry in only an update of our homework.
Submitted by: Bill, Bonnie, Deb, and Christine