New Graduate Certificate at Bishop’s: Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times

Starting this Fall 2021, the School of Education will be offering a new 15-credit graduate certificate in Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times. This certificate is both timely and unique in Canada, focused specifically on preparing educators for this era of uncertainty, complexity, and multiple crises (the climate emergency, crises of social inequality, civic engagement, human and ecological well-being, and technological revolutions). It is designed to enhance the work of educators in formal and informal settings, curriculum specialists, program developers, and school leaders. It will support those who wish to continue on to a Masters of Education (M.Ed.).

Schools have had to respond to the multiple crises of this pandemic, says Dr. Lisa Taylor of the School of Education. But as educators we’re preparing a generation facing some of the greatest challenges in our human history. In many ways, the generations in schools now need an entirely different education to face these.

Teachers, educators and ministries of education are adapting practice to the technological, mental health, and equity concerns that the pandemic has highlighted and intensified, and adapting practice in the context of long-term crisis. The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) has pointed out that the pandemic has been deeply disruptive in multiple and inequitable ways. The Deans have also reminded us that educators are frontline workers who play a key role in recovery and planning for an uncertain future in equitable, sustainable ways.

We hope that in supporting educators in understanding how issues such as climate change, the pandemic, youth movements, and misinformation emerge from specific ways of knowing, being, and doing, they will be able to think differently and creatively about teaching and learning and capable of bringing about change both locally and globally, explains Dr. Dawn Wiseman of the School of Education.

During the certificate, students will get an overview of current educational challenges and models of leadership and curriculum design in courses focused on your practice. The cohort model will support students to apply, experiment, and develop practice as part of a diverse professional learning community. They will join colleagues from across Quebec, Canada and internationally from a diverse range of educational contexts.

For more information on the program, and to consult course offerings, visit the Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times web page.