Graduate Certificate in Education (GCE) Online

Program Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Education (GCE): Teaching and Learning is an online program designed for professionals seeking to become reflective educators in adult learning settings. It equips graduates with practical approaches, pedagogical strategies, and assessment techniques to enhance the adult learning experience. The program emphasizes practical applications, flexibility, and relevance to the needs of practicing educators. Graduates are prepared for careers in adult education, including roles as instructors, trainers, and educational consultants.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Program Title:

Graduate Certificate in Education (GCE): Teaching and Learning

Overview:

The GCE: Teaching and Learning is a fully online program designed for skilled professionals and those with advanced skills or trades backgrounds who aspire to become critically reflective educators. It equips individuals with the practical approaches and knowledge necessary to enhance the adult learning experience in individual or group settings.

Objectives:

• Develop critical reflective educators who are prepared to enhance the adult learning experience in various settings.
• Provide practical approaches to program development, pedagogical strategy, and assessment and evaluation.
• Equip graduates with efficient, effective, and engaging teaching skills.

Program Description:

The GCE: Teaching and Learning program emphasizes practical applications, ensuring that graduates are well-versed in areas such as teaching styles, creating motivating learning environments, ethical concerns in teaching adults, and the effective use of technologies in teaching and learning.

Outline:

Content and Structure:

The GCE: Teaching and Learning program consists of 15 credits, which can be completed in as few as 10.5 months with a full course load, year-round study, or approved transfer credits.

Course Schedule:

• The program is delivered fully online, allowing students to study at their own pace and schedule.
• Students can choose to take courses as their schedules permit, accommodating work, home, and other life priorities.

Modules with Descriptions:

• Contexts of Adult Learning:
Explores the multitude of ways in which adults learn, addressing the social, political, and technical aspects of learning to better support adult learners.
• Program Development and Planning:
Provides a theoretical and conceptual foundation in contemporary approaches to program development and planning for adult learners.
• Assessment and Evaluation in Education:
Examines various diagnostic, formative, and summative methods from both theoretical and practical perspectives, emphasizing the development and use of assessment to promote student learning.
• Becoming a Critically Reflective Educator:
Explores different teaching and facilitating approaches to enhance the adult learning experience. Topics include teaching styles, creating motivating learning environments, ethical concerns in teaching adults, and the use of technologies for teaching and learning.
• Foundations of Adult Education:
Presents an overview of the societal purposes of adult education by exploring conceptual, historical, and philosophical foundations that inform current practices in the field.
• Program Development and Planning:
Provides a theoretical and conceptual foundation in contemporary approaches to program development and planning for adult learners.
• Learning and Teaching Online:
Explores the theory underlying the development and application of new interactive educational technologies, their integration with instructional design, learning and assessment strategies, and infrastructures.
• Transformative Learning in Adult Education:
Examines transformative learning, fostering an understanding of what it is, distinguishing it from other forms of learning, and facilitating its application in practice.
• Adult Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship:
Integrates the principles of sustainability and global consciousness into classrooms, colleges, and community contexts.
• Coaching and Mentoring in Adult Education:
Introduces coaching and mentoring strategies for use in the workplace, exploring underlying theories and encouraging reflection on effective strategies for professional development.
• Indigenous Perspectives in Canadian Education:
Examines the history of Indigenous education in Canada, Indigenous pedagogies and epistemologies, decolonization in education, and the role of educators in reconciliation through the lens of education.
• Research Methods:
Familiarizes students with methods of educational research to enhance their understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research, enabling them to read, understand, and critically evaluate published research.
• Reflexive Inquiry:
Promotes the examination of the space between binaries like theory/practice, self/other, and teacher/learner to cultivate social consciousness, foster accountability, and support ongoing professional development.
• Action Research:
Provides an in-depth study of action-oriented ways for educators to systematically examine their own practices, emphasizing the development of skills related to research focus, project design, information gathering, and interpretation.
• Learning and Organizations:
Examines the emergence of the learning organization and explores ways to build sustainable learning dynamics and foster spaces where people flourish.
• Administrators as Leaders:
Focuses on developing leadership and managerial skills in school administrators, particularly instructional leadership and fostering cultures of ongoing learning and professional development.
• Supervision of Instruction:
Introduces students to various institutional settings for instructional supervision as well as supervisory techniques that support professional development.
• Leadership & Community Engagement:
Teaches students to engage community stakeholders in ways that benefit all parties, emphasizing the identification of leaders and the complexities of community engagement.
• Leadership in Higher Education:
Encourages students to develop the skills and knowledge required of leaders in post-secondary contexts, addressing strategic planning, communication, collaboration, partnership development, leadership commitment to diversity, support for intellectual curiosity, recruitment, retention, student support, financial leadership, change leadership, and crisis management.
• Leadership & Online Pedagogies:
Explores the evolution of education in the online, digital world and the emergence of contemporary learning theories and novel pedagogies for person-centric, socially supported learning.

Assessment:

Assessment Methods:

The program utilizes various assessment methods to evaluate student learning, including:

• Written assignments and examinations
• Participation in online discussions and forums
• Presentations
• Projects
• Reflective essays

Assessment Criteria:

Assessments are based on the following criteria:

• Knowledge and understanding of course content
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Communication skills
• Professionalism

Teaching:

Teaching Methods:

The program employs diverse teaching methods to cater to different learning styles and preferences, such as:

• Online lectures and readings
• Interactive online discussions
• Case studies
• Group projects
• Simulations
• Role-playing

Faculty:

The program's faculty members are experienced educational professionals with doctoral-level qualifications and expertise in adult education, teaching, and learning. They are committed to providing high-quality instruction and support to students throughout the program.

Unique Approaches:

• The GCE: Teaching and Learning program emphasizes practical applications, ensuring that graduates are well-versed in teaching methodologies and strategies.
• The program's online delivery mode offers flexibility and convenience, allowing students to study at their own pace and schedule.
• The program's curriculum is designed to be highly practical and relevant to the needs of practicing educators.

Careers:

Potential Career Paths:

Graduates of the GCE: Teaching and Learning are prepared for various careers in the field of adult education, including:

• Adult educators
• Community college instructors
• Workplace trainers
• Training and development officers
• Human resource professionals
• Educational consultants
• Instructional designers
• Curriculum developers
• E-learning specialists
• School administrators