Urban Learner 8, Vancouver Cohort
Focus: Diversity in Today's Urban Classroom

the program

Diversity in Today's Urban Classrooms:

The Urban Learner M.Ed. Cohort program invites educators to investigate the challenges, issues and experiences of teachers and the communities in which they live and work. The program is designed for educators who want to reflect on their classroom practices through the lens of communal praxis: how teaching and curricular narratives are shaped by the social, institutional, and cultural perspectives, multiple literacies, and environments of lived experience.

Today's world is a dynamic and complex network of relationships, new technologies, and global opportunities. Educators who understand the tensions, narratives and hopes of their students and their communities can empower their students to make a difference. The cohort will explore various ways of drawing on intellectual, experiential, social, and cultural resources that influence curriculum, learning strategies, evaluation and student engagement in the classroom and the community. The program concludes with a capstone research project that reimagines education as a vehicle for care and change. Teachers design and conduct research projects in their classrooms. Articles based on projects done by earlier cohorts can be seen in our online journal.

A cohort of 20-24 students will work together for three years, with the support of enthusiastic faculty members, a faculty advisor, and access to online discussion space outside the classroom.

This program of studies is course-based with a research project that meets TQS requirements. Elective courses will reflect the cohort's collective interests, concerns or questions, if numbers warrant.

 

program Schedule

The program is scheduled to meet the needs of the busy teacher. The six required core courses are scheduled during the winter terms starting in September and January. Each course is three credits. Courses are offered one evening per week, with occasional Saturdays, from September through June. Summer electives are offered during the first three weeks of July.

The program schedule will be posted shortly, please email Dan Kravinchuk if you would like to receive an email once it has been confirmed.

 

Communication

Communication outside classes will primarily be through electronic means. Participants must have computer and e-mail/internet access. One way UBC students can get Internet and e-mail access is through Netinfo, http://www.netinfo.ubc.ca/, a service provided by the UBC Library and ITServices.

Admission

All students must meet UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements which include:

• Bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited university-level institution
• At least four years of study with a B+ average in third and fourth year-level course work, or at least 12 credits of third- or fourth-year courses in the A- grade range (at UBC 80% or higher) in the field of intended graduate study
• Sufficient preparatory academic background to carry out graduate work in a chosen field
• Evidence of English language proficiency

Program Pre-requisites

There are no pre-requisites for this program.

Tuition

Program fees will be paid over a minimum of nine (9) installments of $ 1,326.51 plus applicable student fees, payable in September, January and May of each of the three years. The program total is $11,938.59 plus applicable student fees.

Tuition fees are in Canadian dollars, are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors, and are subject to change.

Application Process

Online application is now open.
Application Deadline: January 21, 2008

In addition to your on-line application, please forward:

• Two official (sealed) transcripts from all post-secondary institutions (except from UBC)
• Three (sealed) letters of reference (forms available here).
• A Resumé
• A one page statement indicating how you think this program will contribute to your work in this field (if you did not complete that in the online application)

You must apply for this program on-line; please print out these instructions and refer to them when actually making your on-line application:

• Go to http://www.grad.ubc.ca/apply/online/
• Before beginning your application, read all of the instructions
• When you are ready to apply, click on "Apply Online"
• Read the instructions, and click on "Create Your Account" (unless you have already begun your application, in which case you should "Login")
• Once you have created your account, choose "New Application" and then click on "Start a Completely New Application"
• Under "Degree Selection," choose "Master of Education" in the pulldown menu
• Under "Specialization," you must choose "EPLT UrbanLearner-URL8-VANCOUVER"
• Proceed with your application as instructed
• When finished entering your information, you must click "Submit" for the application to work
• You will automatically receive an email acknowledgement, with instructions on documentation and deadlines

Some application reminders

• We need sealed transcripts from EVERY post-secondary institution you attended, whether or not they issued you a degree, except UBC. If you are a UBC alumnus, please provide your student number and we will print your transcript.
• If you have transcripts, please enclose or fax us photocopies (604-822-2015). We can make a quick adjudication of your eligibility even before all of your "official" documents arrive. Please note that this adjudication is not official until we have received your sealed transcripts.
• Send everything - EVERYTHING - to EPLT (1304-2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4). The most common delay in admissions is caused by the search for documents that are at other locations on this huge campus.
• References can now be submitted electronically in the following manner:  when you submit your application, include the reference's email address.  This will generate an automatic email which contains a link to a site where your reference can enter his/her reference, and then submit it.  They can type as much as they want, despite the apparent size of the text box. This link will only be available when your application is submitted.  If you plan on having your reference(s) submit their reference by mail, please leave the email address blank on the application.
• If you prefer to submit any or all of your references by hard copy you can download the reference form for this program here. A letter can take the place of the reference form but it must answer the questions posed in the reference form. The reference form is designed for professors to fill out. If your referee is not a professor, please ask him or her to write about your ability to successfully complete a graduate degree. The letter should identify key committees that you may have chaired, presentations or conferences or professional development programs you have done or taken, how you are able to understand new curriculum theory and apply it to your classroom program, if you have been a teacher supervisor for a student teacher, your ability to process data, or undertake major projects, your leadership capabilities. Detailed examples are more useful than general statements of support. Please note:  the reference letters must be received here in sealed envelopes with the referee's signature written across the sealed envelope flap.

For More Information

For academic advising, please contact:

Carl Leggo, Cohort Advisor
UBC, Faculty of Education
Dept. of Language & Literacy Education
Tel: 604-822- 4640
carl.leggo@ubc.ca

Karen Meyer, Cohort Advisor
UBC, Faculty of Education
Dept. of Curriculum Studies
Tel: 604-827-5383
karen.meyer@ubc.ca

For information about the program, district contacts, information sessions, or submitting an application, please contact:

Dan Kravinchuk, Program Assistant
UBC, Faculty of Education
External Programs and Learning Technologies
Tel: 604-822-4499 or Toll Free 1-888-492-1122
dan.kravinchuk@ubc.ca