1. Teacher Education
  2. CTE
  3. ON
  4. CONT586: Honour Specialist Biology
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CONT586: Honour Specialist Biology

CONT 586
Continuing Teacher Education - Ontario
3 Units
Online
Learn more about CONT586

In the Honour Specialist Biology AQ, you’ll have the opportunity to critically reflect on your current Biology teaching practice and to create useful teaching and assessment documents and tools for use in a biology classroom. You’ll expand your ability to incorporate a variety of teaching and assessment tools into your classroom using experiential learning strategies, including Universal Design for Learning. Through readings, discussion with colleagues and reflection, you will investigate how bias affects classroom culture, and you’ll explore approaches to provide equitable, democratic, and safe classroom experiences for all students. In collaboration with your colleagues, you’ll create culturally relevant, inclusive, inquiry-based lesson and unit plans that promote critical thinking and sustainable practices. In addition, you will explore community, leadership, and collaboration as vital concerns for future positions of responsibility.

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Learning Outcomes

What You Will Learn and Do

In this course you’ll have the opportunity to

  • develop a toolbox of useful resources for teaching biology
  • investigate laws, regulations, and policies specific to the teaching profession
  • develop your own teaching practice using current, relevant, and innovative pedagogical tools and techniques (Universal Design for Learning, differentiated instruction, democratic classrooms, PBL)
  • integrate current and relevant global and societal issues into your teaching practice (inclusivity, culturally responsive pedagogy, environmental sustainability, social justice)
  • explore leadership in the context of your own professional growth
  • explore how professional and community groups can help enhance your biology teaching practice
  • create a unit of study for use as a teacher in the biology classroom that reflects best practices of teaching and learning

Assessments

Module 1

Education Policy

Module 2

Best Practice
Progress Update 1

Module 3

Viewpoint and Voice

Module 4

Instruction and Assessment Tools
Progress Update 2

Module 5

Teaching Biology

Module 6

Leadership and Community
Progress Update 3

Module 7

Culminating Task
Final Report