S. Korea study opportunity
One-month course in Incheon
Whether you believe that travel is the best teacher, the classroom is the best place to learn or that life experience is the path to growth, teacher candidates can have it all in May 2018.
The Faculty of Education is offering first- and second-year BEd students the opportunity to study in Incheon, South Korea’s third-largest city, for one month.
Dr. Robert Mizzi
“This gives teacher candidates an opportunity to go overseas to practice teaching, live and work in a different cultural and school context, and then apply that experience to a resume, or when they’re applying for international jobs,” said Assistant Professor Robert Mizzi, a faculty lead for the course.
The three-credit-hour course offers an opportunity to study and practise-teach at Canadian Maple International School, a K-12, Manitoba-affiliated school where many Faculty of Education graduates are now teaching. Officially, 65 per cent of the teaching staff at the school have to be Manitoba certified, but Mizzi estimates that number is much higher, offering students a welcoming social network when they arrive.
Teacher candidates are assigned a mentoring Canadian teacher whom they will be working with through the course, which Mizzi says “simulates a practicum.”
The experience will strengthen participants ability to work with different cultures—whether overseas or working with migrant students in Canadian schools, Mizzi says.
“It will strengthen their adaptability skills as teachers, their innovation, how they work with the different resources that are available, and how they create lesson plans,” Mizzi says. “When a new student arrives from a different country, they’ll understand a little bit more about some of the struggles and the experiences that the student is having.”
During the course, teacher candidates live in apartments above the school, located near a subway, a 45-minute ride to Seoul. “Some really fun nights out and cultural activities,” Mitzi says.
The faculty is offering $1,000-bursaries to cover travel costs, and CMIS covers accommodation costs.
“(Teacher candidates) get a quite a nice package and they get to be in Korea for a month,” Mizzi says. “Come out and learn about the opportunity, and ask questions, and sign up!”
Mizzi hosts an informational session on Nov. 8, 12:30 in Room 326. For more information, contact robert.mizzi@umanitoba.ca. Application deadline is Nov. 15.