Just wanting to hear more about the program first hand and how it's going, thank you! :) Any comments about it are appreciated. Maybe specifically about the course load, whether you find you can work/study elsewhere at the same time etc? Thanks!
I’m three courses in and have enjoyed it quite thoroughly. Quite a varied experience in terms of course load. You can only take one at a time. During the accelerated summer glide we met twice weekly. In my second course we met three times. In my third course we met once and in my next one we will be meeting three times. I think it is very built for the teacher schedule.
Course difficulty has been average. No more difficult than any upper level arts course, with a pretty high level of discussion based content. Most courses have had major project and one or two mini tasks/discussion lead/ etc.
Courses are pretty cheap I’m sure you’ve seen. Be aware there are about 400 in fees in the fall and winter term to consider. You’re FT for taxes so that’s good as well.
Let me know if any specific qs.
Thank you so much for your response! Have you found you've been able to work at the same time in schools? And have you picked a specific focus, if so which and how have you been enjoying it?
No worries. I’m in the 100% online program which is 21st Cent. Teaching and Learning. I work full time. The busyness and connection in the classes decreases during the school year and ramps up in the summer.
Another note- you don’t get to choose your courses. You’re assigned a cohort and courses and preselected for your group based on the criteria.
Sorry for my own late response, thank you for the information!! I really appreciate it. That's great to hear, that's what I hope to do myself. If you don't mind (as right now with the strikes at UPEI I have had a hard time chatting with folks there) could I bug you with a few more questions:
- Was it difficult to get into the program? or had you heard of others who struggled?
- I am interested in the 21st Cent. focus group as well. Are you thinking about doing a thesis by the end?
- Does that mean the program runs all year round, throughout the summers as well?
Thank you very much for your insight, I really appreciate it! :)
Hey. No worries! The strike was frustrating, just happy to be continuing now at the expected pace!
Not particularly. I have 6 years of classroom experience. I had a teaching partner write one reference form and an admin write the other. They spoke highly of me, as you'd expect in a reference. That said, I haven't done anything exceptional in my career and prefer to stay a small fish in a big pond. I had no issues getting in.
I am not doing a thesis, as the 10 course program just works best for my busy life. I'm sure if you have a passion and commitment to the time/effort, the thesis path seems pretty logical. 6 courses goes pretty fast before you get into that. Keep in mind you need a department member to agree to provide the mentorship.
Mostly all year round. Here's the schedule:
Sept to Dec, 12 week term
Jan to Apr, 12 week term
May to Jun, 6 week term
July to Aug, 6 week term
you get three weeks off summer and winter!
Thank you so much!! and totally, I can imagine how frustrating it was, good to be back on track!
For the schedule, when are your classes normally? I'm just looking to imagine what to expect, i.e. if it's weekends, evenings, or day time.
I appreciate it!! :)
Very dependent on the prof. This last course we used a discussion forum as our classroom and never had formal meetings. The previous course was every Saturday morning! It is not necessarily random, but it seems that the profs understand that most of us in the program work full time Sept-June.