An Innovative, Grassroots Program Right Here in the Faculty of Education
The Faculty of Education is a founding partner in CanU Canada, a unique afterschool program developed in 2010 as a pilot project for 15 students. Currently, the CanU program has expanded to include 500 students from over 40 schools across multiple school divisions. The purpose of the program is to provide innovative afterschool programming at the University of Manitoba for potential first generation university students. In partnership with collaborating schools, the students are bussed to the university’s campuses for programs in sports and recreation, nutrition, science, storytelling, robotics, and health sciences, among others. CanU is free for students, who are nominated by their teachers. Grants, donations, in-kind contributions and fundraising cover the costs of bussing, gym clothes and shoes, snacks and supper, and all materials. CanU students may also apply for postsecondary scholarships: every year, CanU is making it possible for more young people to imagine and achieve their dreams.
The Faculty of Education’s CanU Academy contributes significantly to CanU’s winter programming. Every year, we invite B. Ed students to create their own 5-week afterschool program for the young people in CanU. B.Ed students collaborate in teams to design and lead a CanU academy. For teacher candidates, the program offers an innovative experience that complements both coursework and practicum in unique ways.
What's Different about CanU Academy
Research on service learning in teacher education points to several approaches to engaging teacher candidates in informal school and community spaces to work with children and youth. However, the CanU Academy program in the Faculty of Education is a unique program in the agency it provides teacher candidates to collaboratively create and lead a five-week, interest-driven afterschool program for middle and high school students. The Academy programs are designed by groups of B.Ed students who pursue their passions—for example, in art, fashion design, science, musical theatre, games, coding, mystery solving, and comics. Each evening, the teams come together for a one-hour debriefing session immediately following the Academy program. Together, they are supported in reflection, discussion, and planning, a valuable component of the CanU experience.
The purpose of the Academy program is to provide B.Ed students with opportunities to think about teaching and learning in new ways. The high student-adult ratio allows teacher candidates to focus on developing relationships with the students in the process of learning with and from them. The collaboration with B.Ed students in other streams and in both years of the program creates an opportunity for teacher candidates to collaboratively plan, co-teach, and observe and learn from one another. The emphasis on sharing their passions invites teacher candidates to think more creatively about curriculum, learning environments, and their roles as teachers. The debriefing session mentors them in inquiry and reflexivity, providing a simple, but effective approach to developing their capacities as keen observers, inquirers, and reflexive practitioners. Through the Academies, teacher candidates learn how to be responsive to students’ interests, to collaborate and co-teach with their colleagues, to engage in professional dialogue about learning and pedagogy, to plan interdisciplinary learning experiences, to create a strong sense of community with students, and to scaffold learning to help students achieve their goals.
The Faculty of Education’s CanU Academy contributes significantly to CanU’s winter programming. Every year, we invite B. Ed students to create their own 5-week afterschool program for the young people in CanU. B.Ed students collaborate in teams to design and lead a CanU academy. For teacher candidates, the program offers an innovative experience that complements both coursework and practicum in unique ways.
What's Different about CanU Academy
Research on service learning in teacher education points to several approaches to engaging teacher candidates in informal school and community spaces to work with children and youth. However, the CanU Academy program in the Faculty of Education is a unique program in the agency it provides teacher candidates to collaboratively create and lead a five-week, interest-driven afterschool program for middle and high school students. The Academy programs are designed by groups of B.Ed students who pursue their passions—for example, in art, fashion design, science, musical theatre, games, coding, mystery solving, and comics. Each evening, the teams come together for a one-hour debriefing session immediately following the Academy program. Together, they are supported in reflection, discussion, and planning, a valuable component of the CanU experience.
The purpose of the Academy program is to provide B.Ed students with opportunities to think about teaching and learning in new ways. The high student-adult ratio allows teacher candidates to focus on developing relationships with the students in the process of learning with and from them. The collaboration with B.Ed students in other streams and in both years of the program creates an opportunity for teacher candidates to collaboratively plan, co-teach, and observe and learn from one another. The emphasis on sharing their passions invites teacher candidates to think more creatively about curriculum, learning environments, and their roles as teachers. The debriefing session mentors them in inquiry and reflexivity, providing a simple, but effective approach to developing their capacities as keen observers, inquirers, and reflexive practitioners. Through the Academies, teacher candidates learn how to be responsive to students’ interests, to collaborate and co-teach with their colleagues, to engage in professional dialogue about learning and pedagogy, to plan interdisciplinary learning experiences, to create a strong sense of community with students, and to scaffold learning to help students achieve their goals.