Education: West Kootenay Teacher Education Program (WKTEP)

at UBC's

Vancouver Campus

This program is located in Nelson, BC, and surrounding communities, and has a strong focus on rural and small school settings, recognizing that they offer exciting educational opportunities for teachers. You’ll have the opportunity to develop the professional qualities and effective practices for teaching in today’s complex learning environments with a strong focus on community, collaboration, and innovation.

Why this program?

  • WKTEP offers the full complement of UBC’s BEd coursework and practica, as well as a three-week Community Field Experience.
  • Elementary and secondary candidates will experience a wide array of learning environments including multi-age and alternate settings with a strong focus on rural education.
  • A focus on in situ, place-conscious learning encourages a strong connection to the local communities and provides highly contextualized learning opportunities learning alongside educators in rural settings.
Visit program website

Program information

  • Campus: Vancouver
  • Faculty: Faculty of Education
  • Degree: Bachelor of Education
  • Length 11 mos
  • Co-op Yes
    You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
  • Honours No
    You can study intense specialization in a single field.

The BEd West Kootenay Teacher Education Program (WKTEP) is for those who are interested in teaching in rural and small school settings, which offer unique and exciting opportunities for teaching and learning. WKTEP students will engage in course work at the UBC WKTEP Learning Centre in Nelson, BC, or in various classrooms throughout the region. WKTEP places an emphasis on place-conscious learning with strong ties to local communities and school districts (Nelson, BC, and surrounding communities).

WKTEP is an 11-month post-degree program that prepares educators for elementary, middle years or secondary school contexts. Teacher candidates who complete the requirements for the BEd Elementary program or the BEd Secondary program (specializing in one to two teachable subjects) are recommended to the BC Teacher Regulation Branch for a professional teaching certificate.

Experiential learning

Inquiry

All UBC teacher candidates participate in an inquiry seminar in each of the three terms on campus, developing the habit of asking critical questions about their pedagogical decisions and practices.

Practicum

The practicum includes weekly experiences in schools, starting in September (the pre-practicum experience), followed by a two-week school placement, which is also the setting for the 10-week extended practicum.

The teaching practicum is an exciting part of the Bachelor of Education program because it is the time when teacher candidates put theory into practice alongside an experienced teacher.

Community Field Experience (CFE)

All teacher candidates participate in a three-week Community Field Experience.

Some field experiences take place in a school context that is very different from the extended practicum site, and others take place in non-school-based contexts such as museums, science centres, environmental ed camps, Indigenous communities, daycares, and more.

Your future

The majority of UBC BEd alumni go on to teach in rural BC. The concept of an educational setting is far reaching and many alumni find careers as educators in a variety of placements (i.e. environmental camps, band schools, science centres, etc). UBC BEd alumni include the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Juno-nominee and CBC Kids’ entertainer Will Stroet, along with multiple school administrators, writers, and leaders in education.

Program graduates

  • Teacher, School District No. 74 (Gold Trail)
  • Teacher, School District No. 93 (Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B.)
  • Teacher, Maria Montessori Education Centre
  • Teacher, Calgary Board of Education