There is an education advisor for further information but I thought it would be nice to record some student comments.
Some comments by a student who enetered the BEd program in September 2011.
My experience at the BEd program was an exciting one, full of new things and at times quite stressful. I entered the BEd program coming straight out of my BSc degree in mathematics. During my undergraduate degree, I tailored fit my program so I could continue onto the education degree. (Due to various reasons I did not participate in the Education & Mathematics dual degree.) If you have not yet done so, I highly suggest taking Math 414 in preparation for this. The application to the BEd program was not very complicated, and the requirement are not too high. Only a 67% average is required for your 3rd year and above courses, this is subjective to change as UBC is changing the BEd program next year. The application process is fairly simple, just some basic paper work, a resume and two reference letters.
The program itself is quite different from what I have experienced so far, I felt like a fish out of water at first, there are no more exercise problems, no more theorem to memorize. It involved a lot of group work and almost-daily reading, a huge change for someone that has done nearly nothing but math courses for a few years. A lot of reflections are also involved, I think the best way I could describe myself after the first semester of BEd was that I got really good at writing reflections. The math specific methodology courses are very interesting, it certainly shows you new ways to look at math, different methods of problem solving for different learners. Over all the program gives a good introduction for teaching, but it doesn't really prepare you for everything that happens in the classroom, nothing could prepare you for the classroom.
The Practicum, the do or die 4 month of exciting adventure, is different for everyone. As I said earlier, the BEd program doesn't prepare you for everything, and it cannot. Each and every classroom is different, this is almost the first thing you learn on practicum ( first, you learn how to avoid being eaten alive by the students). The practicum is a great time to do many things, to experiment, and to be criticized ( and criticized you will be). This is also the time for many to realize if this is truly what they want to do. It is a stressful time for many. At the end of the practicum, you are either shedding tears of joy or tears of sadness. One or the other, it should be a wonderful experience.
Over all the education program so far was wonderful for me, and I would recommend it to many aspiring teachers to come.
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