Family’s strong ties to IB program, Western Education
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Educator Certificate program is a family affair for Education alumna Barbara Nathoo. She’s the third family member to complete the program.
Thinking globally and having an interest in international education has been important to her family, said the recently retired elementary school principal. Her son and her sister, also a school principal, earned an IB Educator Certificate at the Faculty of Education.
It was her family’s experience with the IB program that led Nathoo to enroll in it. In addition, Nathoo’s son challenged her to take the program as he told her the course’s length would dissuade her from taking it while her sister encouraged her to apply because their family is interested in the IB Learner Profile, which aims to develop internationally minded people.
“When we talk about global citizenship and children learning in a global environment, this is something I thought I would be interested in,” she said.
In addition, she chose Western because her family has strong connections to the university. Her mom, dad, son and sister are also Western graduates. She said they believe in Western.
Western Education has partnered with the International Baccalaureate® to offer the IB Certificate in Teaching and Learning and the IB Certificate in Leadership Practice.
The IB Certificate in Leadership Practice is a six-month, online program for practicing and aspiring leaders that qualifies educators to register for the IB Certificate in Leadership Practice. It develops and refines leadership capabilities in an IB context. This certificate is designed for educators and administrators looking to apply, implement and sustain IB programs in an IB World School.
The IB Certificate in Teaching and Learning is a six-month, online program for practicing and aspiring teachers that qualifies educators to register for the IB Certificate in Teaching and Learning. It’s designed to help teachers become a reflective practitioner and teacher-researcher capable of succeeding in an IB World School at the primary years, middle years, or diploma level.
Both certificates strengthen critical thinking while using a global mindset and students gain access to employment opportunities to over 350 IB World Schools in Canada and more than 3,300 worldwide.
Reflecting on her program, Nathoo enjoyed it and thought it was well run. She learned how to authorize programs in an IB World School while focusing on the IB’s mission, vision, values and philosophy. She also developed an understanding of inquiry-based learning as well as how an IB education aligns with an international mindset and the importance of acquiring knowledge outside the classroom.
She describes inquiry-based learning as the child leading the learning.
“We get our hands dirty learning how best to ask questions in an investigative way to probe the learning of children,” Nathoo said.
She also found online learning easy. It took her a half an hour to understand the learning management system.
“I found it very user friendly and hats off to the instructors to support that learning,” she said.
The program’s international aspect didn’t disappoint Nathoo. She had plenty of opportunities to network and build strong relationships with students from Canada, the United States, China, Bahamas, Africa, Russia and South Korea.
“I found people with the hands-on training in international schools gave real examples of successes and challenges,” Nathoo said. “They demonstrated and showed by example how they were developing pedagogy that would build my international skill sets.”
For more information, please visit the IB Educator Certificate website.
