Required Courses
Courses in this cohort have both synchronous and asynchronous components, including online (Zoom) class sessions. Any synchronous sessions are in Mountain Time (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). Dates and times are determined by the course instructor.
These are graduate-level, credit courses, requiring between five and ten hours of coursework per week in the fall and winter terms (13 weeks). Courses offered in the spring and summer terms are condensed (six and three weeks respectively), so the amount of time spent on coursework is increased. This includes time spent on readings, assignments, presentations (group and individual), and writing papers.
Note: you must take a course in the term for which you apply. Course offerings are dependent upon sufficient enrollment.
Summer Term
EDU 595 Children's Rights: Humanizing Wellbeing in Schools ★3
Drawing from international human rights agreements and the latest scientific research on children’s development, this course provides a basis for prioritizing and elevating student wellbeing in the classroom. Participants will learn how to anchor their teaching and student-teacher relationships in practices that center the whole child within highly complex learning environments. The focus is on evidence-based and concrete strategies to facilitate authentic learning, respectful peer relations, and empathic classroom environments.
Fall Term
EDU 595 Student Social Emotional Learning for Wellbeing ★3
In a world that is continuously evolving, students need concrete social and emotional strategies in order to adapt and thrive in different contexts. This course offers a developmentally-informed approach to student social emotional learning (SEL). Participants will learn about key SEL competencies (self-awareness, self-management, decision-making, relationship skills, social understanding) and how they are integral to wellbeing. Research supporting evidence-based practice will be incorporated throughout.
Winter Term
EDU 595 Motivation: An Untapped Source of Wellbeing ★3
Too often motivation is viewed as an on-off switch, something that students have or lack. This course offers an alternative perspective by focusing on the quality of motivation and its association with important indicators of student wellbeing such as emotions, persistence, and learning. Participants will encounter a wide range of theories that they can use to understand student motivation and evidence-based practices that they can use to create learning contexts supportive of wellbeing.
Spring Term
EDU 595 Supporting Student Wellbeing in Action ★3
The purpose of this course is to allow participants to action their learnings from across the certificate for their own classroom. The course will create space to discuss contemporary challenges to student wellbeing so that participants can plan for addressing challenges in their own context. The course will scaffold participants’ thinking through topics like needs assessments, implementation, and evaluation.