Bridge to Teaching: Unique program guides internationally experienced teachers into Alberta

When Ina Kim came to Canada from South Korea several years ago, she carried with her a master’s degree in education. Before arriving in Calgary with her husband and daughter, she was a successful and popular teacher in schools in her homeland and in Hong Kong.

But when it came to taking her skills to a classroom in Calgary, she realized that she needed to learn more about teaching from the Alberta curriculum.

Satinder Kaur shares a similar story. Her Indian friends, who were already in Canada, told her it would be almost impossible to find work as a teacher here, citing the differences in accent, culture, and in Alberta schools generally.

These teacher’s stories aren’t unusual. On the one hand, with the changing demography of Canada, good teachers with international experience are in high demand; on the other, the teachers need a professional development program to prepare them to teach in Alberta.

So where to get that further education?

Both Kim and Kaur found it in The Werklund School of Education’s Bridge to Teaching Program.

Designed to support internationally-experienced educators who want to teach in Alberta classrooms, the Bridge to Teaching Program integrates the previous experiences and skills of the teachers while providing expertise in teaching the Alberta curriculum and opportunities to acculturate to policies and expectations on teachers, students, parents and communities in Alberta.

“By the end of the program,” explains Gail Jardine, the Werklund School’s co-ordinator of the Bridge to Teaching Program, “these transitioning teachers have gained knowledge in building strong pedagogical relationships with students and in teaching in innovative, cutting-edge ways from the Alberta Program of Studies.”

Jardine says these internationally-experienced teachers bring international perspectives and intercultural dimensions to conversations with colleagues and students in Alberta schools.

“By speaking languages in addition to English, and by having gone through immigration themselves, they can support students who have immigrated and also increase Canadian teachers' understanding the challenges and opportunities that new Canadians experience and how this affects students' learning in our schools.”

Today, along with many of their classmates, Ina Kim and Satinder Kaur are teaching, and they both credit the Bridge to Teaching program with helping them to make the transition to the Calgary classrooms.

Says Kaur, “Besides getting invaluable guidance and deeper knowledge of entirely new fields like inclusive education, special education, assessment criteria and much more, I got fascinated with friendly, loving and caring environment in this great program.”  

And Kim agrees.  “If you want to pursue your dream, then Bridge to Teaching, its excellent curriculum, the relationships you build with your peers and mentors, are all essential to achieving your goal.”

On the evening of Feb. 27, Bridge to Teaching is holding a free open house information session for Fall 2014 intake.  More information can be found on the Bridge to Teaching web page.