After 11 years, the Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP) will close on June 30, 2018. A joint program ran between the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), the first CTEP cohort began in September 2007.
The comprehensive teacher education program combined four years of a BPHE/BKin degree with a one-year B.Ed., however, rather than complete each degree consecutively, students were immersed in both programs at the same time, enhancing their educational background over five years.
When the Ministry of Education decided to double the length of the B.Ed. program from one year to two, OISE replaced their one-year bachelor of education program with a two year master’s degree, prompting the closure of CTEP.
A total of 183 students have graduated from CTEP since its inception, with 16 of them graduating in the final cohort this year.
“We had outstanding students and nearly all of them graduated with high honours. They always managed to get into that top five percent and I think they enjoyed themselves,” said Associate Professor David Cooper, who acted as CTEP coordinator.
“These are truly well rounded, passionate, competent physical education teachers who are making a real difference in the lives of the children and students that they work with,” said Tracia Finlay-Watson, a lecturer in physical education pedagogy at KPE.
The majority of the program’s graduates are teaching now, with some taking their skills across the Pacific Ocean - all the way to Australia. Natalie Biancolin will be starting a physical education teaching position in Melbourne, the outdoors paradise, as she describes it.
“I’m really excited and grateful for this opportunity,” she says. “Through this program, I’ve made a lot of connections with other, like-minded teachers. We had a tight knit support system going for each other and I think it’s going to last a lifetime.”
Natalie Biancolin is supported by fellow graduates
Rebecca Kennedy won’t be travelling as far as Australia, but still plans to do some travelling next year. She is planning on taking up a natural resource program at the University of British Columbia next year, before getting into teaching physical education in either Ontario or B.C.
Asked about the legacy of the program, Kennedy says it is the community of people and the connections they built over the five years of studying together.
“Our professors were amazing and the lessons they taught us will be something we will carry on when we start teaching,” she says. “I’m really excited to carry on what they started.”
On June 27, the Faculty hosted a reunion of the CTEP graduates, bringing together people from various eras of the program in one final celebration.