Teaching Option

A Teaching Option consists of 4.0 credits: five core half-credit courses offered through the Faculty of Education, plus three elective half-credit courses from an approved list. The Teaching Option is designed to provide students with a foundational course of study focusing on teaching. Courses taken in the option may not count toward fulfilling requirements for the teaching specialization ("teachable") at the Junior/Intermediate level.

For graduation with a Teaching Option, students must have a minimum GPA of 6.00 computed on all 4.0 credits in the option, as well as a minimum GPA of 10.0 in the required content courses.

Required core content courses: (1.5 credits) 

1. EM110 - Foundations of Teaching
2. EM212 - Remodeling Relationships with Mathematics
3. EM310 - Cultural Competency in Teaching: Attending to the TRC’s Calls to Action in the Classroom

Electives: (1.5 credits)   
EM101 - Images of Education in Media
EM202 - The Educational Divide
EM203 - Learning in 280 Characters or Less
EM300 - Teaching in Non-School Contexts
EM301 - Seminars in Education
EM432° - Introduction to Mathematical Cognition and Exceptionalities
UU201 - Computational Thinking across Disciplines

Required Experiential Placement: (1.0 credits)  
EM299 - Reflection and Analysis in Educational Contexts
EM399 - Action Research in the Educational Context

Direct Entry into Laurier BEd for Selected Programs: Teaching Option Pathway
The Teaching Option, paired with select Laurier programs is a direct-entry program for students who meet the criteria for admission and who are applying to specified programs:

The specified programs for September 2023 entrants are the following. Other programs may be added/removed in subsequent years.

Faculty of Human and Social Sciences

• BASc Applied Health Sciences
• BA Psychology
• BA Game Design & Development

Faculty of Liberal Arts

• BA Indigenous Studies
• BA English
• BA History

Faculty of Social Work

• Bachelor of Social Work

Entry to the Teaching Option direct entry pathway is competitive. Only students applying for an honours degree will be considered for admission. The admissions cut off for entry to the Teaching Option will be set by the Faculty that controls the base program in consultation with the Faculty of Education. For September 2023, the entry requirement will be based on each program. For September 2024 entrants, all Teaching Option programs will have an equivalent minimum. To qualify for admission to the BEd, students in the Teaching Option pathway must meet all of the requirements of the associated undergraduate program, have a 10.5 GPA on the ten final full credits completed at Laurier, satisfactorily complete all of the requirements of the Teaching Option, and satisfactorily complete all other required elements of admission to the BEd. If interested in pursuing the Bachelor of Education guaranteed pathway, an application to the Laurier Bachelor of Education program is required in the year of completion of undergraduate program studies. A space in the BEd program campus of choice is guaranteed as applicable to teachables/division requirements and if all the above criteria for admission are satisfied. The 10.5 GPA is necessary at the time of application to the BEd program.