NIC instructor Jeff Lawrence will be teaching the newly relaunched Education 101 course this fall for students studying to become teachers. Image submitted

NIC instructor Jeff Lawrence will be teaching the newly relaunched Education 101 course this fall for students studying to become teachers. Image submitted

New North Island College course focuses on presentation skills for future teachers

Education 101 will be delivered digitally

  • Sep. 15, 2020 12:00 a.m.

North Island College (NIC) is launching a new course for future teachers and any students interested in honing their presentation skills.

Education 101 is being offered this fall at NIC through digital delivery.

The course explores interpersonal skills to support problem solving, and developing the proficiencies to work with children and adults in one-on-one and group settings.

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“The course is an introductory communication course for students entering the education stream for elementary and high school,” said instructor Jeff Lawrence. “It’s also a transferable course to VIU.”

NIC has an agreement with VIU specifically for students to start their degrees at NIC and transfer into the third year of VIU’s Bachelor of Education.

Education 101 will benefit not only students pursuing education, but for students in other fields and programs.

“The business courses in particular, they do a lot of presentations and group work,” said Lawrence. “This course allows them to improve those presentation skills and get better feedback from peers.”

This year, students will follow the course virtually through an online video platform. Taking the course online will also allow students to slow down the learning process with two weekly class meetings and completing three speeches, noted Lawrence.

“We will be using Kaltura capture,” said Lawrence. “Students will be recording themselves and doing light editing. We will then send the presentations around the class to be peer reviewed.”

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The course allows students to expand their confidence through public speaking and creates a good foundation for any career path.

“I love teaching it because I love seeing the students get more confident in this kind of thing over the semester,” said Lawrence. “At first, they might be a little bit wary in the beginning, but it’s great seeing them gain confidence over the course.”

Interested students can register in Education 101 until September 17.

For more information on Education 101 and the VIU Education Pathway, visit www.nic.bc.ca/university-studies.

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