Incoming TAB Support

Students from Shaanxi Normal University visit UCalgary

Teaching Across Borders (TAB) encourages meaningful cultural and knowledge exchange between Werklund School of Education pre-service teachers and students from our partner locations. Incoming TAB welcomes students from TAB partner institutions to our Calgary campus to learn about education in an Albertan context.
Werklund student volunteers assist the TAB Team with welcoming the incoming students and supporting their experience while on campus. Volunteer activities can include leading campus tours, attending events, and helping to practice English language learning.

Who?

All BEd students

What?

Werklund undergraduate students will support the experience for Incoming TAB students from Australia and/or Japan

When?

Participation is based on volunteer schedules and Incoming TAB events.

Where?

In-person, on campus, possibly around Calgary

What's Involved

Students have an opportunity to have global learning experience at home which can increase intercultural competencies.
Werklund students will attend as many sessions and activities as their schedule allows.
Werklund students will meet with the international students from Australia, Japan and/or China to share about their experience in the BEd program and the Alberta education system.
Werklund students may act as language buddies for Incoming TAB students who are English Language Learners.
This role may change slightly each year, based on the availability and goals of the Werklund volunteers.

Requirements

Positive attitude & cultural openness
Ability to be on campus during the school day
Willingness to share experiences with international students

Apply a variety of facilitation strategies to encourage discussion, generate ideas, and build consensus
Apply a variety of leadership strategies to develop meaningful relationships with the program and its participants
Apply a variety of mentorship strategies to support mentees’ personal, social, and academic goals
Develop cross-cultural competencies related to language, culture, and place
Examine how teaching and learning take place in other contexts
Share and receive knowledge regarding teacher education and teaching practice.

Initial meeting: December 12, 2024, 5:00 pm on Zoom
Program runs:
- Australian students will be on campus from January 6 to January 24, 2025
- Japanese students will be on campus from February 18 to March 18, 2025
Specific event dates:
- Campus Tour for QUT visitors: January 6, 2025, 1:00 pm (TBC)
- Student Social Event: January 2025, TBA
- Farewell to QUT visitors: January 2025, TBA
- Campus Tour for HUE visitors: February 20, 2025 (TBC)
- Full day trip: Wednesday, February 26, 2025 (TBC)
- Farewell to HUE visitors: March 18, 2025, afternoon
Werklund volunteers can participate as their schedule allows to accommodate courses and field experiences

Participants should expect to spend about 20 hours of time in this program. Please note that this program only runs in the Winter semester.

Fall Semester Timeline

Fall 2024 Applications Open: August 28, 2024
Werklund Information Sessions:
- Cancelled; please email wse.experiential@ucalgary.ca with any questions about the Service-Learning program or to arrange for a meeting.
Fall 2024 Applications Close: September 17, 2024 for smaller programs, larger placement applications are ongoing.
Fall 2024 Placements Start: early October (program dependent)
Fall 2024 Placements End: mid-December (program dependent)

Winter Semester Timeline

Winter 2025 Applications Open: November 15, 2024
Winter 2025 Information Session: November 26, 5:00 pm (Zoom)
Winter 2025 Applications Close: Ongoing, program-dependent
Winter 2025 Placements Start: early January (program dependent)
Winter 2025 Placements End: mid-March (program dependent)

Experiential Learning Check-In & Reflection Opportunities

All participants in Experiential Learning programs are welcome and encouraged to attend at least two of the check-in & reflection sessions below as part of their program. Reflection is an incredibly important part of experiential learning. It encourages students to consider their experience so far and to adjusted as needed as they go forward through the rest of their program, or into the next step of their career.