The University of St. Michael’s College is looking to expand its additional qualification (AQ) religion courses for teachers, with the latest set to enhance the deliverable quality of Catholic education as a whole.

The Catholic post-secondary institution at the University of Toronto is developing an English-language version of the Religious Education in Catholic Schools Part 1 course, which will be submitted to the Ontario College of Teachers later this spring.

With a French-language version of the course having already been developed following the renewal of St. Mike’s  Continuing Education division in the fall of 2023, the English version looks to build on the success of its predecessor and expand teacher knowledge and skills.

“ The movement into additional qualification courses for teachers fits in with St. Mike's history as a provider and partner in teacher education. For many years this course fit into the concurrent teacher education program at the University of Toronto and of course, this particular course in religious education fits well with St. Michael's as a leader in staff education,” said Michael Salvatori, the school's  director of continuing education.

St. Michael’s became an accredited provider of teacher education from the Ontario College of Teachers last spring, granting it the authority to develop courses and seek approval for implementation. While advertising for the program is on hold until official approval, the AQ course is slated for submission in the coming months.

“Our intent from the start was to offer this in both languages,” Salvatori explained. “The French course came first because of the partnership, but the English version is a natural next step in sharing St. Mike's unique offerings to a broader audience.”

Salvatori also confirmed that the course will be broadly accessible and open to all teachers meeting the requirements of the Ontario College of Teachers. It will likely have a blended learning approach through online, synchronous and asynchronous plus some in-person aspects as well.

More than anything, the Continuing Education division is hopeful the newest AQ course’s guidance on the principles of Christian education, curriculum planning and best teaching methods sets educators up to be equipped to carry out Catholic education to the next generation of students.

“ The guidelines that the Ontario College of Teachers produces are focused heavily on the learner. In the French language course, there is a component on adult faith formation, meaning the faith journey of the teachers and certainly the English language course will feature that component as well, looking at how the teacher continues in their faith journey and their professional learning to be able to provide the best education through nurturing settings for students,” Salvatori said.

The school expects a 30- to 60-day process for approval following their pending submission with hopes to offer the course ass early as October, by the new year at the latest.

In addition to the religious education course, St. Michael’s hopes to further  other AQ courses. Part one of French as a second language is teased to be the next in development, drawing on the school’s expertise in its language departments and local roots.