October 19, 2021

All You Need to Know about Canadian Classroom Culture

Robust, dynamic, flexible, affordable, and more. Several such adjectives describe the importance of Canada and its education system.

Without a doubt, the North American nation is the land of opportunities for international students who expect quality education, state-of-the-art infrastructure, excellent teaching faculty, flexible work options, and a PR pathway. Even in the wake of the pandemic a year ago, the Canadian administration under the aegis of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initiated CESB (Canada Emergency Student Benefits) for the well-being of students.

The reality is you are no alien to the nation that accommodates thousands of international students pursuing higher education every year. Its institutes rank among the top 100 institutes with their credentials recognized worldwide. Thousands of overseas students who want to study in Canada are admitted to its institutions, with a record percentage of students from India, China, and Vietnam. In 2020 alone, there were 530,540 students, with the population growing six-fold over the past 20 years.

Despite being new to the country, you want to derive the best of opportunities. The home of the reindeer and the land with frigid temperatures excites you. Before enrolling in a premier institution, you have to understand the nitty-gritty of the classroom culture in Canada, student visa requirements and courses.

Things Keeping You Attuned to Classroom Culture

Communicating with Professors:
Never feel shy while addressing professors by first names. Often, international students hesitate as they come from different backgrounds. They find it disrespectful if they address them by first names. Such a practice is allowed in Canada.
Class Discussion and Engagement:
Teachers appreciate if students ask them questions. It is part of classroom discussion. The more students participate, the better it works where there is active participation. Student participation is the need of the hour. It is one of the pivotal points of classroom culture wherein you have to be upfront even if answers are wrong.
Assessments:
It is professors testing the abilities of students throughout the term. Several tests include the short-term, ventures, incorporate papers, mid-term, introductions, and end-of-term tests.

Citing an instance, some professors test students in mid-term or during final exams. To help students fair in the exams, the teaching faculty provides test questions through PowerPoint presentations. These questions help them to prepare for exams. Even students can take notes on tablets, laptops, or notebooks. Some professors provide class notes to students.
Work in the Group:
There are courses where students have to work in a group. Several assignments include the research paper, report writing, presentation, etc. It is group work that tests the ability of students. They are in a better position to communicate and sharing the workload with teammates. It is the obligation of every student who has to communicate with his fellow students even after class.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity:
The onus is on students to work in a group and give credit to the work of others without submitting original work and plagiarism. When it comes to academic integrity, you have to research on your own and provide result reports that are accurate with all information sources.

Overall, the culture of classrooms in several recognised universities and colleges in Canada is different compared to the culture of other classrooms. Many prefer to study in Canada owing to the flexible classroom culture different from classrooms of other countries.

First-year classes accommodate 50-70 students, whereas the strength of students in the second year, third year, and graduate classes is 10-20. The small classrooms are a reminder that every student gets a better understanding of the system in a better way.

Tips That Help You Prepare for Class:

Take a glimpse of the outline of the course in advance to understand course expectations
Ensure to complete readings assigned to you on time
Review notes from previous lectures
Prepare for upcoming lectures
Complete assignments on time
One has to be punctual
It is necessary to communicate effectively with other students and those working on group projects
It is necessary to divide workload in a group project
Go through PowerPoint slides provided by a professor for any upcoming lecture

Once you understand the classroom culture and tips, you can make headway with Canada student application process. Take the guidance of overseas education consultants who help you understand the visa criteria.