Garden-Based Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education

2018 SUMMER INSTITUTE:
Open(ing) spaces for learning

ECED 480A 96A / ECED 565A 96A | non-credit
All courses are subject to minimum enrolment. We advise that participants do not finalize any travel arrangements until notified that this course is confirmed.

This Summer Institute will focus on the pedagogical possibilities related to the garden, as a place of teaching and learning with young children. The idea of a garden as a pedagogical context in early childhood education can be traced to Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of the kindergarten in the early 1800s. Gardens are valued as a context of teaching and learning and as a living co-teacher, from both Indigenous and international perspectives, and have pedagogical applications in relation to history, science, math, poetry, ecology, etc. We will explore garden-based learning with young children through practical, arts-based, and multi-sensory approaches. We will work with developing children’s and teachers’ empathy and community with the living world, and a sense of competence and well-being, with an awareness of gardens as natural habitats and sources of food, fibres, dreams and stories.


Overall, this Summer Institute will be of great interest to early childhood educators, classroom teachers, and other professionals involved in the education and care of young children.


This Summer Institute is part of a three-course sequence the Centre for Early Childhood Education and Research has developed for 2017, 2018, and 2019, consistent with the Faculty of Education value of “inform[ing] our research and practices by consideration of issues such as, inter alia, poverty, minority rights, inequality, and social justice.”


Susan Gerofsky

Susan Gerofsky’s research is in embodied, multi sensory, multimodal ways of teaching and learning through the movement, gesture, voice and the arts. She works in mathematics education and environmental garden-based education, with years of experience teaching at all levels, from early childhood to secondary to adult education. Dr. Gerofsky has a background in linguistics and speaks several languages. She is also active as a musician and composer, poet, filmmaker, and loves dance and the fibre arts. She is co-founder of the UBC Orchard Garden, and has been the academic advisor for this project for the past ten years.

UBC Campus | Face-to-Face

Neville Scarf Building
Room 1214
2125 Main Mall
Vancouver | map

July 9 – 14

9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Monday to Saturday

Registration & Fees

There are several pathways for participation in this program. The fees for the program will depend on your registration type.

Non-Credit Registration & Fees

  • Non-Credit Registration Fee: $570

Full payment is required with your online registration in order to reserve your space. We accept payment by credit card or debit card. Please note that should UBC cancel the course, a full refund will be issued.

Refund Policy for Non-Credit Applications: If you would like to withdraw from a course, please submit written notice by Monday, June 4 by Noon to be eligible for a refund (less a $65 administration fee). No refund will be made for cancellations received later than this date, unless a course is cancelled by UBC Faculty of Education.

FAQs: Review the FAQs for Non-Credit Course Registration.

UBC Student Registration

To register in the course for credit, students must be admitted to the UBC Faculty of Education (Vancouver campus); please see "Admission to UBC" below. Once admitted, students may register in the credit course.

Current UBC students can register for credit courses through the Student Service Centre, using their Campus Wide Login (CWL).

Registration opens in early March, see the Summer Session dates for the opening registration date for your student category. Many summer programs fill quickly, early registration is strongly recommended.

  • Undergraduate Course (3.0 credits)
    ECED 480A 96A / ECED 565A 96A |
    Undergraduate student fees apply; see details below.

Credit tuition is calculated on a per-credit basis. Tuition fees are in Canadian dollars and are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors.

For current UBC tuition, visit UBC Tuition Fees for the Education per credit tuition fees.

UBC Students

For current tuition information please refer to the UBC Calendar.

Visiting Graduate Students

Visiting graduate students who wish to take credit courses must register for those courses and will be assessed tuition fees at the prevailing graduate per credit rate, plus authorized student fees.

Tuition fees are subject to review by The University of British Columbia. The Western Deans Agreement does not apply to this course.

Student Assessed Fees

Certain additional fees apply to students who take courses on campus.

Students who meet certain requirements may opt out of the U-Pass and AMS Extended Health and Dental Plan, during the first two weeks of the term.

To see if you qualify for the U-Pass fee exemption, read the U-Pass FAQ information.

If you think you qualify for an exemption, login to the Student Service Centre (SSC) and click on the Financial Summary tab to navigate to the U-Pass fee exemption page.

If you already have medical/dental coverage (other than BC MSP), you may be able to apply for an exemption if you meet certain requirements and follow the opt-out procedures. Visit the Student Service Centre (SSC) for more information.

Students registered in on-campus courses in the summer session are not assessed Health/Dental Plan fees.

Tuition Fee Certificates

Current UBC students may use Tuition Fee Certificates toward tuition or non-credit fees. The certificates do not cover the cost of course materials, texts, or other fees. Contact Professional Development & Community Engagement for more information: 604.822.2013 | pdce.educ@ubc.ca

Admission to UBC

To register in the course for credit, students must be admitted to the UBC Faculty of Education (Vancouver campus).

Undergraduate Students

To register in courses offered for credit you must be admitted to the UBC Faculty of Education, Vancouver campus.

  • If you were previously a student here, you will need to apply for re-admission. If you are not applying for a program, you can apply as an unclassified student to receive credit for this course.
  • If you are a UBC Okanagan student, or interested in a program offered by UBC Okanagan, please see Admission Categories on the Application & Registration page.

View the Application & Registration page for details, instructions and application forms.

Visiting Graduate Students

To be eligible for admission as a Visiting Graduate Student to UBC, you must be currently registered in a graduate program with good standing at the home university.

For assistance with the online admission procedures, contact the Office of Research in Education