Experiential Learning
Experiential Learning offers students an opportunity to actively participate in learning experiences that take place in the community. These community-connected learning experiences can be local, national, or global and they are linked to or go beyond the Ontario curriculum.
Our goal is to prepare all of our students for their futures by inspiring our students to be adaptable, authentic, real-world learners.
Experiential Learning is an approach to teaching and provides students the opportunity to:
- Participate in authentic experiences connected to a community outside of the classroom
- Reflect on those experiences to create meaning;
- Apply learning to influence their decisions and actions in various aspects of their lives.
Benefits
- Acquire knowledge and skills needed to make informed education and career/life choices
- Deepens students’ understanding of the knowledge and skills within and beyond the curriculum
- Bridges the gap between theory and practice
- Promotes creativity, self-reflection
Experiential Learning Opportunities
Experiential Learning includes being able to facilitate learning opportunities for students in different schools and communities across the district. Students can build awareness regarding various careers related to skilled trades and apprenticeships and non-traditional careers through hands-on learning and direct participation.
Field Study
An experiential learning opportunity which involves the exploration of the outdoors, other environments, or organizations. These learning experiences are connected with classroom teaching.
Field Trip
Field Trips provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities. The purpose of the excursion by a class or group of students beyond the school environment is to provide students with a variety of experiences where they can observe and reflect upon learning.
Project or Inquiry or Problem Based Learning
Project, Inquiry, and Problem Based Learning is an approach to teacher and learning which empowers students to focus on solving real-world problems.
Service Learning
Service-Learning is a form of experiential learning that connects the classroom to the community. The goal is to enact meaningful contributions to the local, regional, national, and/or global community. The learning is connected to the curriculum and the needs of the community.
Cooperative Education Program
The Cooperative Education Program offers students hands-on experience in a workplace of their choice. It allows students to earn credits while pursuing a work placement in a field of interest.
- Student-directed and co-constructed learning
- Increase in opportunities for students in all pathways
- Opportunities to connect through technology and work beyond the local community
Work Experiences including:
Take Our Kids to Work Day
This is an annual event held in November where grade 9 students get to spend a day outside of the classroom and experience a day in the life of a family member or a volunteer host at their workplace.
Job Shadowing
Students can experience one-on-one observation of a worker in a career of interest at the workplace. This opportunity allows students to observe and reflect on the experience to gain a better understanding of the career.
Job Twinning
Students can experience one-on-one observation of a cooperative education student at their placement. This opportunity allows students to gain first-hand knowledge of a day in the life of the specific career as well as observe and reflect on the experience.
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