HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 627 CUR - Cooperative EducationExperiential Learning
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PROCEDURE PR.627.CUR
TITLE: COOPERATIVE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Date issued: 26 April 2002
Last revised:
Authorization: Senior Staff: 03 October 2001
1.0 OBJECTIVE
To provide guidelines for the implementation of cooperative education courses and other forms
of experiential learning in secondary schools.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
In this procedure,
2.1 Work experience is a planned learning opportunity, within any credit course, that
provides students with relatively short-term work experiences, usually of one or two
weeks’ duration and not exceeding four weeks. Credits cannot be granted for work
experience alone.
2.2 Job shadowing involves the pairing of a student with a worker in a specific occupation
for one-on-one observation by the student.
2.3 Job twinning involves the pairing of a student with a cooperative education student for
one-on-one observation of the cooperative education student at his or her placement.
2.4 Virtual work experience is a simulated work experience within any credit course that
involves a short term subject related virtual work placement facilitated through the use
of computer software and the computer (e.g., a student enrolled in a Grade 11 English
course linked via the internet with a news editor at a local newspaper).
2.5 The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) is an opportunity for a student
to meet diploma requirements while participating in an apprenticeship occupation.
2.6 The Personalized Placement Learning Plan outlines the course of study for the
placement component and the basis for assessment and evaluation for the granting of
up to two cooperative education credits in a specific course.
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2.7 The Work Education Agreement is a standard Ministry of Education form that must be
signed before a student starts working at a placement to ensure coverage under the
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
2.8 The placement is the physical location of a cooperative education student’s learning.
This could be with an individual, a commercial enterprise or an agency. It is usually
outside the student’s school site. There is always an on-site supervisor.
2.9 The placement databank is a centrally maintained computerized database that is
utilized by both central and school staff. The databank provides statistical information
required for Board and Ministry purposes.
2.10 The related course is the designated course on which the cooperative education
course is based, and to which the cooperative education credit (s) are linked.
3.0 RESPONSIBILITY
3.1 Superintendent, Curriculum Services, Superintendents of Instruction, principals of
secondary schools
4.0 PROCEDURES
4.1 Curriculum Services will:
a) establish procedures for finding and assessing potential placements in
accordance with the stipulations outlined in Section 2.4.1.1 of the Ministry of
Education document, Cooperative Education and other Forms of Experiential
Learning, Policies and Procedures for Secondary Schools, 2000;
b) ensure that when summer cooperative education programs are offered by the
Board, they meet the same criteria as programs offered during the regular school
year;
c) establish a procedure related to the effective management for the various forms
of experiential learning, including placement coordination;
d) develop protocols with coterminous boards that will ensure regular and
consistent co-operation and communication among coterminous personnel;
e) maintain direct links to the Ministry of Education, the Eastern Ontario
Cooperative Education Advisory Committee, and other school boards in the
region; and
f) establish and maintain a central information placement databank.
4.2 Principals will:
a) establish procedures to determine whether students applying for experiential
learning opportunities have the necessary educational background and maturity;
b) ensure that cooperative education courses do not stand alone but are tied to
timetabled curriculum courses the student has taken or is taking;
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c) ensure that when a student withdraws from the related course, he or she must
automatically be withdrawn from the cooperative education course;
d) ensure that if the student is successful in the related course but unsuccessful in
the cooperative education course, he or she is awarded credit for the related
course only. If the student successfully completes the concurrent cooperative
education course but is unsuccessful in the related course, he or she may be
awarded the cooperative education credit(s), if all requirements have been met;
e) ensure that the awarding of cooperative education credits is based on the
successful completion of the required hours in the placement and the meeting of
all requirements of the cooperative education course;
f) ensure that all grade 11 and 12 cooperative education courses attempted or
completed are reported on the student’s transcript as required by Ministry policy
document Ontario Secondary Schools Grades 9 to 12 Program and Diploma
Requirements, 1999, section 6.2.2.2;
g) ensure that educators involved in cooperative education provide, within available
resources, any accommodations and modifications required to allow exceptional
students to achieve their full potential, as described in their Individual Education
Plans (IEPs), including:
(i) modification of the classroom component and the Personalized Placement
Learning Plan to meet the student’s needs, as identified in the student’s
IEP;
(ii) that the employer and supervisor are aware of the student’s area of
exceptionality, and any accommodations described in a student’s IEP;
(iii) the placement of a student in a setting only where the accommodation
needs will be adequately met (e.g., wheelchair accessibility); and
(iv) the provision of professional or paraprofessional staff and the use of
specialized equipment where necessary.
h) ensure that every cooperative education student is registered by the school in the
central information placement databank prior to, or at the beginning of the
placement;
i) ensure that a process for competitive interviews is in place when more than one
student has requested a particular placement; and
j) ensure that Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage is provided
for students at the placement. A Ministry of Education Work Education
Agreement Form must be completed and signed by all parties prior to student
placement. This form must be used for all students participating in cooperative
education or work experience who are fourteen years of age or older. Teachers
must follow WSIB and school board procedures when reporting accidents.
4.3 The roles and responsibilities of the Board, principals, coope rative education teachers,
employers, supervisors, students, guidance counsellors and non-teaching personnel are
outlined in Section 5.0 of the Ministry document, Cooperative Education and Other
Forms of Experiential Learning, 2000.
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4.4 The attendance policy for cooperative education placements is the same as for all other
secondary school programs and activities.
4.5 In the event of a strike or lockout at either the student’s school or the student’s
cooperative education placement, the student will not attend hi s/her placement.
4.6 It is not the general practice for cooperative education students to receive hourly wages
or a salary for their placement hours. However:
a) in circumstances where students would bear a cost that is onerous or
unaffordable, students are permitted to receive an honorarium or an expense
allowance from their placement (e.g., cost of safety boots or helmet, lab coats,
transportation);
b) in exceptional circumstances (e.g., a specialized program such as a school to
work transition program) students in specialized programs may receive
remuneration; and
c) in the case of cooperative education students registered as apprentices in trades
recognized by the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act, the student will
be paid apprenticeship wages by the employer as set out in that Act.
4.7 If a student in a cooperative education program is being paid a wage the employer is
responsible for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board coverage.
5.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
The Education Act, 2000, Section 21 (1),
Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act, 1998
Cooperative Education and other Forms of Experiential Learning, Policies and Procedures for
Secondary Schools, 2000, Ministry of Education
Position in the Event of a Secondary School Teachers Work Stoppage, Ontari o Cooperative
Education Association Memorandum, November 26, 2000
Choices into Action, Ministry of Education
OSBIE Risk Management Advisory C.3: Cooperative Education/Work Experience Programs re
WSIB
Board Policy P.102.CUR: Cooperative Education and Experiential Learning