Page 29 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education

Through participation in planned learning activities that foster the integration of their learning, students deepen their curriculum-related learning, their understanding of their experience in the community, and their ability to relate their learning to other aspects of their lives. Planned learning activities:
• should be engaging and relate to the particular learning needs of the student;
• may take place in person or through the use of digital technology;
• may involve independent study, whole- or small-group discussion, and monitoring meetings with the cooperative education teacher;
• should provide a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, accepting, and culturally responsive.
The integration of learning supports students in developing the skills, knowledge, and habits of mind required for education and career/life planning. Students should be encouraged to update their Individual Pathways Plan (IPP) regularly.
Monitoring Student Progress
Regular monitoring by the cooperative education teacher supports student learning during the community component of the course by fostering achievement and well-being. Effective monitoring requires ongoing communication between the student, the cooperative education teacher, the special education teacher (where required), and the placement supervisor. Regular contact ensures that students receive timely feedback on their progress and helps them focus on and monitor their own learning while maintaining
an ongoing connection to the school.
Monitoring students’ progress throughout the community component is intended to:
• allow the cooperative education teacher to verify that the placement continues to provide a safe, healthy, caring, inclusive, accepting, and supportive learning environment that is relevant and engaging;
• allow the cooperative education teacher to assess student progress – and to support students in assessing their own progress – relative to the curriculum expectations, learning goals, and success criteria identified in the Student’s Cooperative Education Learning Plan, and to provide students with timely, descriptive feedback about their learning;
• allow students, in collaboration with the cooperative education teacher and placement supervisor, to revise the Student’s Cooperative Education Learning Plan to reflect their developing needs and interests as well as any new learning opportunities that may arise at the placement;
• support students in using the experiential learning cycle to reflect on and deepen their learning;
• support students in documenting evidence of their learning (e.g., gained through reflection and feedback from the placement supervisor or through specific achievements, such as earning a certification) in their Individual Pathways Plan (IPP). (The twice-yearly review of the IPP required by Creating Pathways to Success may be incorporated as part of the monitoring process.)
THE PROGRAM IN COOPERATIVE EDUCATION
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