Page 36 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education
In addition to addressing health, safety, and well-being considerations, as discussed under “Ensuring Health, Safety, and Well-Being”(see pages 21–22), assessing the community connection involves ensuring that placement supervisors are willing and able to provide a safe environment that supports the student’s cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. This support includes ongoing collaboration with the teacher to monitor and assess student progress related to the goals outlined in the Student’s Cooperative Education Learning Plan, and to make any required accommodations and adjustments to address the learning needs of the student.
In the process of establishing community connections, and throughout the community component of the course, teachers share information about the student’s strengths and needs with the community partners, as necessary, to enable them to effectively support student learning. The sharing of information is governed by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and by professional codes of conduct (see also “Confidentiality” on page 38). Teachers should seek clarification in this area from their school boards and professional organizations.
Establishing the community connection includes students’ interviewing with prospective placement supervisors. In some instances, experiential learning opportunities may involve competitive interviews with students from several schools and boards.
To summarize, students are ready to start the cooperative education course after they have:
• decided on the appropriate cooperative education course;
• identified a focus for learning in the cooperative education experience;
• discussed with the cooperative education teacher possible community connections for their cooperative education placement.
Stage 2: Preparing for the Opportunity
The goal of this stage of the process, which takes place within the classroom component of the course, is to ensure that students are prepared to fully participate in the community component of the course. Students must demonstrate achievement of the strand A curriculum expectations related to preparing for the opportunity before commencing the community component. Some students may need additional instructional time in the classroom and opportunities to demonstrate their readiness.
Specifically, preparing for the opportunity involves ensuring that:
• students receive instruction related to, and demonstrate achievement of, the curriculum expectations in strand A of the cooperative education course (those related to preparing for the opportunity, with an emphasis on health, safety, and well-being);
• students have the necessary resources and supports to participate fully in the community experience (e.g., access to funds to support transportation if required, appropriate clothing);
• students understand the role of monitoring and integration and their relationship to their learning;
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