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3.4.2 The Individual Pathways Plan (IPP), Grades 7 to 12
Starting in Grade 7 and building on their K–6 portfolio, students will document their learning in education and career/life planning in a web-based Individual Pathways Plan (IPP).7 The IPP becomes the primary planning tool for students as they move through the grades towards their initial postsecondary destination. Ongoing development of the IPP also provides students with a valuable archive of their learning and a record of the resources that can assist them in planning.
Although students are responsible for establishing and maintaining their Individual Pathways Plans, the school board must ensure that all schools with students in Grades 7 to 12 have a web-based IPP and a clearly delineated process in place to support students in establishing their plan and reviewing and revising it at least twice a year.
The IPP provides the structure for students to document evidence of their ongoing inquiry and development in the four areas of learning. For each area of learning, students report and reflect on what they did during various learning activities, the knowledge and skills they used, what they learned, and how they have applied or plan to apply what they learned. By developing their Individual Pathways Plan, students take responsibility for their learning and for planning their future. Developing their IPP increases students’ awareness of their strengths and interests and of the related opportunities for learning and work. It also enables them, in collaboration with their teachers and parents, to make decisions, set goals, and develop and implement the steps needed to successfully complete elementary
and secondary school and proceed to their initial postsecondary destination.
Students must be given the opportunity to review evidence of their learning in education and career/life planning, based on their IPP, at least twice a year in collaboration with a teacher and/or guidance teacher/counsellor and, where possible, their parents (see also sections 6.1 and 6.2). The twice-yearly review can be conducted in a variety of ways, including an individual interview or presentation or a student-led teacher/parent conference or, if the student wishes, a small-group presentation or seminar that may also involve peers. Through this collaborative process, parents and teachers gain insight into the options students are consider- ing, the challenges they face, the learning opportunities they have identified, and the plans they have started to develop. The review process also gives parents and teachers an opportunity to actively support the student and to contribute ideas about learning opportunities that are available (or could be made available) to the student.
7. Many boards currently use the ministry-licensed software Career Cruising, which provides a template for pathways planning that accommodates the requirements outlined in this document. The software also provides transition-planning templates. Boards are also free to purchase other commercially available software that provides similar templates.
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CREATING PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS