Backpack to Briefcase: Career Experiential Education in the ClassroomCANDY HO, INSTRUCTOR, CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION

KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

Situating the Context

INST

ITUTIO

N PolytechnicApplied learningExperiential learning

DEP

ART

MEN

T Co-operative EducationCareer ServicesVolunteer Services

CO

URSE COOP 1101

Eight-weekOne-creditMandatory A

CTIV

ITY Introduce key course topicsExperiential

1) (Individually) Review the job description and applications, noting down what you like/dislike about each. Rank the applications.

2) (At your table) Discuss/debate your rankings and come to a consensus the top student to interview. Be prepared to share your justifications.

3) (At your table) Reflect and note: What are the learning objectives of this activity?

Photo by waferboard: https://flic.kr/p/dTELwK

Class Debrief

u Briefly describe your individual review process. Was it similar or different from your committee’s review process? How so?

u Justify your committee’s final decision. Why did you select X for an interview, and not the others?

u From this activity, what did you learn about the employer mindset? Brainstorm tips and strategies you now have when applying for co-op positions.

Session Debrief

u What are the learning outcomes for this activity?u Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning

u How might you integrate career development components in your role and capacity?

u What challenges lie ahead and what resources do you require to overcome them?

Happy to chat anytime (I love this stuff!)

Candy HoInstructor, Co-operative EducationKwantlen Polytechnic University

E Candy.Ho@kpu.caT @CanceHoL Candy Ho

Exhibit 3.3 Questions for Formulating Significant Learning Goals From pages 83-4 of “Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.”

“What impact do I want this course experience to have on students that will still be there a year or more after the course is over?” Foundational Knowledge

• What key information (facts, terms, formula, concepts, relationships…) is important for students to understand and remember in the future?

• What key ideas or perspectives are important for students to understand in this course? (KPU Co-op Example: Identify the basic components of resumes and cover letters)

Application

• What kinds of thinking are important for students to learn here: o Critical thinking, in which students analyze and evaluate? o Creative thinking, in which students imagine and create? o Practical thinking, in which students solve problems and make decisions?

• What important skills do students need to learn? • What complex projects do students need to learn how to manage?

(KPU Co-op Example: Compare applications with qualifications outlined in the job description, and decide on a candidate to interview)

Integration

• What connections (similarities and interactions) should students recognize and make… Among ideas within this course? Among the information, ideas, and perspectives in this course and those in other courses or areas? Between material in this course and the students’ own personal, social, and work lives? (KPU Co-op Example: Identify strengths and weaknesses in their own applications)

Human Dimension

• What can or should students learn about themselves? • What can or should students learn about interacting with people they may actually encounter in

the future? (KPU Co-op Example: Understand the general process and dynamics in hiring committees and the possible complexity of the selection process)

Caring

• What changes would you like to see in what students care about, that is, any changes in their…interests? Values? Feelings? (KPU Co-op Example: Develop an awareness of how their applications can be perceived by hiring committees)

Learning to Learn

• What would you like for students to learn about… How to be a good student in a course like this? How to engage in inquiry and construct knowledge with this subject matter? How to become a self-directing learner relative to this subject? That is, have a learning agenda of what else they need and what to learn and a plan for learning it? (KPU Co-op Example: Continue to gather and implement strategies on how to create professional applications resulting in interview opportunities)