Co-op Education
Cooperative Education (Co-op) programs allow students to earn secondary school credits while completing the related learning activities in a work placement in the community. Coop programs complement students’ academic choices and are valuable for all students, in the apprenticeship, college, university and workplace pathways.
A Cooperative Education program comprises, at a minimum, one Cooperative Education course and its related course, on which the cooperative education course is based. Any course from an Ontario curriculum policy document or any ministry-approved locally developed course may serve as the related course for a cooperative education program.
The Cooperative Education course consists of a classroom component and a placement component. The classroom component includes pre-placement sessions and classroom integration sessions. The pre-placement sessions prepare students for the workplace and include instruction in areas of key importance, such as health and safety. The classroom integration sessions provide opportunities for students to reflect on and reinforce their learning in the workplace as the program progresses.
A personalized placement learning plan (PPLP) must be developed for all students in a cooperative education program. A student’s progress in achieving the curriculum expectations and in meeting the requirements identified in the PPLP must be assessed and evaluated by a teacher through regular workplace monitoring meetings with the student and the student’s workplace supervisor.
Work Experience
Work experience is similar to Co-op however it is only a component of another course that provides students with a learning opportunity in the workplace for a limited period of time – from one to four weeks. Some requirements of the work experience mirror those for cooperative education programs.
Work Education Agreement forms must be completed for a work experience or job shadowing experience that lasts for more than one day and if the student is fourteen years of age or older.
Should the student be under fourteen years of age or the work experience lasts one day or less, these experiences should be treated as field trips.
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