Delivered under Ministry of Education and Training guidelines, Cooperative Education is an experiential learning program that enables students to integrate classroom academic study with experiences in the workplace.

A cooperative education course must be based on a related course (or courses) from an Ontario curriculum policy document or on a minstry-approved locally developed course which the student is enrolled or which he or she has successfully completed. The cooperative education course and the related course (or courses) together constitute a student's cooperative education program, designed to suit the student's strengths, interests, and needs to enhance the student's preparation for the future.

Cooperative Education involves a partnership between education and business consisting of students, parents, teachers and employers. Students may spend half a day to a full day in their work placements and have the opportunity to learn by "doing" with on the job training. Pre-placement and integration classes also provide the student with instruction on topics such as Workplace Health and Safety, Employment Laws, Workplace Ethics, Human Rights, and First Aid Training.

Through Co-operative Education, the student is able to:

• Develop employability skills and on the job training
• Develop good work ethics
• Gain vaulable work experience that can help when applying to post-secondary institutions or if entering the world of work
• Establish relationships with employers and supervisors in the community
• Feel a sense of pride and ownership over their learning
• Feel like they are contributing the wider community
• Explore a potential career and help to inspire further post-secondary options

SOURCE: Coperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Leanring, Ministry of Education, 2000

All cooperative education programs have specific requirements, which include the following:

Pre-course Interview and Counselling

The purpose of this initial interview with the student applicant is to ensure that:

• The student is ready to undertake learning in the workplace (where a student's readiness or commitment is not sufficiently evident, his or her acceptance into the cooperative education program may be postponed until the requirements are met);
• The placement is appropriate to the student's goals and interests.

Pre-placement Instruction

A minimum of fifteen hours of instruction must be provided on:

• Health and safety in the workplace;
• Employment law and unions;
• Workplace ethics, human rights, and confidentiality.

Personalized Placement Learning Plan (PPLP)

A PPLP must be developed for the student. It must be:

• Based on expectations from the Ontario curriculum and industry-specific employers;
• Developed by the cooperative education teacher in partnership with the employer and student (where the cooperative education teacher is not qualified in the related subject or the student has an Individual Education Plan, the cooperative education teacher will consult with the appropriate subject or special education teacher).

Assessment and Evaluation

A qualified teacher will assess and evaluate a student’s progress in achieving the expectations identified in the student’s PPLP through regular workplace monitoring visits (a minimum of three per credit).

During these visits, the teacher will:

• Observe student performance of workplace tasks;
• Conduct formal evaluations with the student’s supervisor;
• Troubleshoot problem situations;
• Plan next steps in the student’s learning.

Student achievement is also assessed through:

• Written assignments, seminar presentations, and reflective journals;
• Career portfolios;
• A culminating independent-study activity that links the student’s cooperative education placement experience with the curriculum expectations of the related course;
• Performance appraisals written by the placement supervisor (a minimum of two).

Regular In-school Integration Sessions

In-school sessions of a minimum of seven hours per credit provide students with opportunities to:

• Analyse and share their workplace experience;
• Relate the placement experience to the curriculum expectations;
• Reinforce the job-skills theory acquired in the classroom and the skills, techniques, and principles learned at the placement

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