Guiding Principles for Experiential Learning

To help achieve the goal of offering every student an experiential learning opportunity, in 2017 the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (now the Ministry of Colleges and Universities) released Guiding Principles for Experiential Learning to establish a collective understanding of what experiential learning is within a framework of four principles and requirements for application of the principles.

Table 1: Guiding Principles and Checklist for Experiential Learning
Principles Requirements
Postsecondary Supported, Workplace Linked
  • The student is in a workplace or simulated workplace.
  • The student is exposed to authentic demands that improve their employability, interpersonal skills, and transition to the workforce.
Meaningful, Structured, and Verified
  • The experience is structured with purposeful and meaningful activities.
  • The student applies university or college program knowledge and/or essential employability skills.
  • The experience includes self-assessment and evaluation of the student’s performance and learning outcomes by the employer and/or university/college.
Recognition
  • The experience counts towards credit or credential completion OR is formally recognized by the college or university as meeting the five criteria above.
Compliance with Employment Laws
  • Note: All opportunities must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including health and safety.

These guiding principles provide Centennial with a definition of Experiential Learning (EL) as a formal approach to improving graduate outcomes that can be linked to specific types of instructional settings. This differs from experiential learning as a broad pedagogical approach that includes many strategies that provide students with hands-on learning and skills practice. See Appendix A for more on EL vs hands-on learning.

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