Integrating Experiential Learning into Curriculum

While many forms of EL can be included in the learning experience in a variety of ways that is beneficial to the student, for data to be collected and reported (i.e., to support the calculation of the Experiential Learning SMA3 metric), an EL activity is

  • a component of courses in programs;
  • tracked at the individual level (i.e., an institution must be able to determine if a graduate participated in EL);
  • available to all students enrolled in the program (e.g., students may elect not to participate in the EL activity and choose another optional activity required for completion of a course/program, but all students can access this EL activity);
  • structured and meaningful, i.e., verified or evaluated and count towards course credit or credential completion (MCU, 2020).

Therefore, while co-curricular or extra-curricular activities remain valuable learning experiences for our students, EL activities should be a formal part of the curriculum for a course and available to all students in the course in order to be recognized and captured in data.

This means that curriculum design principles outlined in Table 2 should be followed.

A given program may provide multiple types of EL experiences. A given EL activity may have aspects of multiple types of EL but will be coded as only one EL type – the type that best describes the experience.

EL as a Component of a Course


  • The EL activity is assessed through self-assessment and by the employer/industry partner and/or the college.
  • The EL activity is part of the course evaluation scheme (i.e. completion of the activity contributes to the student’s grade in the course).
  • Completion of the EL activity demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct at least one of the course learning outcomes.
  • The EL activity is listed as an assessment of learning in the approved course outline’s Evaluation Scheme (on COCO), ensuring that it is mapped to course learning outcomes and carries an evaluation weight.
AND/OR
EL as a Stand-Alone Course

  • The course (and therefore the EL activity) has articulated course learning outcomes.
  • The EL activity is assessed through self-assessment and by the employer/industry partner and/or the college.
  • The course has an evaluation scheme.
  • The course has an approved course outline on COCO.

 

AND
EL at the Program Level

  • At least one course including EL or at least one stand-alone EL course is a requirement for graduation from the program.
  • The course is part of the program model route and factors into the graduation audit.
Table 2: Curriculum design and institutional system requirements

Note that if a structured work experience was available only to a subset of students in the program, then that EL experience will not be reported even for students that participated.

 

 

 

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