Candy Ho Festival of Learning: Celebrating Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Burnaby, B.C. - June 6-9, 2016

1. Backpack to Briefcase:
Career Experiential
Education in the Classroom
CANDY HO, INSTRUCTOR, CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION
KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

2. Situating the Context
INSTITUTION
Polytechnic
Applied
learning
Experiential
learning
DEPARTMENT
Co-
operative
Education
Career
Services
Volunteer
Services COURSE
COOP 1101
Eight-week
One-credit
Mandatory
ACTIVITY
Introduce
key course
topics
Experiential

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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?

6. Happy to chat anytime (I love this stuff!)
Candy Ho
Instructor, Co-operative Education
Kwantlen PolytechnicUniversity
E Candy.Ho@kpu.ca
T @CanceHo
L Candy Ho

7. 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)