Experiential Learning
The Upper Canada District School Board is committed to experiential learning as a pathway to student achievement. Guided by our four-year Experiential Learning Plan, we offer a wide array of experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside school.
The plan's goal is to expand the amount of experiential learning taking place in the board to deepen student learning and increase engagement, ensuring that all students from K-12 have at least one experiential learning opportunity each school year.
Experiential learning opportunities in our board range from model wind turbine competitions to café projects providing lessons in hospitality, construction technology, art and music. All these activities are carefully planned to relate to curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and experiences of students.
These activities take students beyond “paper and pencil learning.” Experiential Learning provides students with tasks that allow them to demonstrate their learning, demonstrate explicit thinking, and encourage discussion and deeper learning.
These projects help students see the connections between course content and its application in the real world. Research suggests that students are more engaged, more motivated to learn, and more successful when they can connect what they are learning to situations they care about in their community and in the world.
Projects also have psycho-social benefits for our students, including increased self-esteem and engagement in the workplace or school, improved motivation, and improved social and leadership skills.