Experiential Learning Program Partners
Our amazing program partners provide growth and development opportunities to our pre-service teachers. In turn, our programs and students help support your program initiatives and goals.
Experiential Learning programs within the Werklund School of Education are optional, co-curricular opportunities for our students to gain more experience in the field of Education. The Experiential Learning team coordinates and facilitates these opportunities to support our students' growth and skill development as educators, and to help meet the needs of our program partners. Our goal is to create mutually beneficial partnerships that support the greater community.
Our Program Partnership Opportunities
Service-Learning matches student volunteers with community organizations in the Calgary community. The program places equal emphasis on student learning and serving community needs while reflecting on their own professional growth.
We match volunteers with your organization based on their placement preferences and your needs. We introduce them to you at the start of the program, and you provide training and day-to-day supervision of your volunteers. We will continue to check in with you both throughout the semester to see how things are going.
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Fall (October to mid-December) Timelines
- July - August: Program participation and details confirmed
- September: Volunteer application period & matching
- October: Volunteers are introduced to program partners and begin their placements
- mid-December: Placements wrap up although volunteers are free to continue to next semester if you both want that
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Winter (January to mid-March) Timelines
- October: Program participation and details confirmed
- November: Volunteer application period & matching
- December: Volunteers are introduced to program partners
- January: Volunteers begin their placements
- mid-March: Placements wrap-up but volunteers can continue volunteering outside of the Werklund program if they are available
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Program Information
You can also learn more in our Program Partner Handbook.
Click below to see our current Service-Learning placements.
The Volunteering with Diverse Communities Program (VDC) is an optional offering within the EDUC 450: Diversity in Learning course in the winter semester of our BEd program. Tied in with the regular course work, students undertake a weekly service-learning community placement at an agency partner. Led and collaboratively designed by our community partners, this program offers Education students the chance to gain first-hand experience working with children and youth from a variety of diverse backgrounds.
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Program Timeline
- July & August: Program participation and details confirmed
- September: Volunteer application period & matching
- November: Program partner orientation & introduction to volunteers
- December: Potential partner training and orientation opportunity
- January: Volunteers begin their placements
- mid-March: Placements wrap-up but volunteers can continue volunteering outside of the Werklund program if they are available
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Program Information
Download a copy of our program partner sheet for more information.
Click below to see our current Volunteer with Diverse Communities placements.
Building Community in Calgary Classrooms is a collaborative opportunity with schools across the city of Calgary. This three-week service-learning placement gives students entering their final year of the program the chance to work alongside teachers as they begin a new school year. Participants support the school start-up process and work with teachers to develop classroom community and foster relationships with students from the end of August through September.
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Program Timeline
- March: Students begin their application
- May: The Experiential Learning Facilitator reaches out to host schools
- June: Students are tentatively placed with host schools
- Mid-August: Werklund orientation for students
- Late-August: Students participate in professional development and preparation days
- September: Students participate when available, in between their class schedule
- October: Program wraps up and Experiential Learning facilitator reaches out for feedback
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Program Information
Download our program information sheet for more information.
Professional Learning Opportunities match pre-service teachers with experienced educators in the community. These opportunities build on students' coursework and field experiences to prepare them for entry into the teaching profession. These programs are often on-going programming, such as supporting curriculum development, building projects alongside students, or workshop series.
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Program Recommendations
Because of the unique nature of each opportunity, there is no set structure Professional Learning opportunities. Best practices include:
- Programming taking place between September and April
- Flexibility in timing and the option for evenings or weekend is ideal
- More students may access the programs if they can take place online
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Program Examples
Click here to see some examples of current and on-going Professional Learning opportunities.
The Program Partnership Journey
Connect
Meet with the Experiential Learning Facilitator to discuss your ideas and how we can work together.
Approvals
After your initial meeting, you will be asked to complete a few different documents that will help in the approvals process on our side.
Agreements
Once the program is approved and we are able to go ahead, the Experiential Learning Team will determine if a new institutional agreement is needed.
Build
Once an agreement is in place, we will work together to finalized the details of the program and build a program information webpage on our Student Opportunities page.
Application
Once everything is place and the application period opens, the Experiential Learning team will connect students to your program!
Matching
The Experiential Learning team will match interested student participants/volunteers with your program
Training
Once we have introduced you to your Werklund students, you take over as volunteer manager to do training, orientation, and day-to-day program components.
Feedback
As the program wraps up for the semester, the Experiential Learning team will reach out to collect feedback and plan for next time!
Who are our students?
In the Werklund Experiential Learning program, we currently work with Bachelor of Education (BEd) students. Werklund BEd students have a number of different ways they can complete their degrees.
We have two different access methods for students:
- on-campus/in person format for students living in and around Calgary
- an online/hybrid format for students living in rural and remote areas
We also have three different coursework structures students can follow to complete their BEd:
- After Degree students complete a degree before they apply for their BEd. They complete all of their Education courses in two years.
- Concurrent students complete two degrees at the same time. They complete their other degree in their first three years and then they do all of their Education courses in their final two years
- 4-Year students do one year of non-Education courses, their second year is one Education semester and one non-Education semester, their third year is a non-Education semester and an Education semester, and then their final year is two Education semesters.
Because our students can be completing their BEd in many different ways, the more flexibility you can have with the types and locations of student participants you are looking for, the easier it will be to find you a great student match!
Werklund timelines
The BEd program at the Werklund School of Education has a unique student timeline. Students who are taking Education courses during the semester will have a period of time where they are in classes doing their Student Teaching Field Practicums and will likely be unavailable to participate. Because of this, we work with our program partners so they are aware of the specific dates and timelines for each semester. In general, you can expect:
- mid-October: a 2-week Field practicum for some students
- November to mid-December: a 6-week Field practicum for final year students
- mid-February to end of April: an 8-week Field practicum for final year students
- mid-March to end of April: a 4-week Field practicum for some students
What will we need to know?
These are questions we will likely ask you at the initial meeting to better understand how our program can work with your partnership vision.
- Tell us about your program
- How do you envision Werklund students involvement?
- What are your goals for including Werklund students in your program?
- How much classroom experience do volunteers/participants require?
- Are there any background checks or additional documentation, such as Police Information Checks, required for students to provide?
- Do you have any specific important dates or timelines for your program?