William Aberhart High School

Complex Needs Educational Experience

William Aberhart Highschool

William Aberhart High School

William Aberhart High School's Complex Needs Educational Experience program is for students in Grades 10-12 with diverse learning and adaptive behaviour needs. The program is designed to provide personalized support and foster an inclusive learning environment for students enrolled in the ACCESS class, ALP (Adapted Learning Program), and the Paced Learning Program (PLP). 


In the ACCESS class, we support students with moderate to severe learning and adaptive behaviour needs. For students in the ALP, we offer specialized support for moderate learning and adaptive behaviour needs. In the PLP, we cater to students with mild to moderate learning and adaptive behaviour needs.

Calgary Board of Education is one school system educating more than 130,000 students in over 250 schools. More than 15,000 employees work together to provide learning as unique as every student.

 

Who?

All Bachelor of Education students

What?

Support students with diverse learning and adaptive behaviour needs in Grades 10-12

When?

Flexible days during school hours.

1.5 hours to 5 hours a week.

Where?

William Aberhart High School

Complex Needs Educational Experience Logistics


What's Involved

Based on their comfort level and experience, Pre-Service teachers will

  • work closely with our dedicated team
  • assist in delivering a personalized and functional curriculum to meet the unique needs of students in the ACCESS class, ALP (Adapted Learning Program), and the Paced Learning Program (PLP).
  • actively engage with students, providing individualized support in areas such as functional academics, social communication, independence, daily living, safety, citizenship, leisure, vocational, and volunteering skills.

The participants' role will extend beyond academic support as they contribute to creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Through peer mentorship initiatives, they will help foster meaningful inclusion in the school community, tailoring activities to suit the interests and abilities of the students. By implementing learner supports and accommodations, such as assistive technology, augmentative communication systems, work systems, and sensory activities, participants will enhance the overall learning experience for students.

Requirements

  • Pre-service teachers need a current Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening (issued after May 1 of the current academic year). Students who do not already have a police check should begin this process online with their local Police station as soon as possible as police checks often take 4-6 weeks to process. Please see the Field Experience Police Information Requirement webpage for more information on how to request a PIC-VS.
  • Patience, empathy, and understanding for working with students that have diverse needs.


Program Learning Outcomes

  • Apply a variety of teaching strategies to meet the needs of individual learners in different educational settings.
  • Design and implement a variety of activities that meet students’ interests and learning needs.
  • Examine a variety of approaches to teaching and learning in non-traditional educational settings.

  • Examine how educators apply teaching concepts in their daily work.

  • Examine how programming fosters inclusion and personal growth.

  • Examine how programs and educators create communities that are conducive to teaching and learning.

  • Gain experience working with youth in a classroom setting

  • Gain experience working with youth in a small group setting

  • Gain experience working with youth in an individual setting

Complex Needs Educational Experience Dates

  • Placements begin: early January 2024
  • Placements end: mid-March 2024
  • Training Session: Once the placement is confirmed, there will be a 1.5-2-hour orientation prior to working with students
  • The program operates during normal school hours between 8:45 am and 3 pm Monday-Thursday, with Fridays ending at 1 pm

The overall time commitment is flexible at 15 hours-60 hours in total, depending on the Pre-Service teachers' interest and availability. However, the program requires consistency once volunteers' schedules are set.

Co-Curricular Service-Learning Dates


Fall Semester Timeline

  • Fall 2024 Applications Open: August 28, 2024
  • Werklund Information Sessions:
    • September 9, 10:00 am (in-person: EDT 450)
    • September 9, 2:30 pm (Zoom: Register here)
  • Fall 2024 Applications Close: September 15, 2024 (program dependent)
  • Fall 2024 Placements Start: early October (program dependent)
  • Fall 2024 Placements End: mid-December (program dependent)

Winter Semester Timeline

  • Winter 2025 Applications Open: November 15, 2024
  • Winter 2025 Information Session: November 26, 5:00 pm 
    (Zoom: Register here)
  • Winter 2025 Applications Close: December 1, 2024 (program dependent)
  • Winter 2025 Placements Start: early January (program dependent)
  • Winter 2025 Placements End: mid-March (program dependent)

Experiential Learning Check-In & Reflection Opportunities

All participants in Experiential Learning programs are welcome and encouraged to attend at least two of the check-in & reflection sessions below as part of their program. Reflection is an incredibly important part of experiential learning. It encourages students to consider their experience so far and to adjusted as needed as they go forward through the rest of their program, or into the next step of their career.


Fall Check-In & Reflection Sessions

  • Tuesday, October 15, 2024: 9:30 am (Zoom)
  • Monday, October 21, 2024: 2:30 pm (in-person)
  • Tuesday, October 29, 2024: 5:00 pm (Zoom)
  • Monday, November 4, 2024: 9:30 am (Zoom)
  • Tuesday, November 19, 2024: 12:00 pm (Zoom)
  • Friday, November 29, 2024: 9:30 am (in-person)
  • Tuesday, December 10, 2024: 5:00 pm (Zoom)
  • Thursday, December 12, 2024: 9:30 am (in-person)

Winter Check-In & Reflection Sessions

  • Monday, January 20, 2025: 9:30 am (in-person)
  • Monday, January 20, 2025: 2:30 pm (Zoom)
  • Thursday, January 30, 2025: 9:00 am (in-person)
  • Monday, February 3, 2025: 9:30 am (in-person)
  • Tuesday, February 4, 2025: 12:00 pm (Zoom)
  • Thursday, February 20, 2025: 1:30 pm (Zoom)
  • Tuesday, March 4, 2025: 5:00 pm (Zoom)

Service-Learning group

Winter 2024 applications are now closed.

Interested in applying for a future semester?

  1. Log on to Elevate and go to My Werklund Experiences > Courses/Programs
  2. Find the Service-Learning program and click Apply
  3. Complete the Service-Learning Application

Download an application guide here.

Apply on Elevate!