Award Canada is excited to announce its Co-curricular Strategy

Integrating Experiential Learning to Bridge Skill Gaps and Enhance Education

At the heart of education lies the shared mission to empower learners for a brighter future. Award Canada is excited to be supporting efforts to rethink secondary education structures and re-imagine learning within existing frameworks.

In our consultations and engagement meetings with all levels of education stakeholders, it became clear that formal education providers are looking for strategies that keep students engaged. They also identified there are gaps between skills needed and skills taught, there is an appetite for combining education and experience, and there is a desire to recognize and validate non-formal learning.

Our discussions have reinforced the idea that a strategic repositioning of the Award, looking at how the non-formal education approach of the Award naturally extends classroom learning, could provide benefits to educators, learners, their schools, and wider communities.

Transforming Education Through Co-curricular Experiential Learning

Together with an Education Consultant and an Education Advisory Committee, Award Canada will be working with Education Ministries, Departments, District School Boards, and teachers across Canada to better define co-curricular experiential learning and develop a working model for purposefully connecting the Award’s framework to curricular learning within publicly funded secondary schools.

The project includes gathering and reviewing research on secondary school-based co-curricular experiential learning, evaluating existing resources, and identifying conditions necessary for effective co-curricular programming.  The aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of co-curricular learning that lays the groundwork for the development of a co-curricular pathway for Award Delivery and pilot preparation and implementation, commencing in June and October 2024, respectively.

Laura Briscoe, Education Consultant for Award Canada

As the Coordinator for Experiential Learning, Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) and former System Coordinator of Innovation and Technology, and Global Competencies Facilitator, for Thames Valley District School Board, Laura has experience working with hundreds of community clients, spearheading ministry pilot projects, and has published research in interdisciplinary and co-curricular learning strategies, community collaboration and student well-being.

Laura’s expertise and firsthand experience will not only support redefining the boundaries of education but will also help bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring our efforts remain grounded in the realities of classrooms and schools.

Through rigorous research, pilot projects, and ongoing evaluation, we seek to co-create a solution that offers enhanced learning and recognition opportunities for as many young people in Canada as possible.

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