Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)

Overview

Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs) are learning activities connected to a student's chosen SHSM sector. Sector partners and teachers work together to create and deliver them.

SPE focus areas

All SPEs focus on 1 of these areas:

• innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship
• coding (computer programming)
• math literacy

Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship (ICE) are closely linked:

• Innovation — means coming up with and making new ideas happen. It includes both creativity and entrepreneurship.
• Creativity — is about thinking of new ideas to meet real-world needs, believing that there is more than one right answer to a problem.
• Entrepreneurship — is the activities that turn these new ideas into reality. They include building, scaling and sustaining the new ideas into an organization, whether extending an existing organization or creating a new one.

ICE, coding and math literacy are important for many jobs and careers of the future. SPEs help students develop the mindset needed for success in these areas. This mindset includes:

• proposing ideas and solutions
• taking smart risks in a safe environment
• learning from results and thinking critically

Benefits for students

An SPE lets SHSM students engage with a sector partner.  Students learn about their SHSM sector and how it connects with ICE, coding and/or math literacy skills.  Students who complete an SPE are likely to:

• understand more about current industry practices
• realize why building their skills and knowledge in the focus areas is important
• be better prepared for their future learning and career goals

Examples of SPEs

Here are possible SPE examples for some SHSM programs.

• Agriculture program students could visit a dairy farm to learn about and use coding techniques. They would observe how computer-controlled auto-milking devices and biometric tags work.
• Construction program students could visit a construction site to use math skills. They would calculate the rise, run, and length of roof rafters.
• Environment program students could partner with their local Conservation Authority and municipal water treatment facility. They would join an event focused on an ICE-related challenge like, "How can we reduce the negative impacts that stormwater has on our local lake?"

Requirements

All SHSM students must complete at least 1 sector-partnered experience (SPEs). Students cannot count time spent on an SPE towards their hours of community involvement activities required for graduation.

SHSM students must also complete various types of experiential learning during their program, including experiential learning and career exploration activities and cooperative education.

Delivery criteria

All sector-partnered experiences (SPEs) must be:

• co-designed and co-delivered by sector partners and teachers
• designed for a particular SHSM sector
• recorded in the student management system upon completion, including the focus area (ICE, coding or math literacy)

They must also:

• conclude with a self-assessment that supports students in reflecting on their learning
• follow all school and board protocols for field trips, where applicable, for example, protocols for:
  • permission forms
  • health and safety
  • expenses
  • student transportation

An SPE should:

• be approximately 6 hours in duration (may be delivered over multiple days)
• include, if possible, documentation (for example, a certificate or other proof of completion) for the student's portfolio and their SHSM record

Planning considerations

SPEs are designed to provide safe and authentic experiential activities where students can apply their learning. You have the flexibility to adjust your school’s choice of SPE programming to:

• make the best use of local capacity and opportunities within the community
• align with the interests and needs of students

You may deliver SPEs in a variety of ways, for example:

• to an entire class, if the students are timetabled as an SHSM cohort
• to an individual student or small groups of SHSM students within a larger class or cohort
• during 1 school day
• over several days (up to a total of 6 hours)

After the SPE, students complete a self-assessment to reflect upon the mindsets and skills they have gained.

The goal of an SPE is for students to:

• see the value in understanding how ICE, coding, or math literacy is important to their SHSM sector
• become willing to take smart risks and learn from them

Read our SPE planning checklist.