This is a preliminary draft of the learning outcomes for co-operative education degree programs.
Following are the outcomes along with a brief description to clarify the intent and meaning of the outcomes:
1) Effectively engages audiences in persuasive discourse.
- Discourse suggests an active exchange of ideas and arguments – not just one-way communication.
- Audiences is plural to reflect different groups and contexts, where there is the potential for differences in background and experience with the subject being discussed.
- Discourse is defined as verbal and written communication.
- Persuasive discourse reflects convincing others of the validity of arguments being presented. This is different from other forms of written or verbal communication (e.g., memos, notes, reports).
2) Communicates information effectively in a workplace environment.
- This outcome specifically references transferability of communications skills in a workplace context.
- This could be a foundational skill required for the first outcome but informing parties of information effectively does not imply the ability to persuade.
3) Acts professionally in a variety of workplaces.
- Involves appreciation and understanding of different organizational structures.
- Acknowledges the importance of acting and presenting oneself in a way that is consistent with expectations for a particular environment. This can and will differ across organizations.
- This skill is demonstrated at a variety of organizational levels – with an understanding of what is meant by courteous and respectful treatment of others in all situations. Demonstrating this skill involves active assessment and determination of appropriate behaviour for the situation.
- There may be additional specific expectations on what constitutes appropriate behaviour (e.g. in specific cultures, teams will eat lunch together, and it's considered rude to not participate).
- This outcome also links to intercultural competency, as what constitutes professionalism in a workplace is influenced by the culture.
4) Demonstrates appreciation for the value that diverse individuals and teams bring to the workplace.
- Appreciation of diversity, equity, inclusion from the standpoint of how different views and perspectives contribute to innovation and success in a workplace environment.
- Appreciation and understanding of different organizational structures, roles, and parts of the organization.
- Striving to understand how individuals and teams within a workplace contribute to overall success – for everyone.
- Recognizing that leading a team, and assisting a leader, may require different skill sets.
5) Adapts and contributes toward a variety of workplace teams.
- Effective teamwork requires active participation from its members.
- Determine how the team works, and its organizing principles, and strive to work effectively within the constraints of that team.
- Strive to be an active and positive contributor to the team, and the working environment.
- Help other team members as needed and be willing to ask for help when required.
- Recognize that organizations often require individuals to work within multiple, overlapping teams, each with their own expectations (i.e. you can be a member of a small team of 3-4 people within a department, a member of the larger department of 40-50 people, as well as a member of a 1000+ person organization).
6) Relates in-class learning to real-world experiences, so that they can adapt theoretical knowledge to novel domains and use real-world experiences to motivate studies.
- Apply techniques learned in class to workplace situations (for example, algorithm analysis or analyzing financial risks).
- Choose courses in future academic terms based on interests developed during a job or recognizing an area where additional background knowledge was required.
7) Applies creative and critical thinking to solve a wide range of problems.
- Not every scenario has a formulaic response. Being able to develop an "outside the box" approach may be required.
- Impartiality is an important skill when analyzing data and/or situations. Suggesting unbiased actions is essential.
8) Demonstrates the capacity to acknowledge, reflect, learn, and recover quickly from challenges or failures.
- The alternating co-op/study cycle does not leave a lot of room for downtime. Students need to be resilient to potential failures and flexible to multi-person schedules.