Work-Based Learning:  A learning experience that connects knowledge and skills obtained in the classroom to those needed outside the classroom and conducted in an environment outside of the classroom.  Work-based Learning comprises a wide range of activities and instructional strategies designed to assist K –12 students in developing or fulfilling their individual educational and/or career plans.  The broad concept of Work-Based Learning also incorporates Worksite Learning, which occurs in a place of business.  <<< back

Structured Field Trip:  Specially planned field trips provide opportunities for groups of students to explore different workplaces. When students are well-prepared before-hand, they ask probing questions about workers’ backgrounds and interests, in addition to questions about the product or service provided and the knowledge and skills required to do the job. Classroom exercises conducted prior to and following the field trip help students connect their experience to their coursework, career pathways, related skills requirements, and future educational options.   <<< back

Job Shadow: A career awareness activity that provides students with a realistic view of a selected occupation by allowing students to  “shadow,” observe, and ask questions of individual workers. It can provide a student with both an awareness of the current job market and an unfamiliar occupational area. The experience may vary in time from one hour to a full day depending upon the occupation and the amount of time the employer can provide. Classroom exercises conducted prior to and following the job shadow help students connect their experience to their coursework, career pathways, related skills requirements, and future educational options.   <<< back

Informational Interview: An alternative to a Job Shadow, this provides an opportunity for the students to visit a place of business in an area of career interest. Students identify the occupation/career area to be researched, prepare pertinent questions in advance and make arrangements with a representative from an appropriate place of business. The students may use these interviews as a means of career exploration in a broad sense or as an in-depth study of a specific area.   <<< back

Service Learning: A method in which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that:   <<< back

• meet actual community needs

• are coordinated in collaboration with the school and the community

•  that are integrated into students’ academic curricula

• provide structured time for students to think or write about what they did and saw during the actual service activity

• provide students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities and

• enhance what is taught in schools by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community, thereby fostering the development of a sense of caring for others.

School-Based Enterprises:  A school-based enterprise involves goods and/or services being produced by students as part of their educational program. School-based enterprises typically replicates a business or industry environment and engages students in the management and operation of a business that may involve the sale of goods or services for use by others. Enterprises may be undertaken on or off the school site but are always directly a part of the school’s program.   <<< back

Worksite Learning:  A Worksite Learning experience that occurs at a qualified worksite outside the classroom in fulfillment of a student’s educational and/or career plan.  The learning experience is either paid or unpaid.  Appropriate worksite placement is coordinated by a Worksite (Work-Based) Learning Coordinator after screening of the student’s abilities and the worksite’s qualifications and adheres to a Worksite Learning Agreement and Worksite Learning Plan.  For Career and Technical Education funding, the program must meet with state Career and Technical Education program standards.   <<< back

Paid Worksite Learning:  A Worksite Learning experience in which an employer/employee relationship exists—the work performed by a student results in a net increase in productivity or profitability for the business or organization.  The worksite must comply with all workplace health and safety laws, minimum wage requirements, and regulations governing employment of minors.

Unpaid Worksite Learning:  A Worksite Learning experience in which no appreciable benefit is rendered to the employer by the presence of the minor student.  (WAC 296-124-043). Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, students may be placed in an unpaid capacity if ALL of the following criteria are met:

·         The student receives ongoing instruction at the employer's worksite and receives close on-site supervision throughout the learning experience; and

·         The placement of the student at worksite during the learning experience does not result in the displacement of any regular employee - i.e.; the presence of the student at the worksite cannot result in an employee being laid off, cannot result in an employee working fewer hours than he or she would otherwise work; and

·         The student is not entitled to a job at the completion of the learning experience; and

·         The employer, student, and parent or guardian understand that the student is not entitled to wages or other compensation for the time spent in the learning experience.

The worksite must comply with all workplace health and safety laws, and regulations governing employment of minors. Volunteer Workers’ Compensation insurance for the student may be purchased by the worksite, business, or organization or the student must be covered by student accident insurance.   <<< back

Apprenticeship: A formal educational process that combines on-the-job training, work experience and classroom instruction, and leads to mastery of a vocational skill. The actual apprenticeship is a paid work experience with clearly defined goals and standards. Students need a high level of maturity, independence and good judgment. All apprentices must be trained under the standards approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council and each individual must be registered with the Apprenticeship division of the department of Labor and Industries. A Pre-Apprenticeship provides classroom instruction and skills training that allow students the opportunity to enter an approved apprenticeship at an advanced level.   <<< back

Supported Employment: Supported employment refers to structured work experiences that require on-site supervision by trained classified personnel or employees of the business who receive training and support from school personnel in working with students with significant disabilities. Supported employment may take place in a variety of settings, including food service, industrial, or medical, where students with significant disabilities have the opportunity to learn skills in the setting in which the skills are typically used.   <<< back

Cooperative Work Experience (Co-op): Provides a planned alternating or parallel of classroom study and supervised employment that includes a written learning agreement between the educational institution, student and employer. This experience is related to the student’s classroom study, educational, or career goals. The student is required to have completed a Career and Technical Education sequence prior to the co-op experience or is concurrently enrolled in a Career and Technical Education class at school and works in a related occupation. This comprehensive instructional approach is paid and the student is eligible to earn high school credit for it as well. These experiences can serve as a means of integrating the student’s total academic experience with a realistic application in the employment arena at the end of their educational program. Because of child labor laws, students must be 16 years of age to be involved in cooperative work experience.   <<< back

Internship: A time-limited alternative learning experience at a work site outside the traditional classroom. Students are placed in a supervised community and work-based learning experience which links the student with an employer for a planned set of learning activities. An internship is a learning experience in which a student performs tasks or acts in order to gain desired skills, competencies, qualification, or certification as part of a class. It is designed to give the student a broad overview of a business or occupational field, while also providing an opportunity to experience work responsibilities and develop work-readiness skills.   <<< back

Clinical Experience:  Either a paid or unpaid Worksite Learning Experience that is an integral component of a state-approved Career and Technical Education health care training program or state-certified nursing training program in which the student obtains job-related experience to develop program competencies, qualification, and/or certification.  This learning experience usually occurs during the regular school day.   <<< back