60 High School Students Gain Insights on College Life in Team Taught Visit
Posted on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016
On Tuesday March 22nd, the Academic Partnerships team welcomed 60 high school students participating in the Team Taught Dual Credit program at Arnprior District High School, Osgoode Township High School and West Carleton Secondary School to Algonquin College.
Grades 11 and 12 students who are in the Team Taught program take a course that is taught by both a college instructor and a high school teacher as part of their regular course load at their schools.
Participating students from Arnprior District High School and Osgoode Township High School are enrolled in a college communications course twice a week, in place of their usual English course. Those from West Carleton Secondary School are currently studying Drafting for the Trades.
Unlike the Integrated Dual Credit students, who attend regular college classes in Algonquin classrooms, Team Taught students are taught at their home school, and as a result do not receive the same campus life experience while earning their college credit.
“About half of the students probably hadn’t stepped foot on a college campus before,” said Dylan Dagg, English teacher at Arnprior.
“It’s one thing for me to say, ‘when you get to college it’s going to look like this.’ It’s instructive for them to see how it works for themselves.”
Jeremy McQuigge, manager of Academic Partnerships, started off the day with a presentation emphasizing the importance of becoming “socially connected” and “academically confident” in college.
“Studies show, and we know this to be definitively true, that to get through college you need a friend,” said McQuigge. “You need someone in your corner in the good times and the not-so-good times.”
The presentation shed light on the academic, social and financial aspects of a postsecondary career. Many students were surprised to learn that $12 million in Ontario college scholarships and bursaries went unclaimed last year alone.
Organizers Rebecca Wakelin, Dual Credit Coordinator, and Jennifer Hunniset, Student Engagement Coordinator, divided the participants into groups with the goal of introducing them to potential future college peers from other high schools. Groups then competed against each other, earning points by gathering information on the backgrounds of each group member.
Participants also discussed, and brainstormed solutions to, common concerns that face students thinking about going to college – how to pay for tuition, how to meet new people and get involved, how to navigate their way around campus and what to do if a student is absent from class.
The final group activity involved sending the groups of participants across campus to explore the various services available to Algonquin students. The groups were expected to complete various tasks such as getting a student card and asking a stranger a question without the assistance of an instructor.
“At the end of this visit we want you to be able to say, ‘hey, it was pretty cool being a college student, and I’d like to do more of this,” said McQuigge.
Algonquin College is home to the largest Team Taught program in Ontario, serving 500 students at local high schools. Academic Partnerships will host another 100 team-taught high school students for a campus visit on Wednesday, March 30.
About Academic Partnerships:
Pathway Building since 2006. Academic Partnerships works with a comprehensive network of Pathway Builders (community, educational and government stakeholders) to create and deliver on a variety of experiential opportunities to be a college student through hands-on, curriculum-driven experiences for Pathway Explorers (students in grade 7 – 12). With a commitment to the dream development and pathway finding for students prior to starting full-time studies the team has programming at Algonquin College’s three Ontario Campuses: Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth. For more information visit: algonquincollege.com/ap
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