Real World Learning (RWL) involves intentionally designing the curriculum so it is relevant and contextualised, making learning meaningful and inspiring. Although this can come in many forms this session highlights Teacher Externships which are one of our key programmes within Real World Learning.
A teacher externship involves teachers visiting a local employer, observing how their subject is used in business and discussing different career pathways relevant to their subject.
Teachers then return to school and plan a project linked to the curriculum, or develop curriculum-based resources, using the business they have visited as the context and setting. Their students complete the work or project within school, to enhance their understanding of the relevance of the curriculum, develop their employability skills, prepare them for the workplace and make informed career choices.
A Teacher Externship provides an opportunity to:
- Build deep and sustained relationships with employers
- Develop teachers’ knowledge and confidence to link their subject to careers
- Achieve Gatsby Benchmark 4, which states: “All teachers should link curriculum learning to careers.”
Teacher Externships are for Careers Leaders, Business Engagement Leads, Teachers, SLT or any colleague who is looking to develop a tangible, intentional activity, with their existing employers, which supports contextualised learning.
Join a session to find out details of the Teacher Externship programme, how it can support the development of employer engagement linked to the curriculum, contextualising learning and how your school, college, MAT, Local Authority can access training to develop and deliver your own teacher externship programme in your organisation.
The Teacher Externship programme has been successfully piloted in the North East of England. Please see some teacher feedback below.
Teacher quotes from the externship programme
"Students were more engaged in their learning and developed a deeper understanding of the curriculum and the relevance to the workplace.’’
‘’A good way of embedding careers provision into the curriculum and in a way that is sustainable, easy and has a lot of positive outcomes for staff and students’’
These sessions will be led by Cassie Cramer, who leads our work on Real World Learning.