What is IEL (Integrated Experiential Learning)?
IEL is a Critical Shift in Thinking
The FNTI Degree Program development team have worked to address some of the challenges central to many field placement and practicum programs through the design and implementation of the Integrated Experiential Learning (IEL) program.
Integrated Experiential Learning is learner centred and designed, and supports good relations by connecting learners with community as a critical strand of the teaching and learning team.
The FNTI Integrated Experiential Learning approach deconstructs the conventional placement model and incorporates experiential learning into all BISW courses, providing learners the opportunity, through the processes of IEL planning, to engage with multiple practical experiences of their choosing.
In conventional practicum programs, Indigenous learners must navigate many barriers, among them shortage of appropriate sites, shortage of qualified supervisors, alignment with program goals, adequately braiding theory and practice, financial constraint, geographical constraints and cultural safety challenges.
The IEL Model offers learners varied and creative learning experiences for shorter periods of time; strengthening and exposing learners to a broader scope of learning and supporting the development of an extensive range of skills, lived experience, and knowledge.
Key pillars of the IEL program are Relationality, Connection, Reciprocity and Reflection.
Core Principles of IEL
Self Determination and Wellbeing – IEL supports learners to plan experiences that align with their own learning intentions and personal priorities, such as: work, family, finances, and professional goals. This methodology supports learners to prioritize important aspects of health, balance and wellness by encouraging IEL experiences at the time and location of their own design. The IEL has been developed to encourage experiences of different types woven throughout the program and is not designed as one block of time or semester, and not necessarily with one Agency partner. However, by prioritising self-determination and recognition of gifts, learners are empowered to cultivate experiences that support individual learning intentions. IEL is varied and highly individualized. Learners can work with Elders, traditional Knowledge Keepers and language carriers, as well as conventional Social Work practicum sites such as child welfare agencies, community health and wellbeing programs, or private practitioners.
Learning from and within Community: The IEL process is relational, reflective, and reciprocal, and learners will have the opportunity to make connections within community (however they define it…urban, remote, rural). IEL prioritizes traditional knowledge exchange and reciprocity in the learning environment. Engaging in teaching and learning from, and within communities supports the principles of good relations and helps to integrate traditional ways of knowing, doing, being and relating into the learning journey.
IEL empowers learners to draw upon local community resources in terms of place-based knowledge, facilitators, guest speakers, and local research; and supports them to connect with tangible field sites for academic learning, practical learning, and learning From and With the Land.
Questions & Answers
What Do I need to know about IEL?
Learners in the BISW Advanced Standing 2-year program are expected to complete 350 practical hours through IEL activities throughout the program. The hours are not completed in a single, block placement but through integrated experiences that you will design.
You will have the opportunity to foster experiences that connect to courses within the program, and develop your practical skills through a wide variety of learning opportunities that will reflect your own knowledge, gifts and learning intentions.
The FNTI IEL team will support you as you select and cultivate your own areas of concentration, for example: child welfare, mental health, traditional knowledge, ceremonial knowledge, land engagement learning, as well community development and Indigenous Research.
How Can I Prepare for IEL?
Positioning Yourself - Begin to think about your experiences up to this point, and the skills and gifts you will bring into the program. You will be looking at the many ways that you can utilize those gifts during your IEL journey. It is also important to think about new learning, and explore areas of interest within the field of Social Work and within your community.
Police Record Checks – it is recommended that you complete your Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) as soon as possible in preparation for your IEL journey. Although a VSC may not be required for every IEL, within the Social Work field, it is often requested and should be expected. These records can take some time to receive after application, so advance effort will be advantageous. Please visit OPP.ca for more instructions. Learners are responsible for the cost associated with collecting these documents.
Workplace Support – During the program, you may complete IEL during times that support your own balance and wellbeing. While you will not need a specific block of time away from employment for IEL as with conventional placement, it is important to have support in the form of clear, mutual understanding from your workplace, so that you can attend the IEL experiences that support, enrich, challenge and educate you.
Support System – Learners are encouraged to engage in Integrated Experiential Learning in ways that maintain personal balance and wellbeing. The program is designed to support flexibility and allow learners to complete IEL experiences at times that best support individual circumstances and responsibilities.
Although a dedicated block of time away for employment is not required, it is essential that leanrers establish clear and mutual understanding with the workplace when it comes to IEL participation and expectations. This understanding will help to ensure that learners can fully engage in experiences that enrich and challenge their understanding and personal and professional bundles.
As part of the planning process, learners are encouraged to consider and explore the network of support available to them, as IEL provides opportunities to learn in relationship with community, the land, and through many diverse knowledge sources.
This can include family, mentors, community and personal support circle.
Develop Your Learning Intentions – Some helpful questions to consider: What are some areas that I want to explore as a future Social Worker? How can I use my gifts to support my community? What resources are available that I want to learn more about or experience in my area, and what resources are NOT available that would benefit the community or collective?
How Can I Find Out More About IEL?
You can contact the IEL Office at ieloffice@fnti.net with questions or for more information about your IEL journey.