The policy aims to maintain
high standards, improve student learning, and benefit students, parents, and
teachers in The Educators Academy. Successful implementation of this policy
depends on the professional judgement of educators at all levels, as well as on
their ability to work together and to build trust and confidence among parents
and students. A brief summary of some major aspects of the current assessment,
evaluation, and reporting policy, with a focus on policy relating to The
Educators Academy, is given below.
The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to
improve student learning. The following seven fundamental principles lay the
foundation for rich and challenging practice. When these principles are fully
understood and observed by all Educators academy teachers, they guide the
collection of meaningful information that helps in informing instructional
decisions, promoting student engagements, and improving student learning. To
ensure that assessment, evaluation, and reporting are valid and reliable, and
that they lead to the improvement of learning for all students, teachers use
practices and procedures that:
●
are
fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
●
support
all students, including those with special education needs, those who are
learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are
First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;
●
are
carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals
and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences,
needs, and experiences of all students;
●
are
communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school
year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or
course;
●
are
ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide
multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their
learning;
●
provide
ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to
support improved learning and achievement;
●
develop
students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning,
set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.
Assessment for Learning and as
Learning
Assessment is the process of gathering information that
accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations
in a course. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning.
Assessment for the purpose of improving student learning is seen as both
“assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning”. As part of assessment
for learning, The Educators Academy’s teachers provide students with
descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement. Our teachers engage in
assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be
independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor
their own progress, determine next steps, and reflect on their thinking and
learning. The Educators Academy’s assessments and evaluations are, plan
assessment concurrently and integrate it seamlessly with instruction;
●
share
learning goals and success criteria with students at the outset of learning to
ensure that students and teachers have a common and shared understanding of
these goals and criteria as learning progresses;
●
gather
information about student learning before, during, and at or near the end of a
period of instruction, using a variety of assessment strategies and tools;
●
use
assessment to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help students monitor
their progress towards achieving their learning goals;
●
analyse
and interpret evidence of learning;
●
give
and receive specific and timely descriptive feedback about student learning;
●
help
students to develop skills of peer assessment and self-assessment.
A variety of assessment and evaluation methods, strategies,
and tools are utilized in student assessment. Students have multiple
opportunities to hone their historical skills through formal presentations,
response journals, artwork, writing in role, and persuasive paragraph writing.
Assessment information is obtained through a variety of means with
differentiation of product allowed on many assignments (within teacher-selected
options) supporting Universal Design principles.
Assessment options include:
●
Journal
writing from a historical perspective
●
Ongoing
descriptive feedback
●
Diorama
of battlefield scene or battle
●
Questionnaires
●
Evaluation
of Primary documents
●
Interpretations
and deconstructions of secondary documents and evidence
●
Descriptive
point-of-view paragraphs
●
Informational
Cause-and-Consequence paragraphs
●
Explanations
of Ethical Judgments
Evidence of student achievement is collected from various
sources with a focus on most consistent work with consideration given to most
recent work. These include:
●
Media
presentations
●
Culminating
Activity Essay
●
Final
Exam
Evaluation
Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of
student learning on the basis of established performance standards and
assigning a value to represent that quality. At The Educators Academy,
student’s achievement of the overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of
his or her achievement of related specific expectations. The overall
expectations are broad in nature, and the specific expectations define the
particular content or scope of the knowledge and skills referred to in the
overall expectations. Educators Academy uses their professional judgement to
determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of
the overall expectations, and which ones will be accounted for in instruction
and assessment but not necessarily evaluated.
Assessment
Strands:
The Educators Academy
will ensure that student’s work is assessed and/or evaluated in a balanced
manner with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular
expectations is considered within the appropriate categories.
Knowledge and Understanding
(K/U)
Thinking and Inquiry (T/I)
Communication (C)
Application (A)
Assessment
Strands
Student achievement is
communicated formally to students and parents by means of the Provincial Report
Card. The report card provides a record of the student’s achievement of the
curriculum expectations in every course, at particular points in the school
year or semester, in the form of a percentage grade. Report cards are issued upon completion of the
course. Each report card will focus on related aspects of student achievement. The
percentage grade will represent the quality of the student’s overall
achievement of the expectations for the course and will reflect the
corresponding level of achievement. The Educators Academy will record a final
grade for every course, and a credit is granted for the course in which the
student’s grade is 50% or higher.
Final Assessment and Evaluation = 100%
The teacher also provides written comments concerning the
student's strengths, areas for improvement, and next steps (E–Excellent, G–Good, S–Satisfactory, N–Needs
Improvement). The report
card indicates whether an OSSD credit has been earned or not. Upon completion
of a course, Educators Academy sends a copy of the report card back to the
student's home school where the course is added to the ongoing list of courses
on the student's Ontario Student Transcript. The report card is also sent to
the student's home address for parents’ communication.
Evaluation Instruments/ Strategies:
●
Rubrics Observation
●
Checklist Project
Work
●
Peer Interviewing
●
Self Researching
●
Group Conferencing
●
Technology Application
Assessment and Evaluation:
Final
Assessment and Evaluation = 100%
A Summary Description of
Achievement in Each Percentage Grade Range
and Corresponding Level of Achievement
|
Percentage Grade Range
|
Achievement Level
|
Summary Description
|
80-100%
|
Level
4
|
A very high to outstanding level of achievement.
Achievement is above the
provincial standard.
|
70-79%
|
Level
3
|
A high level of achievement. Achievement is at the provincial standard.
|
60-69%
|
Level
2
|
A moderate level of achievement. Achievement is below, but approaching, the provincial
standard.
|
50-59%
|
Level
1
|
A passable level of achievement. Achievement is below the provincial standard.
|
below
50%
|
Level
R
|
Insufficient achievement of curriculum expectations. A
credit will not be granted.
|
THE ACHIEVEMENT CHART: CANADIAN AND WORLD STUDIES,
GRADES 9–12
Categories
|
50–59%
(Level 1)
|
60–69%
(Level 2)
|
70–79%
(Level 3)
|
80–100%
(Level 4)
|
Knowledge and
Understanding - Subject-specific
content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its
meaning and significance (understanding)
|
|
The student:
|
Knowledge of content (e.g., facts,
terms, definitions)
|
– demonstrates limited knowledge of content
|
–demonstrates some knowledge of content
|
– demonstrates considerable knowledge of
content
|
– demonstrates thorough knowledge
of content
|
Understanding of content (e.g., concepts,
ideas, theories, interrelationships, procedures, processes, methodologies, spatial
technologies)
|
demonstrates limited understanding of content
|
demonstrates some understanding of content
|
demonstrates considerable understanding of
content
|
demonstrates thorough understanding of content
|
Categories
|
50–59%
(Level 1)
|
60–69%
(Level 2)
|
70–79%
(Level 3)
|
80–100%
(Level 4)
|
Thinking – The use
of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes
|
|
The student:
|
Use of planning skills (e.g.,
organizing an inquiry; formulating questions; gathering and organizing data,
evidence, and information; setting goals; focusing research)
|
– uses planning skills with limited
effectiveness
|
uses planning skills with some
effectiveness
|
uses planning skills with
considerable effectiveness
|
– uses planning skills with a high
degree of effectiveness
|
Use of processing skills (e.g., interpreting,
analysing, synthesizing, and evaluating data, evidence, and information;
analysing maps; detecting point of view and bias; formulating conclusions)
|
uses processing skills with limited
effectiveness
|
uses processing skills with some effectiveness
|
uses processing
skills with
considerable
effectiveness
|
uses processing
skills with a
high degree of
effectiveness
|
Use of critical/creative thinking processes
(e.g., applying concepts of disciplinary thinking; using inquiry,
problem-solving, and decision-making processes)
|
uses critical/
creative thinking
processes with limited
effectiveness
|
uses critical/
creative thinking
processes with some
effectiveness
|
uses critical/
creative thinking
processes, with considerable
effectiveness
|
uses critical/
creative thinking
processes with a high degree of
effectiveness
|
Categories
|
50–59%
(Level 1)
|
60–69%
(Level 2)
|
70–79%
(Level 3)
|
80–100%
(Level 4)
|
Communication – The conveying of
meaning through various forms
|
|
The student:
|
Expression and organization of ideas and
information (e.g., clear expression, logical organization) in oral, visual,
and written forms
|
expresses and organizes ideas and information
with limited effectiveness
|
expresses and organizes ideas and
information with some effectiveness
|
expresses and organizes ideas and
information with considerable effectiveness
|
expresses and organizes ideas and
information with a high degree of effectiveness
|
Communication for different audiences (e.g.,
peers, adults) and purposes (e.g., to inform, to persuade) in oral, visual,
and written forms
|
communicates for different audiences and
purposes with limited effectiveness
|
communicates for different audiences and
purposes with some effectiveness
|
communicates for different audiences and
purposes with considerable effectiveness
|
communicates for different audiences and
purposes with a high degree of effectiveness
|
Use of conventions (e.g., mapping and graphing
conventions, communication conventions), vocabulary, and terminology of the
discipline in oral, visual, and written forms
|
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology
of the discipline with limited effectiveness
|
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology
of the discipline with some effectiveness
|
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology
of the discipline with considerable effectiveness
|
uses conventions, vocabulary, and terminology
of the discipline with a high degree of effectiveness
|
Categories
|
50–59%
(Level 1)
|
60–69%
(Level 2)
|
70–79%
(Level 3)
|
80–100%
(Level 4)
|
Application – The use of
knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts
|
|
The student:
|
Application of knowledge and skills (e.g.,
concepts, procedures, spatial skills, processes, technologies) in familiar
contexts
|
applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
limited
effectiveness
|
applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
some
effectiveness
|
applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
considerable
effectiveness
|
applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with a
high degree of
effectiveness
|
Transfer of knowledge and skills (e.g.,
concepts of thinking, procedures, spatial skills, methodologies,
technologies) to new contexts
|
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts
with limited effectiveness
|
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts
with some effectiveness
|
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts
with considerable effectiveness
|
transfers knowledge and skills to new contexts
with a high degree of effectiveness
|
Making connections within and between various
contexts (e.g., between topics/issues being studied and everyday life;
between disciplines; between past, present, and future contexts; in different
spatial, cultural, or environmental contexts; in proposing and/or taking
action to address related issues; in making predictions)
|
makes connections within and between various
contexts with limited effectiveness
|
makes connections within and between various
contexts with some effectiveness
|
makes connections within and between various
contexts with considerable effectiveness
|
makes
connections within and between various contexts with a high degree of
effectiveness
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Submission of Assignments
●
All assignments should be
submitted for grading on the stated due date.
●
Any late assignments may be
subjected to a 10% penalty.
●
Work not submitted within 5
school days after the stated due date will be assigned a mark of 0.
●
If a student is ill or away
for a documented reason, all assignments must be submitted upon return to
class, unless arrangements are negotiated with the teacher.
●
It is vital that the student
realize the potential consequences of incomplete work and absences, including
failure to gain the credit for the course. It is the responsibility of the
student to catch up on all work missed from being absent.
Program
Planning Considerations
Effective instruction is a key to student success. To
provide effective instruction, The Educators Academy teachers consider what
they want students to learn, how they will know whether students have learned
it, how they will design instruction to promote the learning, and how they will
respond to students who are not making progress.
Effective teaching approaches involve students in the use
of higher-level thinking skills and encourage them to look beyond the literal
meaning of texts and to think about fairness, equity, social justice, and
citizenship in a global society. At The Educators Academy, motivating students
and instilling positive habits of mind, such as a willingness and determination
to persist, to think and communicate with clarity and precision, to take
responsible risks, and to question and pose problems, are also integral to our
high-quality language instruction.
An understanding of students’ strengths and needs, as well
as of their backgrounds and life experiences, The Educators Academy teachers
plan effective instruction and assessment strategies. Our teachers continually
build their awareness of students’ learning strengths and needs by observing
and assessing their readiness to learn, their interests, and their learning
styles and preferences
Effective lesson design involves several important
elements. The Educators Academy teachers engage students in a lesson by
activating their prior learning and experiences, clarifying the purpose for
learning, and making connections to contexts that will help them see the
relevance and usefulness of what they are learning. At The Educators Academy,
teachers introduce a rich variety of activities that integrate expectations
from different strands and provide for the explicit teaching of knowledge and
skills. They also provide frequent opportunities for students to rehearse,
practise, and apply skills and strategies, and to make their own choices.
Planning
Program for Special Education Needs
The Educators Academy’s
classroom teachers are the key educators of students with special education
needs. They have a responsibility to help all students learn, and they work
collaboratively with special education teachers, where appropriate, to achieve
this goal.
The Educators Academy is
committed to ensuring that all students, especially those with special
education needs, are provided with the learning opportunities and supports they
require to gain the knowledge skills, and confidence needed to succeed in a
rapidly changing society. The context of special education and the provision of
special educators programs, and services for exceptional students in Ontario
are constantly evolving.
The Educators Academy
believes that:
•
All students can succeed.
•
Each student has his or her own unique patterns of learning.
•
Successful instructional practices are founded on evidence-based
research, tempered by experience.
•
Universal design and differentiated instruction are effective and
interconnected means of meeting the learning or productivity needs of any group
of students.
•
Classroom teachers need the support of the larger community to
create a learning environment that supports students with special education
needs.
•
Fairness is not sameness.
At The Educators
Academy, students may demonstrate a wide range of learning styles and needs.
Teachers plan programs that recognize this diversity and give students
performance tasks that respect their particular abilities so that all students
can derive the greatest possible benefit from the teaching and learning
process. The use of flexible groupings for instruction and the provision of
ongoing assessment are important elements of programs that accommodate a
diversity of learning needs.
In planning courses for
students with special education needs, our teachers will begin by examining the
current achievement level of the individual student, the strengths and learning
needs of the student, and the knowledge and skills that all students are
expected to demonstrate at the end of the course, in order to determine which
of the following options is appropriate for the student:
❖
no accommodations or modifications; or
❖
accommodations only; or
❖
modified expectations, with the possibility of accommodations; or
❖
alternative expectations, which are not derived from the
curriculum expectations for a course and which constitute alternative programs
and/or courses.
There are three types of
accommodations:
●
Instructional accommodations are changes in teaching strategies,
including styles of presentation, methods of organization, or use of technology
and multimedia.
●
Environmental accommodations are changes that the student may
require in the classroom and/or school environment, such as preferential
seating or special lighting.
●
Assessment accommodations are changes in assessment procedures
that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as allowing
additional time to complete tests or assignments or permitting oral responses
to test questions
If the student requires either accommodations or modified
expectations, or both, The Educators Academy will take into account these needs
of exceptional students as they are set out in the students' Individual
Education Plan. Our courses offer a vast array of opportunities for students
with special educations needs to acquire the knowledge and skills required for
our evolving society. Students who use alternative techniques for communication
may find a venue to use these special skills in these courses. There are a
number of technical and learning aids that can assist in meeting the needs of
exceptional students as set out in their Individual Education Plan.
If a student requires
“accommodations only” in French courses, assessment and evaluation of his or her
achievement will be based on the appropriate course curriculum expectations and
the achievement levels outlined in this document. The IEP box on the student’s
Provincial Report Card will not be checked, and no information on the provision
of accommodations will be included.
Program
Considerations for English Language Learners
Ontario schools have
some of the most multilingual student populations in the world. The first
language of approximately 20 per cent of the students in Ontario’s English
language schools is a language other than English. Ontario’s linguistic
heritage includes several Aboriginal languages; many African, Asian, and
European languages; and some varieties of English, such as Jamaican Creole.
Many English language learners were born in Canada and raised in families and
communities in which languages other than English were spoken, or in which the
variety of English spoken differed significantly from the English of Ontario
classrooms. Other English language learners arrive in Ontario as newcomers from
other countries; they may have experience of highly sophisticated educational
systems, or they may have come from regions where access to formal schooling
was limited.
The Educators Academy
course provides a number of strategies to address the needs of ESL/ELD
students. This course is flexible in order to accommodate the needs of students
who require instruction in English as a second language or English literacy
development. The Educators Academy teachers consider its responsibility to help
students develop their ability to use the English language properly.
Appropriate accommodations affecting the teaching, learning, and evaluation
strategies in this course are made in order to help students gain proficiency
in English, since students taking English as a second language at the secondary
level have limited time in which to develop this proficiency.
During the start of
education at The Educators Academy, English language learners receive support
through one of two distinct programs from our teachers who are specialized in
meeting their language-learning needs: English as a second language (ESL) and
English Literacy Development (ELD)
English as a Second
Language (ESL) programs are for students born in Canada or newcomers whose
first language is a language other than English, or is a variety of English
significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools.
In planning programs for
students with linguistic backgrounds other than English, teachers at The
Educators Academy recognize the importance of the orientation process,
understanding that every learner needs to adjust to the new social environment
and language in a unique way and at an individual pace. For example, students
who are in an early stage of English-language acquisition may go through a time
during which they closely observe the interactions and physical surroundings of
their new learning environment. They use body language rather than speech or
they use their first language until they have gained enough proficiency in
English to feel confident of their interpretations and responses. Students
thrive in a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment that nurtures their
self-confidence while they are receiving focused literacy instruction. When
they are ready to participate, in paired, small-group, or whole-class
activities, some students begin by using a single word or phrase to communicate
a thought, while others speak quite fluently.
Responsibility for
students’ English-language development is shared by our classroom teacher, our
ESL teacher and other staff at The Educators Academy. Sometimes volunteers and
peers are helpful in supporting English language learners in the language classroom.
Teachers at The Educators Academy adapted the instructional program in order to
facilitate the success of these students in their classrooms. Appropriate
adaptations include:
●
modification of some or all of the subject expectations so that
they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level
of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher;
●
use of a variety of instructional strategies (e.g., extensive use
of visual cues, graphic organizers, scaffolding; previewing of textbooks,
pre-teaching of key vocabulary; peer tutoring; strategic use of students’ first
languages);
●
use of a variety of learning resources (e.g., visual material,
simplified text, bilingual dictionaries, and materials that reflect cultural
diversity);
●
use of assessment accommodations (e.g., granting of extra time;
use of oral interviews, demonstrations or visual representations, or tasks
requiring completion of graphic organizers or cloze sentences instead of essay
questions and other assessment tasks that depend heavily on proficiency in
English).
Environmental
Education and Canadian and World Studies
Helping students become environmentally responsible is a
role assumed by The Educators Academy. The first goal is to promote learning about
environmental issues and solutions. The second goal is to engage students in
practicing and promoting environmental stewardship in their community. The
third goal stresses the importance of the education system providing leadership
by implementing and promoting responsible environmental practices so that all
stakeholders become dedicated to living more sustainably. There are many
opportunities to integrate environmental education into the teaching of
Canadian and world studies. Students also analyse the environmental
sustainability of current behaviours and practices, explore ways in which
environmental stewardship can be improved, and make connections between local,
national, and global environmental issues, practices, and processes. In Civics
and Citizenship, students learn that the responsibilities of citizenship
include the protection and stewardship of the global commons, such as air and
water, on a local, national, and global scale.
Good curriculum design following the resource document -
The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: Environmental Education, Scope and
Sequence of Expectations, 2011, will assist The Educators Academy’s staff to
weave environmental education in and out of the online course content. This
ensures that the student have opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills,
perspectives and practices needed to become an environmentally literate
citizen.
Healthy
Relationships and Canada and World Studies
Every student is entitled to learn in a safe, caring
environment, free from violence and harassment. Students learn and achieve
better in such environments. The safe and supportive social environment at The
Educators Academy is founded on healthy relationships between all people.
Healthy relationships are based on respect, caring, empathy, trust, and
dignity, and thrive in an environment in which diversity is honoured and
accepted. Healthy relationships do not tolerate abusive, controlling, violent,
bullying/harassing, or other inappropriate behaviours. To experience themselves
as valued and connected members of an inclusive social environment, students
need to be involved in healthy relationships with their peers, teachers, and
other members of The Educators Academy community.
The most effective way to enable all students to learn
about healthy and respectful relationships is through the school curriculum.
The Educators Academy teachers can promote this learning in a variety of ways.
For example, they can help students develop and practise the skills they need
for building healthy relationships by giving them opportunities to apply
critical-thinking and problem solving strategies and to address issues through
group discussions, role play, case study analysis, and other means. The
Educators Academy can also have a positive influence on students by modelling
the behaviours, values, and skills that are needed to develop and sustain
healthy relationships, and by taking advantage of “teachable moments” to
address immediate relationship issues that may arise among students.
Anti
Discrimination Education
The implementation of
antidiscrimination principles in education influences all aspects of school
life. It promotes a school climate that encourages all students to work to high
standards, affirms the worth of all students, and helps students strengthen
their sense of identity and develop a positive self-image. Antidiscrimination
education encourages students to think critically about themselves and others
in the world around them in order to promote fairness, healthy relationships,
and active, responsible citizenship.
The Educators Academy
ensures that school-community interaction reflects the diversity in the local
community and wider society. Consideration is given to a variety of strategies
for communicating and working with parents and community members from diverse
groups, in order to ensure their participation in such school activities as
plays, concerts, and teacher interviews. Families new to Canada, who may be
unfamiliar with the Ontario school system, is provided a special outreach and
encouragement in order to feel comfortable in their interactions at The
Educators Academy.
Learning resources that
reflect the broad range of students’ interests, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences
are an important aspect of an inclusive English program in The Educators
Academy. In such a program, learning materials involve protagonists of both
sexes from a wide variety of backgrounds. Teachers at The Educators Academy
routinely use materials that reflect the diversity of Canadian and world
cultures, including those of contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit
peoples, and make them available to students. In The Educators Academy’s
inclusive programs, students are made aware of the historical, cultural, and
political contexts for both the traditional and non-traditional gender and
social roles represented in the materials they are studying.
It is important that
teachers of Canadian and world studies create an environment that will foster a
sense of community where all students feel included and appreciated. When
leading discussions on topics related to diverse ethnocultural, socio-economic,
or religious groups or the rights of citizenship, The Educators Academy
teachers ensure that all students – regardless of culture, religious
affiliation, gender, class, or sexual orientation – feel included and
recognized in all learning activities and discussions. By teachers carefully
choosing support materials that reflect the makeup of a class, students see
that they are respected. This leads to student understanding of and respect for
the differences that exist in the Educators Academy classrooms and in the
multiple communities to which they belong.
Financial Literacy in
Canada and World Studies
The
document A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools,
2010 sets out the vision that: Ontario students will have the skills and
knowledge to take responsibility for managing their personal financial
well-being with confidence, competence, and a compassionate awareness of the
world around them. Since making financial decisions has become an increasingly
complex task in the modern world, students need to have knowledge in various
areas and a wide range of skills in order to make informed decisions about
financial matters.
The
Educators Academy considers it essential that financial literacy be considered
an important point of a well-educated population. In addition to acquiring
knowledge in such specific areas as saving, spending, borrowing, and investing,
students need to develop skills in problem solving, inquiry, decision making,
critical thinking, and critical literacy related to financial and other issues.
The goal is to help students to acquire the knowledge and skills that will
enable them to understand and respond to complex issues regarding their own
personal finances and the finances of their families, as well as to develop an
understanding of local and global effects of world economic forces and the
social, environmental, and ethical implications of their own choices as
consumers.
One
of the elements of the vision at The Educators Academy for the social studies,
history, geography, and Canadian and world studies programs is to enable
students to become responsible, active citizens who are informed and critically
thoughtful. Financial literacy is connected to this element. In the Canadian
and world studies program at The Educators Academy, students have multiple
opportunities to investigate and study financial literacy concepts related to
the course expectations. This course also provides students with opportunities
to explore issues related to government expenditures and to analyse, in the
context of issues of civic importance, how limited resources are allocated.
Critical Thinking and
Critical Literacy in Canada and World Studies
Critical thinking is the process of thinking about ideas or
situations in order to understand them fully, identify their implications, make
a judgement, and/or guide decision making. Critical thinking includes skills
such as questioning, predicting, analysing, synthesizing, examining opinions,
identifying values and issues, detecting bias, and distinguishing between
alternatives. At The Educators Academy, students are taught these skills so
they become critical thinkers who can move beyond superficial conclusions to a
deeper understanding of the issues they are examining. After this, they are
also able to engage in an inquiry process in which they explore complex and
multifaceted issues, and questions for which there may be no clear-cut answers.
Students use critical-thinking skills in The Educators
Academy’s course for Canadian and World Studies when they assess, analyse,
and/or evaluate the impact of something and when they form an opinion about
something and support that opinion with a rationale. In order to think
critically, students need to examine the opinions and values of others, detect
bias, look for implied meaning, and use the information gathered to form a
personal opinion or stance, or a personal plan of action with regard to making
a difference. In this way, students approach critical thinking in various
aspects. Some students find it helpful to discuss their thinking, asking
questions and exploring ideas. Other students may take time to observe a
situation or consider a text carefully before commenting; they prefer not to
ask questions or express their thoughts orally while they are thinking.
The development of these critical-thinking skills is
supported in the Canadian and World Studies course at The Educators Academy. As
students work to achieve the curriculum expectations in their particular
course, our students frequently need to identify the possible implications of
choices. As they gather information from a variety of sources, they are able to
interpret what they are listening to, reading, or viewing; to look for
instances of bias; and to determine why a source might express a particular
bias.
Literacy, Mathematical
Literacy and Inquiry Skills in Canada and World Studies
Literacy, mathematical literacy, and
inquiry/research skills are critical to students’ success in all subjects of
the curriculum and in all areas of their lives.
Many of the activities and tasks
that students undertake at The Educators Academy in the Canadian and world
studies curriculum involve the literacy skills relating to oral, written, and
visual communication. In addition, they develop the skills needed to construct,
extract information from, and analyse various types of maps and digital
representations, including topographic, demographic, thematic, annotated,
choropleth, and geographic information systems (GIS) maps. In all Canadian and
world studies courses, students are required to use appropriate and correct
terminology, including that related to the concepts of disciplinary thinking,
and are encouraged to use language with care and precision in order to
communicate effectively.
The Canadian and world studies
program at The Educators Academy also builds on, reinforces, and enhances
mathematical literacy. Many courses in Canadian and world studies provide
students with opportunities to reinforce their mathematical literacy in areas
involving computational strategies and data management and, in particular, the
ability to read and construct graphs. Calculations and graphing are often used
in field studies: students engaged in a field study focusing on traffic
congestion. In addition, our students use their mathematical literacy skills
when interpreting data from various types of maps and when creating maps to
communicate their findings.
Inquiry and research are at the
heart of learning in all subject areas. In Canadian and world studies courses,
our students are encouraged to develop their ability to ask questions and to
explore a variety of possible answers to those questions. The questioning they
practised in the early grades becomes more sophisticated as they learn that all
sources of information have a particular point of view and that the recipient
of the information has a responsibility to evaluate it, determine its validity
and relevance, and use it in appropriate ways. The ability to locate, question,
and validate information allows our student to become an independent, lifelong
learner.
The Role of a Library
in the Canada and World Studies Program
The Educators Academy’s library
program can help to build and transform students’ knowledge to support lifelong
learning in our information- and knowledge-based society. The Educators Academy
supports student success across the curriculum by encouraging students to read
widely, teaching them to read for understanding and enjoyment, and helping them
to improve their research skills and to use information gathered through
research effectively.
The Educators Academy library
program enables students to:
●
develop
a love of reading for learning and for pleasure;
●
acquire
an understanding of the richness and diversity of literary and informational
texts produced in Canada and around the world;
●
obtain
access to programs, resources, and integrated technologies that support all
curriculum areas;
●
understand
and value the role of public library systems as a resource for lifelong
learning.
Our classroom teachers develop,
teach, and provide students with authentic information and research tasks that
foster learning, including the ability to:
●
locate,
select, gather, critically evaluate, create, and communicate information;
●
use
the information obtained to solve problems, make decisions, build knowledge,
create personal meaning, and enrich their lives;
●
communicate
their findings for different audiences, using a variety of formats and
technologies;
●
use
information and research with understanding, responsibility, and imagination.
The Role of Information
and Communication Technology
Information
and communications technology (ICT) provides a range of tools that can
significantly extend and enrich teachers’ instructional strategies and support
student learning. ICT tools include multimedia resources, databases, websites,
digital cameras, and word-processing programs. Tools such as these can help
students to collect, organize, and sort the data they gather and to write,
edit, and present reports on their findings. ICT can also be used to connect
students to other schools, at home and abroad, and to bring the global
community into the local classroom.
In The Educators
Academy, therefore, according to the needs of students, they are encouraged to
use ICT to support and communicate their learning in Canadian and World Studies
curriculum. Students working individually or in groups have a full access to
use computers and portable storage devices to store information, as well as DVD
technologies, digital cameras, GIS maps, interactive whiteboards, and
projectors to organize and present the results of their investigations to their
classmates and to others. As
a result, our students develop transferable skills through their experience
with word processing, internet research, presentation software, and
telecommunication tools, as would be expected in any other course or any
business environment.
Although
the Internet is a powerful learning tool, there are potential risks attached to
its use. All students must be made aware of issues related to Internet privacy,
safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this
technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred. Our teachers
understand that
ICT tools are valuable in their teaching practice, both for whole class
instruction and for the design of curriculum units that contain varied
approaches to learning to meet diverse student needs.
The Ontario Skills Passport and Essential Skills
The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) is
a free, bilingual, web-based resource that provides teachers and students with
clear descriptions of the “Essential Skills” and work habits important in work,
learning, and life. The Educators Academy can engage students by OSP tools and
resources to show how what they learn in class can be applied in the workplace
and in everyday life. The Essential Skills identified in the OSP are:
• Reading Text
• Writing
• Document Use
• Computer Use
• Oral Communication
• Numeracy: Money Math; Scheduling
or Budgeting and Accounting; Measurement and Calculation; Data Analysis; and
Numerical Estimation
• Thinking Skills: Job Task Planning
and Organizing; Decision Making; Problem Solving; Finding Information; and
Critical Thinking
Education and
Career/Life Planning through the Canadian and World Studies Program
The goals of the Kindergarten to
Grade 12 education and career/life planning program are to:
• ensure that all students develop
the knowledge and skills they need to make informed education and career/life
choices;
• provide classroom and school-wide
opportunities for this learning; and
• engage parents and the broader
community in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, to
support students in their learning.
The framework of the program is a
four-step inquiry process based on four questions linked to four areas of
learning: (1) knowing yourself – Who am I?; (2) exploring opportunities – What
are my opportunities?; (3) making decisions and setting goals – Who do I want
to become?; and, (4) achieving goals and making transitions – What is my plan
for achieving my goals?
Cooperative Education
and Other Forms of Experiential Learning
Planned
learning experiences in the community, including job shadowing and job
twinning, field trips, work experience, and cooperative education, provide our
students with opportunities to see the relevance of their classroom learning in
a work setting, making connections between school and work, and exploring a
career of interest as they plan their pathway through The Educators Academy. In
addition, through experiential learning, students develop the skills and work
habits required in the workplace and acquire a direct understanding of employer
and workplace expectations. Experiential learning opportunities associated with
various aspects of the Canadian and World Studies curriculum help broaden
students’ knowledge of employment opportunities in a wide range of fields,
including interpreting, translating, and publishing and other media-related
industries. Students who choose to take a two-credit cooperative education
program with a Canadian and World Studies course as the related course are able,
through this package of courses, to meet the Ontario Secondary School Diploma
additional compulsory credit requirements for Groups 1, 2, and 3.
Planning Program
Pathways and Programs Leading to a Specialist High Skills Major
At
the Educators Academy, Canadian and World Studies courses are well suited for
inclusion in Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSMs) or in programs designed to
provide pathways to particular apprenticeship, college, university, or
workplace destinations. In some SHSM programs, courses in this curriculum can
be bundled with other courses to provide the academic knowledge and skills
important to particular economic sectors and required for success in the
workplace and postsecondary education, including apprenticeship training.
Canadian and World Studies courses can serve as the in-school link with
cooperative education credits that provide the workplace experience required
not only for some SHSM programs but also for various program pathways to
postsecondary education, apprenticeship training, and workplace destinations.
Health and Safety in
Canadian and World Studies Program
As part of every course, students
must be made aware that health and safety are everyone’s responsibility – at
home, at school, and in the workplace. Teachers must model safe practices at
all times and communicate safety requirements to students.
Health
and safety issues not usually associated with Canadian and world studies
education may be important when the learning involves field trips and field
studies. Out-of-school field trips can provide an exciting and authentic
dimension to students’ learning experiences, but they also take The Educator
Academy teacher and students out of the predictable classroom environment and
into unfamiliar settings. The Educators Academy teachers must preview and plan
these activities carefully to protect students’ health and safety
Ethics in
Canadian and World Studies
The Canadian and world studies curriculum provides varied
opportunities for students to learn about ethical issues and to explore the
role of ethics in both public and personal decision making. During the inquiry
process, students may need to make ethical judgements when evaluating evidence
and positions on various issues, and when drawing their own conclusions about
issues, developments, and events. Teachers may need to help students in
determining appropriate factors to consider when making such judgements. In
addition, it is crucial that teachers provide support and supervision to
students throughout the inquiry process, ensuring that students engaged in an
inquiry are aware of potential ethical concerns and address them in acceptable
ways.
At The Educators Academy, teachers ensure that they
thoroughly address the issue of plagiarism with students. The skill of writing
in one’s own voice, while appropriately acknowledging the work of others, must
be explicitly taught to all students in Canadian and world studies classes.
Using accepted forms of documentation to acknowledge sources is a specific
expectation within the inquiry and skill development strand for each course in
the Canadian and world studies curriculum.
Resources:
❖
Textbook
❖
Notes
❖
Online Research
❖
Internet
❖
www.historysociety.ca/edu.asp?subsection=web
❖
www.cbc.ca/archives/
❖
www.cln.org/themes/fn_history.html