Page 67 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

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 also 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 THE 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 in accordance with school board and Ministry of Education policies and Ministry of Labour regulations.
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 teacher and students out of the predictable classroom environment and into unfamiliar settings. Teachers must preview and plan these activities carefully to protect students’ health and safety.
ETHICS IN THE CANADIAN AND WORLD STUDIES PROGRAM
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. If students are conducting surveys and/or interviews, teachers must supervise their activities to ensure that they respect the dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of their participants.
Teachers should ensure that they thoroughly address the issue of plagiarism with students. In a digital world in which we have easy access to abundant information, it is very easy to copy the words of others and present them as one’s own. Students need to be reminded, even at the secondary level, of the ethical issues surrounding plagiarism, and the conse- quences of plagiarism should be clearly discussed before students engage in an inquiry.
It is important to discuss not only the more “blatant” forms of plagiarism, but also more nuanced instances that can occur. Students often struggle to find a balance between writing in their own voice and acknowledging the work of others in the field. Merely telling students not to plagiarize, and admonishing those who do, is not enough. 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.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING IN CANADIAN AND WORLD STUDIES
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