Page 10 - Guidance Education 11-12 (2006)

THE PROGRAM IN GUIDANCE AND CAREER EDUCATION 9
Half-Credit Courses. The courses outlined in this document are designed as full-credit courses, but they may also be delivered as half-credit courses. Half-credit courses developed from full courses require a minimum of fifty-five hours of scheduled instructional time and must adhere to the following conditions:
– Two half-credit courses created from a full course must together contain all of the expecta- tions of the full course.The expectations for the two half-credit courses must be divided
in a manner that best enables students to achieve the required knowledge and skills in the allotted time.
– A course that is a prerequisite for another course in the secondary curriculum may be offered as two half-credit courses, but students must successfully complete both parts of the course to fulfil the prerequisite. (Students are not required to complete both parts unless the course is a prerequisite for another course they wish to take.)
– The title of the half-credit course must include the designation Part 1 or Part 2.When a student successfully completes a half-credit course, a half-credit (0.5) will be recorded in the credit-value column of both the report card and the Ontario Student Transcript.
Boards will ensure that all half-credit courses comply with the conditions described above, and will report all half-credit courses to the ministry annually in the School October Report.
Curriculum Expectations
The expectations identified for each course describe the knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire, demonstrate, and apply in their class work, on tests, and in various other activities on which their achievement is assessed and evaluated.
Two sets of expectations are listed for each strand, or broad curriculum area, of each course.
• The overall expectations describe in general terms the knowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate by the end of each course.
• The specific expectations describe the expected knowledge and skills in greater detail.The specific expectations are arranged under subheadings that reflect particular aspects of the required knowledge and skills and that may serve as a guide for teachers as they plan learning activities for their students.
The organization of expectations in strands and subgroupings is not meant to imply that the expectations in any one strand or group are achieved independently of the expectations in the other strands or groups.The subheadings are used merely to help teachers focus on particular aspects of knowledge and skills as they plan lessons and learning activities for their students. The concepts, content, and skills identified in the different strands of each course should, wherever appropriate, be integrated in instruction throughout the course.
Many of the expectations are accompanied by examples, given in parentheses.These examples are meant to illustrate the kind of knowledge or skill, the specific area of learning, the depth of learning, and/or the level of complexity that the expectation entails. Some examples may also be used to emphasize the importance of diversity or multiple perspectives.The examples are intended only as suggestions for teachers.Teachers may incorporate the examples into their lessons, or they may choose other topics or approaches that are relevant to the expectation.