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THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12: INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
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evaluate the effectiveness of the collabora- tive strategies they used in planning and implementing interdisciplinary products and activities (e.g., by identifying how well they valued diversity, respected indi- vidual positions on an issue, considered alternatives and new connections, and actively sought feedback and constructive criticism).
Personal and Career Development
By the end of this course, students will:
– demonstrate an understanding of selected interdisciplinary texts related to each of the subjects or disciplines studied and identify significant titles for future study;
– identify their personal information skills and those skills that require development if they are to achieve success in interdisci- plinary studies (e.g., their ability to iden- tify information needs, to locate appropriate resources, to resolve conflict within a research team, and to plan new research);
– research the importance of effective col- laborative and communication skills in interdisciplinary careers related to the sub- jects and disciplines under study (e.g., in oceanography: building consensus among national governments or coordinating research methods);
– identify and describe employment oppor- tunities within the local community in interdisciplinary fields related to the sub- jects or disciplines under study (e.g., by conducting interviews with practitioners to record changes in their fields, analysing online job descriptions for interdiscipli- nary connections, comparing archival and contemporary classified advertisements to determine employment opportunities that are increasing and those that are decreasing).
Impacts and Innovations
By the end of this course, students will:
– describe and critically analyse contempo- rary examples of interdisciplinary products and activities that provide innovative approaches and solutions to a variety of real-life situations in the local community (e.g., the coordination of local transporta- tion systems, the delivery of services through e-commerce and e-government, the development of community health and recreation facilities);
– identify and describe new and emerging interdisciplinary branches of learning and fields of study (e.g., biotechnology, com- puter animation, forensic pathology, envi- ronmental law, knowledge management);
– research, analyse, and describe the per- sonal and social impacts of significant information-related achievements
(e.g., the development of world alphabets, the evolution of paper and books, the evo- lution of the moving image, the creation of digital text);
– plan, conduct, and present independent interdisciplinary research, with particular reference to each of the subjects or disci- plines studied, on the potential social, political, and economic impacts of emerg- ing information technologies (e.g., the inequitable access to and ability to use technology – the “digital divide”; the impact of information systems on personal freedom; the development of technology for the disabled).