Page 9 - Interdisciplinary Studies 11-12 (2002)

THE PROGRAM IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 7
• ArchaeologicalStudies,Grade12,UniversityPreparation.Thiscoursecombinesexpectations from Interdisciplinary Studies, Grade 12, University Preparation with selected expectations from two or more other courses (e.g., Canada: History, Identity, and Culture, Grade 12, University Preparation; Classical Civilization, Grade 12, University Preparation; Earth and Space Science, Grade 12, University Preparation; Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology, Grade 11, University/College Preparation; and Mathematics of Data Man- agement, Grade 12, University Preparation).
The discipline-based expectations of the “other” courses provide an appropriate context and content for developing practical applications or for exploring topics and themes using an interdisciplinary approach. In single-credit interdisciplinary studies courses, only achievement of the interdisciplinary studies expectations will be evaluated. Students are not expected to achieve any of the expectations from the other courses, nor will any credit be given for meet- ing these expectations. Students may thus take both the interdisciplinary studies course and the courses from which expectations were selected for the interdisciplinary studies course without concern about duplication.
Model B: Interdisciplinary Studies Packages of Courses
Model B offers interdisciplinary studies packages of courses worth from two to five credits.
In these packages, students combine all the expectations of the interdisciplinary studies course with all the expectations of two or more additional full- or half-credit courses from the same grade or the grade immediately preceding or following. (If, for example, a student wishes to take a Grade 12 open interdisciplinary studies package of courses that requires a biology course, he or she would have to take the Grade 11 college preparation biology course, since there is no Grade 12 college preparation biology course.) In all packages, course content, instructional strategies, and assessment procedures for the interdisciplinary studies course should be designed to meet the grade-level expectations for that course. The following are two examples of inter- disciplinary studies packages of courses, one open and one university preparation:
• AppliedDesign,Grade11,Open.Thispackageofcoursesconsistsofalltheexpectationsfrom Interdisciplinary Studies, Grade 11, Open; Communications Technology, Part 1, Grade 10, Open (half credit); and Media Arts, Part 1, Grade 10, Open (half credit).
• Biotechnology,Grade12,UniversityPreparation.Thispackageofcoursesconsistsofallthe expectations from Interdisciplinary Studies, Grade 12, University Preparation; Biology, Grade 12, University Preparation; and Chemistry, Grade 12, University Preparation.
In Model B, students obtain one credit for the interdisciplinary studies course and one credit for each of the additional courses, to a maximum of five credits in total. Each course in the package is identified by its existing course code on the student’s report card and on the Ontario Student Transcript. Note that if a half-credit course is to be included in an interdisciplinary studies package of courses, the school must be able to provide the matching half-credit of the full-credit course if that full-credit course is a prerequisite for any other course that the stu- dent wishes to take. However, the matching half-credit course does not have to be taken as part of a subsequent interdisciplinary studies package of courses. If a compulsory course (i.e., a course that is required for diploma purposes) is included in an interdisciplinary studies package of courses, it will count as a compulsory course. An interdisciplinary studies package of courses may include locally developed courses.5
5. See Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12: Program and Diploma Requirements, 1999, section 7.1.2, and Guide to Locally Developed Courses, Grades 9 to 12: Approval Requirements and Procedures, 2000 for information about the development and approval of locally developed courses.