Page 8 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science, 2008 (revised)

“Big Ideas”
Big ideas “go beyond discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles, or processes.”
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design (1998), p. 10
“Big ideas” are the broad, important understandings that students should retain long after they have forgotten many of the details of what they have studied in the classroom. They are the understandings that contribute to scientific literacy. The big ideas that stu- dents can take away from each course in this curriculum relate to some aspect of the fundamental concepts described in the preceding section. A list of the big ideas students need to understand appears at the start of every course in this document.
Developing a deeper understanding of the big ideas requires students to understand basic concepts, develop inquiry and problem-solving skills, and connect these concepts and skills to the world beyond the classroom. Teachers can help students gain such understanding by connecting learning based on the overall and specific expectations and the criteria in the achievement chart to the big ideas that relate to each course.
The relationship between the fundamental concepts, big ideas, the goals of the science program, and the overall and specific expectations is outlined in the chart that follows.
Fundamental Concepts
Matter Energy
Systems and Structure and Sustainability Change and Interactions Function and Stewardship Continuity
BIG IDEAS
The Goals of Science
Goal 1
To relate science to technology, society, and the environment
Goal 2
To develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for scientific inquiry
Goal 3
To understand the basic concepts of science
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | science
Overall Expectation 1 Overall Expectation 2 Overall Expectation 3

Specific Expectations
Relating science to technology, society, and the environment
Specific Expectations
Developing skills of scientific investigation and communication
Specific Expectations
Understanding basic concepts