Page 8 - Science - Grade 9, DE-STREAMED COURSE (SNC1W)

enable students to design economical, ethical, innovative, and sustainable solutions to technical and complex real-world problems.
Skills developed through STEM education include computational thinking, coding, innovation, and scientific and engineering design. These skills are in high demand in today’s globally connected world, as advancements in science continue to impact all areas of our lives, and they form a critical component of the Grade 9 science course. Students use an engineering design process and associated skills to design, build, and test devices, models, structures, and systems and they write and execute code in investigations and when modelling concepts.
Approaches to STEM education may vary across Ontario schools. STEM-related subjects may be taught separately, but cross-curricular connections should form a part of student learning. Strand A of the Grade 9 science course focuses on the STEM skills and connections that frame learning in the other four strands: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth and Space Science. Strand A also provides opportunities for critical cross-curricular learning as students consider the connections between science and other subject areas. The Grade 9 science course also encourages students to examine various STEM-related careers, including skilled trades.
Classroom activities focused on solving real-world problems and on understanding practical applications of concepts can combine components from two or more STEM-related subjects and can include contexts related to the student’s home and community or to various occupations, including the skilled trades. The integration of a number of STEM-related subjects can reinforce students' understanding of each subject and of the interrelationships among them.
Curriculum expectations related to exploring Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing can create opportunities for inclusive and impactful integrative studies. Diverse perspectives engage students in a variety of creative and critical thinking processes that are essential for developing innovative, ethical, and effective solutions to societal and environmental problems.
The themes and components of STEM education are woven throughout the Grade 9 science curriculum to ensure that Ontario educators and students become innovators and leaders for ethical and sustainable change in society and the workforce, and to create opportunities in our diverse communities to foster integrative thinking and problem solving. The curriculum also supports the development of scientific literacy in students, enabling them to better appreciate, understand, and navigate the world in which they live.
Curiosity and Wonder in Science
Curiosity and wonder are at the core of scientific disciplines and should be at the core of student- centred science education. Students come to school with a natural curiosity about the way in which the world works, and as they learn about natural phenomena, scientific concepts and theories, and scientific discoveries and innovations made by diverse individuals, they can be amazed and inspired. The Ontario science curriculum strives to nurture and support curiosity and wonder in order for all students to enjoy
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