Page 247 - Social Sciences Humanities - The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 - 2013

A. RESEARCHANDINQUIRYSKILLS OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
Throughout this course, students will:
A1. Exploring: explore topics related to human development, and formulate questions to guide their research;
A2. Investigating: create research plans, and locate and select information relevant to their chosen topics, using appropriate social science research and inquiry methods;
A3. Processing Information: assess, record, analyse, and synthesize information gathered through research and inquiry;
A4. Communicating and Reflecting: communicate the results of their research and inquiry clearly and effectively, and reflect on and evaluate their research, inquiry, and communication skills.
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
A1. Exploring
Throughout this course, students will:
A1.1 explore a variety of topics related to human development (e.g., brain development, effects of play on development, language development) to identify topics for research and inquiry
A1.2 identify key concepts (e.g., through discussion, brainstorming, use of visual organizers) related to their selected topics
A1.3 formulate effective questions to guide their research and inquiry
Teacher prompt: “If you were studying the benefits to child development of participating in an early learning program, what might be the advantage of comparing experiences in early learning in different parts of the world or within diverse communities in the same area? Which aspects of these experiences would you compare? How would you ensure that your comparison was fair and valid?”
A2. Investigating
Throughout this course, students will:
A2.1 create appropriate research plans to investi­ gate their selected topics (e.g., outline purpose and method; identify sources of information; develop
research tools such as surveys or questionnaires), ensuring that their plans follow guidelines for ethical research
Teacher prompts: “What are some ways
to locate reliable sources of information?”
“For which purposes might websites such as Wikipedia be adequate sources of information? What are the risks of relying on websites such as Wikipedia?” “What methods would you use to ensure that you are following ethical guide­ lines when you develop surveys or interviews?”
A2.2 locate and select information relevant to their investigations from a variety of primary sources (e.g., interviews; observations; surveys and questionnaires; journal articles reporting on original research; original documents in print or other media such as film, photographs) and secondary sources (e.g., textbooks, literature reviews, bibliographies, encyclopedias)
Teacher prompts: “What is the difference between primary and secondary sources in social sciences?” “Why is it important to base your research on a variety of secondary sources rather than just one or two?”
A2.3 based on preliminary research, for each investigation formulate a hypothesis, thesis statement, or research question, and use it to focus their research
RESEARCH AND INQUIRY SKILLS
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