Page 49 - Social Sciences Humanities - The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 - 2013

Students approach critical thinking in various ways. Some students find it helpful to discuss their thinking, asking questions and exploring ideas. Other students, including many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, may take time to observe a situation or consider a text carefully before commenting; they may prefer not to ask questions or express their thoughts orally while they are thinking.
In developing critical-thinking skills in social sciences and humanities, students must ask themselves effective questions in order to interpret information, detect bias in their sources, determine why a source might express a particular bias, and consider the values and perspectives of a variety of groups and individuals.
Students use critical-thinking skills in social sciences and humanities when they make reasoned judgements about what to do or what to believe about problems that do not have clear solutions. Because social sciences and humanities is concerned with human thought and behaviour (at both the individual and the cultural/societal level), much of its content is inherently “fuzzy”, with many possible interpretations that may be equally valid. Students need support to develop skills that enable them to make critical judge­ ments, considering alternative points of view, assessing evidence, and drawing logical conclusions. To support this development, teachers should infuse the curriculum with opportunities for critical thinking. It is of vital importance that teachers encourage stu­ dents to explore issues, interpret information, and develop thoughtful responses in all social sciences and humanities courses.
Students need support in developing their critical-thinking skills, they need to see these skills modelled in the classroom, and they need to be assessed and evaluated on these skills (and not just on the products of such thinking). Expectations that focus on critical- thinking skills – analysing, interpreting, assessing, evaluating, synthesizing, and reflecting – are included throughout the social sciences and humanities curriculum. When assessing and evaluating these expectations, teachers should focus not on the product (i.e., the conclusion) but on the effectiveness with which the student has used critical-thinking skills in arriving at that conclusion.
Critical literacy is the capacity for a particular type of critical thinking that involves looking beyond the literal meaning of a text to determine what is present and what is missing, in order to analyse and evaluate the text’s complete meaning and the author’s intent. Critical literacy goes beyond conventional critical thinking by focusing on issues related to fair­ ness, equity, and social justice. Critically literate students adopt a critical stance, asking what view of the world the text advances and whether they find this view acceptable, who benefits from the text, and how the reader or viewer is influenced.
Critically literate students understand that meaning is not found in texts in isolation. People make sense of a text, or determine what a text means, in a variety of ways. Students therefore need to be aware of points of view (e.g., those of people from various cultures), the context (e.g., the beliefs and practices of the time and place in which a text was created and those in which it is being read or viewed), the background of the person interacting with the text (e.g., upbringing, friends, communities, education, experiences), intertextuality (e.g., information that a viewer or reader brings to a text from other texts experienced previously), gaps in the text (e.g., information that is left out and that the reader or viewer must fill in), and silences in the text (e.g., voices of a person or group not heard).
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING
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