Page 54 - Social Sciences Humanities - The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 - 2013

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | Social Sciences and Humanities
COOPERATIVE EDUCATION AND OTHER FORMS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Planned learning experiences in the community, including job shadowing and job twinning, field trips, work experience, and cooperative education, provide students with opportunities to see the relevance of their classroom learning in a work setting, make connections between school and work, and explore a career of interest as they plan their pathway through sec­ ondary school and on to their postsecondary destination. In addition, through experiential learning, students develop the skills and work habits required in the workplace and acquire a direct understanding of employer and workplace expectations.
Experiential learning opportunities associated with various aspects of the social sciences and humanities curriculum help broaden students’ knowledge of employment opportu­ nities in a wide range of fields, including food and nutrition sciences, early childhood education, the fashion industry, and social policy and research.
Students who choose to take a two-credit cooperative education program with a social sciences or humanities course as the related course are able, through this package of courses, to meet the Ontario Secondary School Diploma additional compulsory credit requirements for Groups 1, 2, and 3.
Policies and guidelines regarding workplace opportunities, including job shadowing, work experience, and cooperative education, are outlined in Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning: Policies and Procedures for Ontario Secondary Schools, 2000, available on the ministry website, at www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/ curricul/secondary/coop/cooped.pdf.
For guidelines to ensure the provision of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage for students who are at least fourteen years of age and are on work placements of more than one day, see Policy/Program Memorandum No. 76A,“Workplace Safety and Insurance Coverage for Students in Work Education Programs” (September 2000), at www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/76a.html. Teachers should also be aware of the minimum age requirements outlined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act for persons to be in or working in specific workplace settings.
PLANNING PROGRAM PATHWAYS AND PROGRAMS LEADING TO A SPECIALIST HIGH SKILLS MAJOR
Social sciences and humanities courses are well suited for inclusion in Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSMs) or in programs designed to provide pathways to particular apprenticeship, college, university, or workplace destinations. In some SHSM programs,
courses in this curriculum can be bundled with other courses to provide the academic knowledge and skills important to particular economic sectors and required for success in the workplace and postsecondary education, including apprenticeship training. Social sciences and humanities courses can serve as the in-school link with cooperative education credits that provide the workplace experience required not only for some SHSM programs but also for various program pathways to postsecondary education, apprenticeship training, and workplace destinations.
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