Page 95 - 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 world cultures and/or cultural groups, 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 world cultures and/or cultural groups (e.g., ethnocul­ tural study of a particular culture, the issue of hyphenated identities, educational and employment barriers faced by newcomers to Canada, changing gender roles in specific cultures) 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 researching attitudes towards sexual diversity in different cultures, why might it be important to consider how these attitudes have changed over time? How might you do so?”
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), ensuring that their plans follow guidelines for ethical research
A2.2 locate and select information relevant to their investigations from a variety of primary sources (e.g., interviews; observations; surveys and ques­ tionnaires; original documents in print or other media such as film, photographs, songs, advertisements) and secondary sources (e.g., book reviews, magazine articles, literature reviews in academic journals)
Teacher prompts: “What is the difference between a primary and a secondary source? How can you determine whether a source is primary or secondary?” “Why is it important to base your research on a variety of sources?”
A2.3 based on preliminary research, for each investigation formulate a hypothesis, thesis statement, or research question, and use it to focus their research
A3. Processing Information
Throughout this course, students will:
A3.1 assess various aspects of information gathered from primary and secondary sources (e.g., accuracy, relevance, reliability, inherent values and bias, voice)
Teacher prompts: “What strategies can you use to determine the relevance of the information you have gathered?” “If two sources contradict each other, how might you determine which is more reliable?” “What values are embedded in these sources?” “Whose voices are represented
RESEARCH AND INQUIRY SKILLS
93
ResearWchoralnddCuInltquriersy Skills
H H I F S 1 C 0 4 / M2 0