Page 34 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Technological Education, 2009 (revised)

When a student is expected to achieve most of the curriculum expectations for the course, the modified expectations should identify how the required knowledge and skills differ from those identified in the course expectations. When modifications are so extensive that achieve- ment of the learning expectations (knowledge, skills, and performance tasks) is not likely to result in a credit, the expectations should specify the precise requirements or tasks on which the student’s performance will be evaluated and which will be used to generate the course mark recorded on the Provincial Report Card.
Modified expectations indicate the knowledge and/or skills the student is expected to demonstrate and have assessed in each reporting period (IEP Standards, 2000, pp. 10
and 11). The student’s learning expectations must be reviewed in relation to the student’s progress at least once every reporting period, and must be updated as necessary (IEP Standards, 2000, p. 11).
If a student requires modified expectations in technological education courses, assess- ment and evaluation of his or her achievement will be based on the learning expectations identified in the IEP and on the achievement levels outlined in this document. If some of the student’s learning expectations for a course are modified but the student is working towards a credit for the course, it is sufficient simply to check the IEP box on the Provincial Report Card. If, however, the student’s learning expectations are modified to such an extent that the principal deems that a credit will not be granted for the course, the IEP box must be checked and the appropriate statement from the Guide to the Provincial Report Card, Grades 9–12, 1999 (p. 8) must be inserted. The teacher’s comments should include relevant information on the student’s demonstrated learning of the modi- fied expectations, as well as next steps for the student’s learning in the course.
PROGRAM CONSIDERATIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Ontario schools have some of the most multilingual student populations in the world. The first language of approximately 20 per cent of the students in Ontario’s English language schools is a language other than English. Ontario’s linguistic heritage includes several Aboriginal languages and many African, Asian, and European languages. It also includes some varieties of English – also referred to as dialects – that differ significantly from the English required for success in Ontario schools. Many English language learners were born in Canada and have been raised in families and communities in which languages other than English, or varieties of English that differ from the language used in the class- room, are spoken. Other English language learners arrive in Ontario as newcomers from other countries; they may have experience of highly sophisticated educational systems, or they may have come from regions where access to formal schooling was limited.
When they start school in Ontario, many of these students are entering a new linguistic and cultural environment. All teachers share in the responsibility for these students’ English language development.
English language learners (students who are learning English as a second or additional language in English language schools) bring a rich diversity of background knowledge and experience to the classroom. These students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds not only support their learning in their new environment but also become a cultural asset in the classroom community. Teachers will find positive ways to incorporate this diversity into their instructional programs and into the classroom environment.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING
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