Course Description
This course focuses on learning strategies to help students become better, more independent learners. Students will learn how to develop and apply literacy and numeracy skills, personalmanagement skills, and interpersonal and teamwork skills to improve their learning and achievement in school, the workplace, and the community.The course helps students build confidence and motivation to pursue opportunities for success in secondary school and beyond.
- Course Code: GLE2O
- Department: Guidance and Career Education
- Course Type:Open
- Credit Value:1.0
- Prerequisite:Recommendation of principal
- Curriculum Policy Document:Guidance and Career Education, The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10, 2006
Course Outline
GLE2O Learning Strategies 1- Total Hours (110 Hours)
- Unit One:Learn It, Don’t Sweat It (25 Hours) In this unit, students will Identify their interests , abilities and get to know their “smarts” and learning style and their role in learning. Students will sharpen their personal management skills and manage their time and personal space. Students will also learn how to set their goals, learn to use study skills effectively and identify healthy lifestyle choices that support learning and growth.
- Unit Two: Practice Your Skills (25 Hours)
- Unit Three: EXPLORE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES (25 Hours) In this unit, students will find and record the information they need in a variety of situations and identify careers and volunteer opportunities that suit your interests and abilities. They will plan school courses and identify graduation requirements. Identifying school and community resources available to support learning, and explain how they can be accessed and describe individuals or programs that can assist with their specific learning needs. Students will also communicate effectively to seek information and assistance or to advocate for themselves.
- Unit Four: From Here to There (25 Hours) In this unit, students will demonstrate effective use of study skills and test-preparation strategies in a variety of subjects and evaluate their impact on academic success, identify their learning styles, personal qualities, and learning challenges by analysing their past experiences, both successful and unsuccessful and Imagining using their new knowledge and skills after graduation.
- Exam (10 Hours) will be proctored and worth 30% of the final mark.
Resources required by the students
Resources required by the students
Note: This course is entirely online and does not require or rely on any textbook.
A scanner, smartphone camera, or similar device to upload handwritten or hand-drawn work
GLE2O: Learning Strategies 1 ,Grade 10
Overall Expectations
By the end of this course, students will:
- use a self-assessment process to develop a personal profile for use in career development planning;
- evaluate and apply the personal- management skills and characteristics needed for school success, document them in their portfolio, and demonstrate their use in a variety of settings;
- demonstrate effective use of interpersonal skills within a variety of settings.
Strategies for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Performance
There are three forms of assessment that will be used throughout this course:
- Assessment for learning: will directly influence student learning by reinforcing the connections between assessment and instruction, and provide ongoing feedback to the student. Assessment for learning occurs as part of the daily teaching process and helps teachers form a clear picture of the needs of the students because students are encouraged to be more active in their learning and associated assessment. Teachers gather this information to shape their teaching environment.
- Assessment as learning: is the use of a task or an activity to allow students the opportunity to use assessment to further their own learning. Self and peer assessments allow students to reflect on their own learning and identify areas of strength and need. These tasks offer students the chance to set their own personal goals and advocate for their own learning.
- Assessment of learning: will occur at or near the end of a period of learning; this summary is used to make judgements about the quality of student learning using established criteria, to assign a value to represent that quality and to communicate information about achievement to students and parents.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
- Throughout this course students will:
- Students interact in student-paced and instructor-paced interactive, engaging instructional lessons.
- Understand the value of diversity in learning and in society
- Develop self-confidence and self-advocacy skills
- Refine their existing compensatory strategies (reading strategies, writing strategies, listening strategies, study strategies, researching strategies, strategies for memory, organizational strategies, and time management strategies) for learning and develop additional strategies to help meet their potential as learners
- Cultivate problem solving skills to become independent learners.
- Opportunities to learn in a variety of ways- individually, cooperatively, independently, with teacher direction, through hands-on experiences, and through examples followed by practice.
- By accomplishing prompts on interactive lessons, students can reflect on different texts. In addition, constant communication with teachers ensures that the students understand complex topics and apply them in their writing. They can also accomplish other tasks through the use of: animations, videos, discussion forums, live chat and other interactive objects.
The Final Grade
| Percentage of Final Mark | Categories of Mark Breakdown |
| 70% | Assessments of Learning Tasks Throughout the Term |
| 30% | Final Written Examination And/ Or RST |
A student’s final grade is reflective of their most recent and most consistent level of achievement.
The balance of the weighting of the categories of the achievement chart throughout the course is:
| Total | Knowledge | Inquiry | Communication | Application |
| 100% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 25% |
Cheating and Plagiarism
Forest Green Academy International commits to having policies for assessments that minimize the risk of cheating. We also commit to begin each course with refresher learning on academic integrity.
In the event of incidences of academic dishonesty, the student, Academic Director (and, in the case of students under 18, their parents) will be notified of the occurrence, of the consequence, and of the potential consequences of subsequent incidents.
Improper Citation
Grades 11 and 12
First Instance: A warning and an opportunity to redo the piece.
Subsequent Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 75%.
Unaccredited Paraphrasing
Grade 11 and 12
First Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 75%.
Subsequent Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 50%.
Unaccredited Verbatim
Grade 11 and 12
First Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 50%.
Subsequent Instance: A grade of zero. No opportunity to resubmit.
Full Plagiarism
Grade 11 and 12
First Instance: A grade of zero. No opportunity to resubmit.
Subsequent Instance: A grade zero. No opportunity to resubmit.
Instructional Approaches
Teachers will use a variety of instructional strategies to help students become independent, strategic and successful learners. The key to student success is effective, accessible instruction. When planning this course of instruction, the teacher will identify the main concept and skills of the course, consider the context in which students will apply their learning and determine the students’ learning goals. The instructional program for this course will be well planned and will support students in reaching their optimal level of challenge for learning, while directly teaching the skills that are required for success.
Understanding student strengths and needs will enable the teacher to plan effective instruction and meaningful assessments. Throughout this course the teacher will continually observe and assess the students’ readiness to learn, their interests, and their preferred learning styles and individual learning needs.
Teachers will use differentiated instructional approaches such as:
- adjusting the method or pace of instruction
- using a variety of resources
- allowing a wide choice of topics
- adjusting the learning environment
- scaffolding instruction
During this course, the teacher will provide multiple opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills and consolidate and reflect upon their learning.
Planning the Program for Students with Special Educational Needs
The teacher in this course is the key educator of students with special education needs. The teacher has a responsibility to help all students learn, and will work collaboratively with the guidance counselor, where appropriate, to achieve this goal. In planning this course, the teacher will pay particular attention to the following guidelines:
- All students have the ability to succeed
- Each student has his or her own unique patterns of learning
- Successful instructional practices are founded on evidence-based research, tempered by experience
- Universal design and differentiated instruction are effective and interconnected means of meeting the learning or productivity needs of any group of students
- Online teachers are the key educators for a student’s literacy and numeracy development
- Online teachers need the support of the larger school community to create a learning environment that supports students with special education needs
- Fairness is not sameness
The teacher will use the following strategies:
- Extra time on tests and extended deadlines for major assessments
- Complete tasks or present information in ways that cater to individual learning styles
- Variety of teaching and learning strategies
- Scaffolding
- Break down (chunk) assignments
- A computer for assessments and exams
- Formula sheets, memory aids
- oral and written instructions
- Cue cards during instruction and Assessments
- Graphic organizers
- Specific strategies to enhance recall
- Non-verbal cues and reminders to remain focused
- Oral testing
- Allow for sufficient response time
- Experiential learning experiences so that students can make connections between curriculum and real-world examples
- Conferencing
- Prompting students through lessons and assessments
- Refocusing strategies
- Periodic breaks
Planning the Program for Students with English as a Second Language
In planning this course for students with linguistic backgrounds other than English, the teacher will create a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment that nurtures the students’ self-confidence while they are receiving course instruction. Most English language learners who have developed oral proficiency in everyday English will nevertheless require instructional scaffolding to meet curriculum expectations. The teacher will adapt the instructional program in order to facilitate the success of these students in their classes. Appropriate adaptations and strategies for this course will include:
- Body language and non-verbal communication
- Model expectations
- Subject-specific dictionary
- Cooperative learning
- Concrete examples and materials
- Avoid idioms
- Bilingual Dictionaries
- Buddy system
- Peer tutors
- Allow sufficient response time
- Graphic organizers
- Scaffolding
- Story maps
- Conferencing
- Pre-writing strategies
- Literature circle
- Journal
- Previewing course readings / texts
- Materials that reflect cultural diversity
- Free voluntary reading
- Guided Reading
- Guided Writing
- Think Aloud
- Whole-Class Response
- Editing checklist
Supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit Students
We will promote active and engaged citizenship, which includes greater awareness of the distinct place and role of Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) peoples in our shared heritage and in the future in Ontario.
We will:
- increase the focus in school strategic planning to promote the voluntary, confidential self-identification of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students as a means to enhance the success and well-being of Aboriginal students and to help close the achievement gap
- continue to identify and share practices and resources to help improve First Nation, Métis, and Inuit student achievement and close the achievement gap
- increase the training in our schools to respond to the learning and cultural needs of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
- provide quality programs, services, and resources at our schools to support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit student
- provide quality programs, services, and resources at our schools who support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students to help create learning opportunities that support improved academic achievement and identify building
- provide curriculum links that facilitates learning about contemporary and traditional First National, Métis, and Inuit cultures, histories, and perspectives among all students
- develop awareness among teachers of the learning styles of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students and employ instructional methods designed to enhance the learning of all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
- implement targeted learning strategies for effective oral communication and mastery of reading and writing
- implement strategies for developing critical and creative thinking
- provide access to a variety of accurate and reliable Aboriginal resources such as periodicals, books, software, and resources in other media, including materials in the main Aboriginal languages in schools with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
- provide a supportive and safe environment for all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
The Role of Information and Communication Technology
ICT tools will be integrated into this course for whole-class instruction and for the design of curriculum units that contain varied approaches to learning in order to meet diverse needs and interests of the students in this class. At the beginning of this class, all students will be made aware of issues related to Internet privacy, safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred. ICT used in this course will include:
- Websites
- Online libraries
- Archives
- Public records
- YouTube
- Curriculum Digital Resources
- Widgets
- Online Graphing Calculator
- Cell phones
- iPads
- DVDs
- Digital Camera
- Edsby
- G Suite
- Office 365
- Gizmos
- Labster
- Gradeslam
- Mathspace
- Mathletics
- Screencastify
Environmental Education Connections
Although there are no specific environmental connections in this course, teachers will develop an environmental understanding fostered through the learning context (e.g., problems and examples related to environmental issues such as climate change, habitat destruction, population growth, energy conservation, and waste management).
Healthy Relationships in the Learning Environment
At Forest Green Academy International, every student is entitled to learn in a safe, respectful and caring environment, free from violence and harassment. The teacher will create a safe and supportive environment in the class by cultivating positive relationships between students and between the teacher and their students.
Equity and Inclusive Education in the Learning Environment
At Forest Green Academy International we embrace multiculturalism, human rights and diversity as fundamental values. Bullying, hate propaganda and cyber bullying, racism, religious intolerance, homophobia and gender-based violence are still evident in our communities and, unfortunately, in our schools. At Emerald Valley Academy International we address the needs of a rapidly changing and increasingly complex society by ensuring that our policies evolve with changing societal needs.
Ethics in the Learning Environment
At Forest Green Academy International teachers provide varied opportunities for students to learn about ethical issues and to explore the role of ethics in decision making.
Financial Literacy Connections
There is a growing recognition that the education system has a vital role to play in preparing young people to take their place as informed, engaged, and knowledgeable citizens in the global economy.
Because making informed decisions about economic and financial matters has become an increasingly complex undertaking in the modern world, where appropriate, the teacher will give students the opportunity to build knowledge and skills.
Literacy, Mathematical Literacy, and Inquiry Skills
At Forest Green Academy International, it is the responsibility of all of our teachers to explicitly teach literacy and inquiry skills.
Cooperative Education
Cooperative education programs allow students to earn secondary school credits while completing a work placement in the community. These programs compliment students’ academic programs and are valuable for all students, whatever their post-secondary destination.
Cooperative education courses may be earned using this course as one of the related courses.
Experiential Learning
Central to the philosophy at Forest Green Academy International is the focus on experiential learning. Planned learning experiences in the community, including job shadowing, field trips, and hands-on experiences will provide our 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 pathways through secondary school and make postsecondary plans.
Health and Safety in the Learning Environment
As part of every course, students must be made aware that health and safety in their learning environment are the responsibility of all participants – at home, at school, and in the workplace. Teachers will model safe practices at all times when communicating with students online.
The Role of the School Library
Although Forest Green Academy International does not have an official school library, students are encouraged to use e-books, local libraries, GALE resource archives and Curriculum Video Digital resources to develop important research and inquiry skills.
Promotion of Careers
The knowledge and skills students acquire in this course will be useful in helping students recognize the value of their education and applications to the world outside of school and identify possible careers, essential skills and work habits required to succeed. Students will learn how to connect their learning in asking questions and finding answers to employable skills.
During this course the teacher will:
- Ensure that all students develop the knowledge and skills they need to make informed education and career/life choices
- Provide a learning environment and online school-wide opportunities for this learning
- Engage parents and the broader community in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program to support students in their learning
- Use the four-step inquiry process linked to the four areas of learning:
- Knowing yourself – Who am I ?
- Exploring opportunities – What are my opportunities?
- Making decisions and setting goals – Who do I want to become?
- Achieving goals and making transitions – What is my plan for achieving my goals?
The teacher will support students in this course in education and career/life planning by providing them with learning opportunities, filtered through the lens of the four inquiry questions, that allow them to apply subject-specific knowledge and skills to work-related situations; explore subject-related education and career/life options, and become competent, self-directed planners.