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The Ontario Curriculum
The Ontario Curriculum
Author: Jim Leonard, Principal of the Canadian Pre-University (CPU) program at Taylor’s College
Created by the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Ontario Curriculum is a challenging, world-class curriculum, which leads to an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Ontario is the largest province by population in Canada and has 2,000,000 students in 5,000 schools. The OSSD is a very well-known and respected international credential for entry to universities around the world.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) commissioned a team from Harvard to study what Ontario has done to achieve very high academic student results, calling its report “Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education”. The National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE) in the US went further when it named its report “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”, urging the US to emulate what Ontario has done. Scores of delegations come to Ontario each year and all end up admiring what they see.
The Ontario Curriculum is offered at three institutions in Malaysia: Taylor’s College, which offers the Canadian Pre-University (CPU) program, Sunway International School, which offers the Ontario Secondary School Curriculum for Grades 7 to 11 and Sunway College, which offers the Canadian International Matriculation Program (CIMP) for Grade 12. Students who successfully complete either the CPU or CIMP programs will receive the OSSD. There are currently no schools in Malaysia offering the Ontario Curriculum at the primary level. It should be noted that Ontario Curriculum overseas secondary schools are required to have a minimum of 80% Ontario-certified expatriate teachers.
CORE VALUES AND KEY CHARACTERISTICS
The Ontario Curriculum holds that fundamental purpose of education is to produce in all of its graduates the quality of leadership – the capacity and commitment to act for one’s own good and for the common good.
To this end, the curriculum seeks to transform the learners of today into the leaders of tomorrow by fostering the development of six key qualities known as the “six Cs”:
• Character education: Honesty, self-regulation and responsibility, perseverance, empathy for contributing to the safety and benefit of others, self-confidence, personal health and well-being, career and life skills.
• Citizenship: Global knowledge, sensitivity to and respect for other cultures, active involvement in addressing issues of human and environmental sustainability.
• Communication: Communicate effectively orally, in writing and with a variety of digital tools; listening skills.
• Critical thinking and problem solving: Think critically to design and manage projects, solve problems, make effective decisions using a variety of digital tools and resources.
• Collaboration: Work in teams, learn from and contribute to the learning of others, social networking skills, empathy in working with diverse others.
• Creativity and imagination: Economic and social entrepreneurialism, considering and pursuing novel ideas, and leadership for action.
The Ontario Curriculum is based on a personalized, practical approach to learning and a belief that classroom activity must have a real world application. Students are actively engaged through interactive, hands-on learning activities and encouraged to develop research, communication,presentation and performance skills.
Technological resources are an integral component of the curriculum and classroom environment, enabling students to hone their ICT skills. In Taylor’s CPU, students participate in Blended Learning (online) assignments and are expected to use iPads to enhance their learning skills and can access the internet and the “Moodle” Learning Management System anywhere, due to the extensive on-campus Wifi network in classrooms and informal learning spaces.
OSSD REQUIREMENTS
Students who meet the graduation requirements of the Province of Ontario, Canada, Ministry of Education receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and an Ontario Student Transcript outlining the courses taken and the student’s achievement.
In order to receive the OSSD, students are required to successfully complete 30 credits (18 compulsory in English, mathematics, and Canadian history and geography and 12 optional), a literacy test called the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) in Grade 10 and community involvement activities (a minimum of 40 hours).
CPU students at Taylor’s College receive up to 24 Prior Learning Equivalency credits, in recognition of their prior secondary studies in Malaysia or other countries.
To complete the CPU and receive the OSSD, students must take six Ontario grade 12 university pathway credit courses, including grade 12 English, typically in a one-year two-semester program, pass the OSSLT test and complete 10 hours of community service.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
The Ontario Curriculum challenges students to be critical thinkers and intentional learners, responsible for their own learning through truly student-centered in-class learning activities, regular term tests, varied individual and group assignments and presentations in front of the class.
Assessment is ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning.
Teachers provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific and meaningful. The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning and achievement.
Assessment is based on the standards of the Ontario Ministry of Education, using diagnostic, formative and summative methods. Final grades are calculated based on the following scheme: 70% coursework (assignments, presentations, research papers, projects, independent study, etc.) reflecting the student’s most consistent level of achievement, with special consideration given to more recent evidence and 30% final exam.
For more information, visit www.edu.gov.on.ca
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