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Physics

Course Description

This course enables students to deepen their understanding of physics concepts and theories. Students will continue their exploration of energy transformations and the forces that affect motion, and will investigate electrical, gravitational, and magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation. Students will also explore the wave nature of light, quantum mechanics, and special relativity. They will further develop their scientific investigation skills, learning, for example, how to analyze, qualitatively and quantitatively, data related to a variety of physics concepts and principles. Students will also consider the impact of technological applications of physics on society and the environment.

Summary Of Units

Fundamental Concepts Covered In Grade 12 Online Course


This course enables students to deepen their understanding of physics concepts and theories. Students will continue their exploration of energy transformations and the forces that affect motion, and will investigate electrical, gravitational, and magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation. Students will also explore the wave nature of light, quantum mechanics, and special relativity. They will further develop their scientific investigation skills, learning, for example, how to analyse, qualitatively and quantitatively, data related to a variety of physics concepts and principles. Students will also consider the impact of technological applications of physics on society and the environment.

Teaching And Learning Strategies In An Online School


Teachers will bring enthusiasm and varied teaching and assessment approaches to the classroom, addressing individual students’ needs and ensuring sound learning opportunities for every student. The activities offered should enable students to relate and apply these concepts to the social, environmental, and economical conditions and concerns of the world in which they live. Opportunities to relate knowledge and skills to these wider contexts will motivate students to learn in a meaningful way and to become life-long learners. Teachers will to help students understand that problem solving of any kind often requires a considerable expenditure of time and energy and a good deal of perseverance. Teachers also will encourage students to investigate, to reason, to explore alternative solutions and to take the risks necessary to become successful problem solvers. Effective instructional approaches and learning activities draw on students’ prior knowledge, capture their interest, and encourage meaningful practise both inside and outside the classroom. Students will be engaged when they are able to see the connection between the scientific concepts they are learning and their application in the world around them and in real-life situations. Due to its importance, students will have opportunities to learn in a variety of ways- individually, cooperatively, independently, with teacher direction, through hands-on experiences, and through examples followed by practice. The approaches and strategies teachers use will vary according to both the object of the learning and the needs of the students. Teachers will accomplish this in an online environment with the use of virtual labs, online simulation, animations, videos, discussion forums, live chat, and other interactive objects.

Assessment & Evaluation


As summarized inGrowing Success 2010,the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations in each course. This information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement. Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality. All curriculum expectations must be accounted for in instruction, but evaluation focuses on students’ achievement of the overall expectations. A students’ achievement of the overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of his or her achievement of related specific expectations. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of overall expectations, and which ones will be covered in instruction and assessment but not necessarily evaluated. In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers must use assessment and evaluation strategies that:

  • Address both what students learn and how well they learn

  • Are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions given in the achievement chart

  • Are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning

  • Are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and experiences of the students

  • Are fair to all students

  • Accommodate students with special education needs, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Education Plan

  • Accommodate the needs of students who are learning the language of instruction

  • Ensure that each student is given clear directions for improvement

  • Promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals

  • Include the use of samples of students’ work that provide evidence of their achievement

  • Are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year and at other appropriate points throughout the school year.

The achievement chart for mathematics outlines four categories of knowledge and skills. They include; knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication and application. Teachers will ensure that student work is assessed and/or evaluated in a balanced manner with respect to the four categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. A final grade is recorded for this course, and a credit is granted and recorded for this course if the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:

  • Seventy percent of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.

  • Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation and administered towards the end of the course.

Resources


Teachers will bring additional resources and teaching materials that provide a rich and diverse learning environment. Units in this course profile make specific reference to the intended textbook for this course but can be substituted for any relevant and approved text.

  • Hirsch,

  • Alan J. Nelson Physics 12. Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2003. Print. ISBN 0176259880

  • Gizmos! ExploreLearning. Web. 16 June 2010.

  • “PhET: Free Online Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science and Math Simulations.” Web. 17 June 2010.

  • “Advanced Placement Physics B : Free Education : Download & Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive: Free Movies, Music, Books & Wayback Machine. Web. 17 June 2010.

Reference: Science, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12, 2008 (Revised) Ministry of Education of Ontario

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)Requirements for all course.

Final Mark Calculation

Calculation of the Term Mark will be based upon the Categories of the Achievement Chart. This chart is meant to assist teachers in planning instruction and learning activities for the achievement of the curriculum expectations. It is also used in designing assessment and evaluation tools and in providing feedback to students. Each mathematical topic will contain each category in the chart due to the integrated nature of the discipline in mathematics. Final marks will be calculated as follows:

Missed and Late Assignments Policy

Our school will make it clear to the students and parents/guardians early in the school year that they are responsible for providing evidence of their achievement of the overall expectations within the time frame specified by the teacher and in a form approved by the teacher. Students must understand that there will be consequences for not completing assignments for evaluation or for submitting those assignments late. Where in the teacher’s professional judgment it is appropriate to do so, a number of strategies will be used to encourage the student to modify his/her behaviour. Some of these may include:

  • Asking the student to clarify the reason for not completing the assignment taking into consideration legitimate reasons for missed deadlines.

  • Helping students develop better time management skills.

  • Maintaining ongoing communication with students and/or parents about due dates and late assignments, and scheduling conferences with parents if the problem persists.

  • Setting up a student contract

  • Reviewing the need for extra support for English Language learners.

  • Providing alternative assignments or tests/exams where, in the teacher’s professional judgment, it is reasonable and appropriate to do so.

  • Deducting marks for late assignments, up to and including the full value of the assignment.

Students and parent/guardians will be informed in a timely fashion via phone call, face to face conference, e-mail and if need be a formal letter about the importance of submitting assignments for evaluation when they are due and about the consequences for students who submit assignments late or fail to submit assignments. If the above measures have been put into place and the behavior of the student has not provided sufficient evidence, then 0 will be inserted as the mark for the missed assignment.

Plagiarism/Cheating

Any incident of plagiarism or cheating will result in a resubmission/rewrite of that particular assignment/test at the end of the course on the student’s own time and at his/her own expense to pay for the creation and marking of a new assessment. This incident will be documented in the office. A second incident of plagiarism or cheating in any course will result in a mark of zero for that assignment. For example, if you cheat on a math test and then plagiarize an English essay, you will receive a

zero on the essay.

Consideration of Program Planning

Teachers who are planning a program in mathematics must take into account considerations in a number of important areas described below.

Whenever necessary accommodations will be made for students with learning differences to allow them to satisfactorily complete their course work by giving them opportunities to learn in a variety of ways – individually, cooperatively, independently, with teacher direction, through investigation involving hands-on experience, and through examples followed by practice. Specifically, math students are required to learn concepts, acquire procedures and skills, and apply processes with the aid of the instructional and learning strategies best suited to the particular type of learning.

The role of information and communication technology in the curriculum – using technology helps the students make more powerful learners by giving them means such as use of visual and interactive methods to explore the concepts and develop their logical and analytical skills. Highly interactive web-based tools include simulations, multimedia resources, databases, tutoring sites that give access to valuable learning data modules. By offering web-based practices and testing allow the teacher to provide almost instant and descriptive feedback to improve learning.

English as a second language - a variety of types of accommodations may be used to support English language learners as they develop mathematical knowledge and skills including the following: 

Accommodations related to instructional strategies, such as

  • extensive use of visual cues

  • use of graphic organizers

  • strategic use of students’ first language

  • allowance of extra time

  • pre-teaching of key words

  • simplification/repetition of instructions as needed

  • simultaneous use of oral and written instructions

Accommodations related to learning strategies, such as

  • extensive use of visual materials

  • use of adapted texts and bilingual dictionaries

  • use of technology

Accommodations related to assessment strategies, such as

  • allowance of extra time

  • use of simplified language and instructions

Career education in mathematics – Teachers can promote students’ awareness of careers involving mathematics by exploring applications of concepts and providing opportunities for career-related project work. Such activities allow students the opportunity to investigate mathematics-related careers compatible with their interests, aspirations, and abilities.

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