About the course
This course explores a range of contemporary legal issues and how they are addressed in both Canadian and international law. Students will develop an understanding of the principles of Canadian and international law and of issues related to human rights and freedoms, conflict resolution, and criminal, environmental, and workplace law, both in Canada and internationally. Students will apply the concepts of legal thinking and the legal studies inquiry process, and will develop legal reasoning skills, when investigating these and other issues in both Canadian and international contexts.
Canadian and International Law
Course Credit
1
Course Price
$ 550.00
Course Developer
My Learning Oasis
Prerequisite(s) (Text)
Any university or university/college preparation course
in Canadian and world studies, English, or social
sciences and humanities
Course Code
Department Head & Contact Information
CLN4U
Ravi Sharma (ravi@mylearningoasis.com)
Course Type
University
Grade Level
Grade 12
Course Development Date
June 10th, 2021
Course Outline
The Inquiry Process and Skill Development in Legal Studies
In this unit, students will explore “The Inquiry Process in Legal Studies''. They will look at how to use the legal studies inquiry process and the concepts of legal thinking when investigating law and legal issues in Canada. They will explore “Transferable Skills'' and how to apply them in everyday contexts. The skills learnt in this unit will be revisited in other units as the course proceeds.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 3 Hours
Legal Foundations
In this unit students will explore foundational concepts and principles relating to law and assess their significance (FOCUS ON: Legal Significance). They will analyze how and to what extent various legal theories and procedures have influenced the Canadian and international legal systems (FOCUS ON: Interrelationships; Legal Perspective). Students will then delve into the various influences, including those of individuals and groups, on the development of Canadian and international law.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 22 Hours
Rights and Freedoms
In this unit students will explore the principles underpinning human rights law and the legal significance of those laws, in Canada and internationally. They will look at and analyze issues associated with the development of human rights law, in Canada and internationally. Students will compare and contrast the roles of the legislative and judicial branches of government in protecting human rights and freedoms, with a particular emphasis on Canada. They will analyze various contemporary issues in relation to their impact or potential impact on human rights law.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 23 Hours
Foundations of International Law and Dispute Resolution
In this unit students will explore the legal importance of various key principles and issues in international law and analyze how various factors have influenced the development of international law. Students will look at and analyze how various agreements, treaties, and conventions in international law influence international conflict and cooperation.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 30 Hours
International Legal Issues
In this unit students will analyze various concepts, legal systems, and issues in criminal law, in Canada and internationally. They will analyze factors that influence the effectiveness of domestic and international environmental legislation. Students will explore the legal principles, systems, and processes used to protect various parties’ interests in the workplace, in Canada and internationally. Students will analyse emerging global issues and their implications for international law.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 30 Hours
Final Exam
This is a proctored exam worth 30% of your final grade.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 2 hours
Total Hours: 110 hours
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.
● Oxford University Press: Canadian and International Law
● Every student needs access to an electronic device to communicate with their teacher
● All class notes and assignments will be provided by teachers.
Overall Curriculum Expectations
A. The Inquiry Process and Skill Development in Legal Studies
A1: use the legal studies inquiry process and the concepts of legal thinking when investigating legal issues in Canada and around the world, and issues relating to international law
A2: apply in everyday contexts skills developed through the study of law, and identify careers in which a background in law might be an asset
B. Legal Foundations
B1: identify foundational concepts and principles relating to law and explain their significance
B2: analyze how and to what extent various legal theories and procedures have influenced the Canadian and international legal systems B3 explain various influences, including those of individuals and groups, on the development of Canadian and international law
C. Rights and Freedoms
C1: explain the principles underpinning human rights law and the legal significance of those laws, in Canada and internationally
C2: analyze issues associated with the development of human rights law, in Canada and internationally
C3: compare the roles of the legislative and judicial branches of government in protecting human rights and freedoms, with a particular emphasis on Canada
C4: analyze various contemporary issues in relation to their impact or potential impact on human rights law
D. Foundations of International Law and Dispute Resolution
D1: explain the legal importance of various key principles and issues in international law
D2: analyze how various factors have influenced the development of international law
D3: analyze how various agreements, treaties, and conventions in international law influence international conflict and cooperation
E. International Legal Issues
E1: analyze various concepts, legal systems, and issues in criminal law, in Canada and internationally
E2: analyze factors that influence the effectiveness of domestic and international environmental legislation
E3: analyze legal principles, systems, and processes used to protect various parties’ interests in the workplace, in Canada and internationally
E4: analyze emerging global issues and their implications for international law
Special Accommodations
Only Some students are able, with accommodations, to be part of a regular course curriculum and to demonstrate independent learning. These accommodations allow access to the course without any dilution of the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. These required accommodations to facilitate the student’s learning will be identified in his or her IEP (see IEP Standards, 2000, page 11*).
It is likely that IEP for many or all courses will reflect the same accommodations. The instructions and accommodations are geared to meet the diverse needs of learners. The three types of accommodations that are going to be used are:
i) Instructional accommodations - changes in teaching/learning strategies facilitated by different styles of presentation; methods of organization; the use of technology and multimedia.
ii) Environmental accommodations - Certain classroom settings and preferential seating may benefit these students.
iii) Assessment: assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as Multiple Intelligence Theory, giving more time to complete tasks (see page 29 of the IEP Resource Guide, 2004, for more examples).
For students who require accommodations for only the mathematics courses, the assessment and evaluation of their achievement will be based on the appropriate course curriculum expectations and the achievement levels outlined in this document. The IEP box on the students’ Provincial Report Cards will not be checked, and no information on the provision of accommodations will be included.
* Taken from: Ministry of Education, Ontario. Extracted from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Canadian and World Studies, 2015; Date of extraction: date: Sunday, March 14, 2021
Program Considerations For English Language Learners
Students from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For many of these students, English is not their spoken language. They may be coming from highly sophisticated educational systems, while others may have come from regions where access to formal schooling was limited. These students offer a rich addition to the classroom experience by way of their background knowledge and experience. All teachers will assist with their English-language development. In mathematics the teachers will include appropriate adaptations and strategies in their instructions and assessments to facilitate the success of the English language learners in their classrooms. Some of these strategies and adaptations are: modification of some or all of the course expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher.
Teaching/Learning Strategy
The key learning strategy at My Learning Oasis Elite Private School is Constructivism. This format facilitates learning by many techniques, most or all of which will be adopted in the classroom. The most dominant of these is group learning. The facilitator places students of different backgrounds in the same group so that they can feed off each other. Each may bring to the table a different reasoning strategy to facilitate problem-solving. Now, each student becomes a learner and a teacher at the same time, as he/she has to communicate his/her solution.
This builds the students' knowledge base and by default, increases their confidence to speak in a crowd, albeit a small group at the beginning. The famous educationalist, Vygotsky, proved that by placing students in a group they function at the upper level of their zone of proximal development, each one scaffolding the other. This strategy is further enhanced by the teacher asking leading questions as opposed to giving the answer outright, then allowing for group discussion. The students are encouraged to make connections between what they have learnt and their life experiences, then share with the group. The effect of this strategy is intrinsic motivation and learning. Each student develops an expanded appreciation of the topic at hand by seeing how it applies in different settings around the world by way of listening to their group members. This Constructivist approach will be further accentuated by implementing “fish-bowling”.
There are many ways to implement this technique. The one that will mostly be used will be by dividing up the larger problem (technical, mathematics, science, or otherwise) into smaller bits and have each student thoughtfully master one part. That student then teaches the group and facilitates a discussion reflection about the strategy (computational or otherwise) used in the solution. Each student in turn does this. The above techniques enable students to reflect on the material learnt, make real life connections, and develop problem solving skills. One important by-product of the technique of Constructivism is that each student develops an appreciation of each other’s culture. This cultivates healthy people’s skill, which is not only important for the professional world but for life itself.
Constructivism lends itself well to students whose first language is not the language of instruction and who is new to the class. While other strategies will be used for students having difficulty with the English Language, this technique will definitely be used to enhance their English skill.
Assessment And Evaluation
At My Learning Oasis, course facilitators do not wait for a quiz or exam to determine how well a student is doing. Here, evaluation is an on-going exercise. The pedagogical techniques (refer to Teaching and Learning Strategies) used at My learning Oasis are perhaps the best techniques suited for on-going assessment, hence, they being an integral part of our delivery methodologies. Concrete assessments are made through projects and assignments. However, the evaluation is based on “our flavor” of the Mastery Teaching technique. This ensures that the emphasis is on the quality of learning and NOT grading. Students' projects and homework will continuously be evaluated and re-evaluated with appropriate guidance to meet the school’s and Ministry’s expectations.
At My Learning Oasis, we will work with the students until the projects meet a minimum of a B-grade, unless in extreme circumstances where the willful negligence of the students force lower grades. While this is a lot more taxing on the facilitator, it does not matter because My Learning Oasis is a Learner-centered institution NOT a Grade-Centered nor a Teacher-Centered institution. Four categories of knowledge and skills are outlined in the achievement chart - knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application. Student’s work is assessed and evaluated with respect to these categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. A final grade will then be recorded for this course and if that grade is 50% or higher, a credit is granted to the student and recorded for this course.
The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:
● For material evaluated throughout the course, seventy percent of the grade will be assigned. This portion of the grade should reflect the student's consistency in his/her 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, which is administered towards the end of the course
Final Exam 30%
Grading for all course work, projects, presentation, participation, interim quizzes and exams 70%
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