About the course
In this course, students will explore physical processes related to the earth’s water, land, and air. They will investigate how these processes shape the planet’s natural characteristics and affect human systems, how they are involved in the creation of natural disasters, and how they influence the impacts of human disasters. Throughout the course, students will apply the concepts of geographic thinking and the geographic inquiry process and use spatial technologies to analyse these processes, make predictions related to natural disasters and assess ways of responding to them.
Forces of nature: Physical Processes and Disasters
Course Credit
1
Course Price
$ 550.00
Course Developer
My Learning Oasis
Prerequisite(s) (Text)
Issues in Canadian Geography, Grade 9, Academic (CGC1D)
Course Code
Department Head & Contact Information
CGF3M
Ravi Sharma (ravi@mylearningoasis.com)
Course Type
College
Grade Level
Grade 11
Course Development Date
June 10th, 2021
Course Outline
Spatial Organization: Spheres of the Earth
In this unit, students will look at “Physical Processes and Natural Hazards” and analyze the characteristics of different types of natural hazards, and discuss the role of physical processes in their occurrence. They will also look at “Spatial Connections” and analyze relationships between physical processes and the earth’s physical characteristics. They will look at “Patterns and Trends” and “Physical Characteristics of the Earth” and the spatial distribution of the earth’s physical features and the processes that form them.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 27 hours
The Physical Environment: Sustainability and Stewardship
In this unit, students will look at “Renewing the Physical Environment” and analyze the role of physical processes and human practices in maintaining a sustainable natural environment. They will look at “Human Impact on the Physical Environment” and explore the impacts of human activities on the earth’s physical processes and the natural environment. Students will then delve into “Human Use of the Physical Environment'' and analyze the influence of physical processes and features on human activity.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 27 hours
Systems: Interaction and Interdependence
In this unit, students will look at “Sharing the Physical Environment” and analyze issues relating to natural and human impacts on the environment and the sharing of natural resources between population groups. They will look at “Population and Disasters” and analyze the influence of human settlement choices and the earth’s physical processes on the impacts of disasters. Students will then look at “Patterns and Trends” and the “Earth’s Planetary Characteristics and Life”. They will examine the significance of Earth’s planetary characteristics and history for the development and maintenance of life on Earth
Expected Hours of Instruction: 26 hours
Impacts of Change
In this unit students will look at “Impacts of Processes and Disasters” and analyze the impacts of physical processes and disasters on human and natural systems, locally, nationally, and 26 hours globally. They will look at “Disaster Preparedness” and assess the role and effectiveness of various options for reducing the impacts of disasters on human populations. Students will then look at “Spatial Significance” and “ Processes of Change”. They will examine how the earth’s natural systems change, and have changed, over various time scales, and analyze some of the processes that cause these changes.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 26 hours
Career
In this section students will look at some career paths that will require Geography exclusively and some that require knowledge of the fundamental or advanced knowledge of geography.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 2 hours
Exam
This is a proctored exam worth 30% of your final grade.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 2 hours
Total: 110 hours
Resources
This course does not require or rely on any textbook.
● 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. Geographic Inquiry and Skill Development
A1: use the geographic inquiry process and the concepts of geographic thinking when investigating physical systems, natural phenomena, and natural events
A2: apply in everyday contexts skills, including spatial skills, developed through geographical investigation, and identify some careers in which a background in geography might be an asset
B. Spatial Organization: Spheres of the Earth
B1: analyze the characteristics of different types of natural hazards, and explain the role of physical processes in their occurrence
B2: analyze relationships between physical processes and the earth’s physical characteristics
B3: describe the spatial distribution of the earth’s physical features and the processes that form them
C. The Physical Environment: Sustainability and Stewardship
C1: analyze the role of physical processes and human practices in maintaining a sustainable natural environment
C2: analyze the impacts of human activities on the earth’s physical processes and the natural environment
C3: analyze the influence of physical processes and features on human activity
D. Systems: Interaction and Interdependence
D1: analyze issues relating to natural and human impacts on the environment and the sharing of natural resources between population groups
D2: analyze the influence of human settlement choices and the earth’s physical processes on the impacts of disasters
D3: explain the significance of Earth’s planetary characteristics and history for the development and maintenance of life on Earth.
E. Impacts of Change
E1: analyze impacts of physical processes and disasters on human and natural systems, locally, nationally, and globally
E2: assess the role and effectiveness of various options for reducing the impacts of disasters on human populations
E3: describe how the earth’s natural systems change, and have changed, over various time scales, and explain some of the processes that cause these changes
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 may 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, 2018; Date of extraction: 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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