Introduction
This course examines the relationships between food, energy balance, and nutritional status; the nutritional needs of individuals at different stages of life; and the role of nutrition in health and disease. Students will evaluate nutrition-related trends and will determine how food choices can promote food security and environmental responsibility. Students will learn about healthy eating, expand their repertoire of food-preparation techniques, and develop their social science research skills by investigating issues related to nutrition and health.
An OSSD credit course
This course has been developed based on the following Ontario Ministry of Education documents:
- Social Sciences and Humanities, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12, 2013 (Revised)
- Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010)
Course Details
Curriculum Expectations
| A Research and Inquiry Skills | |
| A1 | Exploring: explore topics related to nutrition and health, and formulate questions to guide their research; |
| A2 | Investigating: create research plans, and locate and select information relevant to their chosen topics, using appropriate social science research and inquiry methods; |
| A3 | Processing Information: assess, record, analyse, and synthesize information gathered through research and inquiry; |
| A4 | Communicating and Reflecting: communicate the results of their research and inquiry clearly and effectively, and reflect on and evaluate their research, inquiry, and communication skills. |
| B Nutrition and Health | |
| B1 | Nutrients: demonstrate an understanding of nutrients and their connection to physical health; |
| B2 | Food Guides: demonstrate an understanding of Canada’s Food Guide and its role in promoting physical health; |
| B3 | Energy Balance: demonstrate an understanding of the physical processes involved in maintaining energy balance; |
| B4 | Nutritional Status: demonstrate an understanding of their nutrient intake and of factors that affect the nutritional status of individuals and groups. |
| C Eating Patterns and Trends | |
| C1 | Nutrition throughout the Lifespan: demonstrate an understanding of food- and nutrition-related issues at different stages in the lifespan; |
| C2 | Nutrition and Disease: demonstrate an understanding of the relationships between nutrition, health, and disease; |
| C3 | Trends and Patterns in Food and Nutrition: demonstrate an understanding of current Canadian trends and patterns in nutritional guidelines and in food production and consumption. |
| D Local and Global Issues | |
| D1 | Food Security: demonstrate an understanding of various factors involved in achieving and maintaining food security; |
| D2 | Food Production and Supply: demonstrate an understanding of various factors that affect food production and supply; |
| D3 | Food Production and the Environment: demonstrate an understanding of the impact of food production on the environment. |
| E Food-Preparation Skills | |
| E1 | Kitchen Safety: demonstrate an understanding of practices that ensure or enhance kitchen safety; |
| E2 | Food Safety: demonstrate an understanding of practices that ensure or enhance food safety; |
| E3 | Food Preparation: demonstrate skills needed in food preparation. |
How you are assessed in this course
At Agile Preparatory Academy, tests and assignments are carefully crafted to promote understanding of course content and help students achieve academic success. This success translates to high grades achieved by our students, which reflect a thorough understanding of concepts covered in the course as well as meeting and exceeding curriculum expectations.
Assessment FOR / AS / OF learning
Our teachers champion the idea that the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Our teachers monitor student progression through the course and provide reflection and feedback that guides students towards improvement. The assessment and evaluation strategies of our school follow the Ministry of Education's policies and curriculum requirements. Our teachers use the following types of assessments to improve student learning:
Assessment for learning – These assessments include practice questions which do not contribute significantly (or at all) to the final grade. These assessments give students opportunities to practice their skills and test their knowledge prior to attempting assessments that affect their final grade. It also gives students and teachers opportunities to identify gaps in understanding and discover concepts that have been misunderstood. Here, our teacher gives students descriptive feedback and coaching for improvement.
Assessment as learning – These assessments include self reflections. The purpose of these assessments is to help students develop their capacity to be independent and autonomous learners who are able to set their own goals, monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and reflect on their thinking and learning. These tasks allow students to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses and allow them to advocate for their own learning.
Assessment of learning – These assessments contribute to the final mark of the course. Our teachers ensure that these assessments are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to give multiple opportunities to our students to demonstrate the full range of their learning. It allows our teachers to judge the quality of student learning with respect to curriculum expectations and assign a percentage grade to represent that quality. These assessments are designed to be fair, transparent, and equitable for of our students.
The Final Grade
The overall grade of the course is composed of:
- 70% from course work
- 30% from final evaluation
Most of the overall grade, 70%, is based on course work done prior to the final evaluation. This portion of the grade reflects the student's most consistent level of achievement in the course, with special consideration given to more recent evidence of achievement. Here, our teachers gather evidence of learning from assignments, projects, presentations, and tests throughout the course (Assessment of Learning), giving students multiple opportunities to perform well.
The balance, only 30% of the overall grade, is gathered from final evaluations administered at the end of the course. The final assessment may be a final exam, a final project, or a combination of both an exam and a project.
The OSSD credit
A credit is granted and recorded when the final percentage mark in this course is 50 per cent or higher.
Agile Prep Academy is a high school through which a student can earn credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) high school diploma. We are in compliance with Ontario Ministry of Education policies, and are assessed and authorized by the Ministry to grant the OSSD diploma as well as OSSD credits.
Our courses are taught online, which allows our students to meet and exceed the online credit requirements needed for graduation. For further high school graduation requirements, including the Online learning graduation requirement, please visit the Ministry’s website.