BY PAUL JUNOR
It has been fifteen years since Ontario’s elementary science and technology was revised. Ontario Education Minister Stephen announced at a news conference on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022, that Ontario would be revamping its elementary school science curriculum to focus on four specific areas. These include: STEM education, skilled trades, emerging technologies, and hands-on practice.
The Ministry of Education previously indicated that changes were coming and consultations have been going on since 2018. Ministry officials revealed that there were approximately 30,000. Minister Leece states, “Parents want to know that their child is learning relevant, current knowledge that reflects the world that we live in today. We heard clearly that Ontarians want their children to learn more about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, focused on the life and job skills necessary for our students to succeed.”
In a media statement from the Ministry of Education on March 8th, 2022, it was revealed that these changes were necessary as part of the “Government’s plans to align curriculum changes with the province’s economic needs and place an emphasis on critical skills and job skills including the fast-growing skilled trades.” The revamped curriculum is driven by fundamental transformations in scientific and technological innovations such as 3D printing and genomic vaccines.
Minister Leece states in the press release, “Ontario has transformed the curriculum to now emphasize STEM education across all grades, embedding life and job skills innovators and entrepreneurs. From finding new cures for cancer to space robotics that reach new planets, and the development of artificial intelligence and the technologies that are changing the economy. Ontario’s new science and technology curriculum is focused on giving young people the skills to think critically, dream boldly and chart new pathways forward for our economy.”
Some of the new expectations in the revised curriculum are:
- Coding: mandatory learning on coding from Grades 1 to 9, consistent with the math curriculum, to further enshrine Ontario as a STEM leader
- Connecting STEM learning: for the first time, Ontario has dedicated learning expectations from Grades 1 to 9 which explicitly connects science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to real-world issues
- Emerging technology: students will learn about the rise and application of advanced research, robotics, and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems
- Skilled trades: mandatory learning from Grades 4 to 9 on the relationship between how advancements in science and emerging technologies are enhancing the skilled trades and providing exciting career opportunities
- Food literacy: learning related to food literacy to make decisions that affect physical and mental health, consider local food production, and the scientific processes involved in agriculture
The revised science curriculum will be implemented in September 2022 in time for students to be exposed to the revised Grade 9 de-streamed curriculum in 2022-23.
