Courses

At Canadian Scholars Collegiate, our classroom environment is a blend of the social, emotional, and instructional elements. Our classroom environment can affect student motivation and that students who are more motivated, put more effort into learning activities. 

There are few things that CSC teachers do to build a warm and inclusive classroom where our students feel like they belong and can do their best work.

Goals, Setting Guidelines

• Make the course goals clear to our students so that they can focus on the essential information. We told students how we expect them to reach those goals.
• Establish guidelines to ensure our classroom is inclusive, respectful, and conducive to learning. We use clear guidelines to create a safe learning environment that ensures respect for student ideas and viewpoints.

Creating a Sense of Belonging

• We help our students get to know each other by using icebreakers
• We ask students to share something about themselves; also learn their names and something about them
• We encourage participation
• We let students know how to get help (e.g., office hours, help centres, etc.)
• We care the verbal and non-verbal cues and what they’re communicating to the students (e.g., folding arms creates a barrier between teachers and students; making eye-contact helps to establish trust)
• We come to class early and talk informally with students as they arrive to build rapport.  

Instructor & Course Organization

We try to create a supportive, positive environment to reduce student anxiety and stress.

• We align our learning objectives, assessments, and instructional strategies, and provide a clear course structure
• We help students to prepare themselves for what they need to do within and outside of class to succeed
• We provide early opportunities for feedback, and continue with targeted, timely feedback during the course
• We use active learning strategies and have students work together regularly
• We give students opportunities to practice and reflect upon what they are learning
• We make it clear about the material covered in quizzes and prelims, and how these assessments will be graded

Leading Discussions

• We encourage students to join classroom discussion. We ask students to create their own rules for civility, respect, etc.
  • We ask our students to think about learning environments in which they felt most comfortable speaking up and listening closely to others
  • We ask students what conditions do they need to feel confident participating, and what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour?
• Our teachers convey the respect for all opinions and encourage participation
• We allow space for everyone to participate
• Our teachers address difficult or uncomfortable topics directly.

Students may be required to go into school to take a final exam or if they need to use the internet, devices and other school supports (for example, guidance, mental health and well-being supports). This is different from remote learning where classes are taught virtually when in-person learning is not possible (for example, on snow days or during other interruptions or emergencies).

Students in Grades 9 to 12 can use CSC online courses to gain experience with online learning and help prepare for life after secondary school, where learning and working online is becoming the norm in many sectors.

Benefits for students

By expanding access to teacher-led online learning, students will have the opportunity to:

• get credits in subjects they find interesting but that may not be available at their school
• learn in engaging ways, such as through interactive features, simulations and collaboration with others across the province
• gain important transferable skills, including digital literacy, to support lifelong learning and employment opportunities