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Programming Concepts & Skills
Software Development
Designing Modular Programs
Topics in Computer Science

Computer Science, Grade 12

Course Description:

This course enables students to further develop knowledge and skills in computer science. Students will use modular design principles to create complex and fully documented programs, according to industry standards. Student teams will manage a large software development project, from planning through to project review. Students will also analyse algorithms for effectiveness. They will investigate ethical issues in computing and further explore environmental issues, emerging technologies, areas of research in computer science, and careers in the field. (page 39)

Prerequisite: Introduction to Computer Science, Grade 11, University Preparation (ICS3U)

Overview of the program

Open courses are designed to broaden students’ knowledge and skills in subjects that reflect their interests and to prepare them for active and rewarding participation in society. They are not designed with the specific requirements of universities, colleges, or the workplace in mind...

University preparation courses provide students with a foundation in the broad spectrum of computer science concepts and applications. In these courses, students explore the theoretical underpinnings of computer science; design software, working independently and as part of a team and using industry-standard programming tools and the software development life-cycle model; and investigate various computer science–related topics, such as cryptography and artificial intelligence. (page 7-8)

Curriculum Expectations

The expectations identified for each course describe the knowledge and skills that students are expected to develop and demonstrate in their class work, on tests, and in various other activities on which their achievement is assessed and evaluated. (page 9)

Each course in computer studies is organized into distinct but related strands. The strands are particular to each course.

[T]he Grade 12 course has four strands. [T]he first strand is A. Programming Concepts and Skills, and the second is B. Software Development. The third strand ...focuses on ... C. Designing Modular Programs... The fourth strand (D. Topics in Computer Science) deals with the role of computers in society, and includes expectations regarding environmental concerns, the ethical use of computers, and career exploration. In this strand, the university preparation courses also explore new research in the field of information and computer science, and its implications for society. (page 11)

Two sets of expectations are listed for each strand, or broad curriculum area, of each course. (The strands are numbered A, B, C, and so on.)

• The overall expectations describe in general terms the knowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate by the end of each course.
• The specific expectations describe the expected knowledge and skills in greater detail. The specific expectations are grouped under numbered subheadings, each of which indicates the strand and the overall expectation to which the subgrouping of specific expectations corresponds (e.g., “B2” indicates that the group relates to overall expectation 2 in strand B). The subheadings may serve as a guide for
  teachers as they plan learning activities for their students. (page 9)

Source: The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 10 to 12: Computer Studies, 2008 (revised) PDF Format