Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
Upper Grand District School Board
Course Outline
Department: Business
Course Title: Analysing Current Economic
Issues
Course Type: University
Grade: 12
Course Code: CIA4U
Credit Value: 1.0
Department Head: Stephen Fleming
Teacher: Sebastian Conti
Date of Development: 2015
Curriculum Document:
Course Prerequisites/Corequisites:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/se
condary/2015cws11and12.pdf
Any university or university/college
preparation course in Social Sciences and
Humanities, English, or Canadian and World
Studies.
Course Description:
This course examines current Canadian and international economic issues, developments,
policies, and practices from diverse perspectives. Students will explore the decisions that
individuals and institutions, including governments, make in response to economic issues such as
globalization, trade agreements, economic inequalities, regulation, and public spending. Students
will apply the concepts of economic thinking and the economic inquiry process, as well as
economic models and theories, to investigate, and develop informed opinions about, economic
trade-offs, growth, and sustainability and related economic issues.
Term Work (70% of the final mark)
Unit Title, Big Ideas, and Unit Culminating Tasks
Economic Reasoning
The first unit of this course begins by having students explore basic economic concepts such as
production possibilities curves, scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost. The second half of the unit
deals with different types of economies, including traditional, command, market and mixed, and
also looks at key figures in economics like Adam Smith and Karl Marx.
Demand, Supply and Price
The second unit takes an in-depth look at the all important aspects and determinants of market
demand, market supply, and market price. The laws of demand and supply are covered, as is the
concept of price elasticity.
Summative test on the first two units.
Microeconomics: The Analysis of Markets
In this unit, students learn through examples the role of production and costs. Production under
perfect and imperfect competition is examined with topics such as profit maximization,
monopolies, and oligopolies being covered in depth. Student close out the unit with an analysis of
the market for labour, learning about demand and supply shifts, wages and other labour market
issues.
Summative test on the third unit.
Measuring Macroeconomic Performance
Now that students have learned the basics and have an understanding of microeconomics, they
begin to explore large-scale economic phenomena. This unit sees students learning about GDP,
including the expenditures and income approaches. They will also learn to calculate a country’s
GDP. Other major topics such as unemployment and inflation are covered in detail.
Summative test on the forth unit.
Boom, Bust and Equilibrium: Economic Instability and Fiscal Policy
Students learn about economic fluctuations and fiscal policy in this unit. The aggregate demand
and aggregate supply model is covered and students learn how to draw and use sketch-graphs to
show how certain factors will affect the AD curve. The potential effects of shocks to the economic
system, such as changes in government spending, changes in net exports, and changes in
investment are also explored. The second half of the unit delves into fiscal policy. Both
expansionary and contractionary fiscal policies are covered, and topics such as the multiplier
effect, automatics stabilizers, and the pros and cons of fiscal policy are analyzed.
Boom, Bust and Equilibrium: Money, Banking and Monetary Policy
This unit carefully examines three major topics: money, banks and the money
creation/destruction process, and monetary policy. Students learn about the evolution and
importance of money, the measurement of the money supply, and the money market. A thorough
look at banks and the multi-bank system is then undertaken, and formulas for monetary
expansion are learned. The last section of this unit sees students learning about central banks and
monetary policy, as well as how this policy affects the real economy.
Summative test on the fifth and sixth units.
Canada in the World Economy: International Trade Finance and Economic Growth
In the last unit of the course, students learn about Canada as a trading nation, and the benefits
and strains of international trade. Principles of International Trade Theory are explored, as are
trade barriers and international trade policies. Balance of payments issues, the value of the
Canadian dollar, and fluctuating exchange rates are examined in the second section of the unit,
with students learning how to read foreign exchange rate tables. Lastly, economic growth is
covered in the final section. The significance, measurement, and sources of economic growth are
looked at in detail, and students also learn about topics such as promoting capital investment and
technological progress.
Summative test on the seventh unit.
Culminating Tasks/Exams (30% or the final mark)
Course Culminating Task/Exams and Description
Exam
This is an exam worth 30% of your final grade.
Based on the range of students’ learning needs, a selection from the strategies listed below may be
utilized. Refer to list of teaching and assessment strategies.
Teaching Strategies:
This course provides differentiated learning for its students by implementing the following
teaching and learning strategies:
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Activity-based Strategies: Oral presentations, panel discussion, and repetition and
practice.
Independent Learning Strategies: Homework, independent reading, independent study,
learning log, memorization, portfolio, reflection, report writing, and response journals.
Inquiry and Research Model Strategies: Inquiry process, questioning process, research
process, writing process.
Learning skills accommodation: Interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence,
logical-mathematical intelligence, verbal-linguistic intelligence, and visual spatial
intelligence.
Technology and Media-based Strategies: Communications applications, computer assisted
instruction, email applications, Internet technologies, media presentations, media
production, and multimedia applications.
Thinking Skills Strategies: Case study, classifying, concepts verification, concept mapping,
expressing another point of view, issue-based analysis, lateral thinking, media analysis,
metacognitive reflection, oral explanation, problem posing, problem-solving, and writing
to learn.
Assessment and evaluation strategies:
Assessment and evaluation follows the Ministry of Education's Growing Success document.
Assessment is designed in such a way as to make it possible to gather and show evidence of
learning in a variety of ways to gradually release responsibility to the students, and to give
multiple and varied opportunities to reflect on learning and receive detailed feedback.
Growing Success articulates the vision the Ministry has for the purpose and structure of
assessment and evaluation techniques. There are seven fundamental principles that ensure best
practices and procedures of assessment and evaluation. Assessments and evaluations:
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are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning
the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or
Inuit;
are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as
much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences
of all students;
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are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course and at
other points throughout the school year or course;
are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple
opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to
support improved learning and achievement;
develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set
specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.
Textbooks/Learning Resource Materials (align with Policy 603)
Fees for Learning Materials/Activities
Learning Materials/Activities
Cost
Please refer to the GCVI Student Handbook for our school policies on:
● academic integrity
● late and missed assignments