Workplace safety innovation

Chemistry 11, Physics 11, and ADST 10–12, particularly in applied science, safety, and design contexts.

Science 10

Curricular Competencies

Processing and analyzing data and information

• Use information from texts to identify cause-and-effect relationships related to workplace hazards.
• Organize and compare information to assess levels of risk. 

 Evaluating

• Use criteria and evidence to assess and prioritize workplace safety risks.
• Make and revise judgments based on new information and peer perspectives.
• Consider the implications of hazards for personal and social responsibility. 

Communicating

• Explain reasoning clearly using appropriate safety-related and scientific language.
• Justify rankings and decisions using evidence and agreed-upon criteria.

Science for Citizens 11

Big Ideas

• Scientific knowledge can be used to assess risks and inform decisions that promote personal and community safety.
• Evidence-based reasoning supports informed decision-making about issues that affect human well-being. 

Content

• common workplace hazards and associated risks
• short- and long-term impacts of hazards on people and communities
• decision-making using criteria and evidence
• consideration of personal and social responsibility related to safety. 

Supporting connections

• electrical, chemical, and mechanical hazards as real-world contexts for risk assessment
• factors influencing severity, duration, and breadth of impact 

Curricular Competencies

Processing and Analyzing Data and Information

• Use information from texts to identify cause-and-effect relationships related to workplace hazards.
• Organize and compare information to assess levels of risk. 

 Evaluating

• Use criteria and evidence to assess and prioritize workplace safety risks.
• Make and revise judgments based on new information and peer perspectives.
• Consider the implications of hazards for personal and social responsibility. 

Communicating

• Explain reasoning clearly using appropriate safety-related and scientific language.
• Justify rankings and decisions using evidence and agreed-upon criteria.

Each activity includes formative assessment opportunities that allow students to reflect on their understanding and receive meaningful feedback.

These teaching notes support educators in facilitating thoughtful, student-centred learning as learners explore workplace hazards, scientific reasoning, and safety-focused design. Activities are structured to encourage independent thinking before discussion, allowing learners to form and articulate initial ideas that can later be examined, challenged, and refined through evidence and collaboration. Emphasis is placed on explaining reasoning rather than arriving at a single “correct” answer.

As learners develop understanding, they connect scientific ideas to real-world workplace hazards using briefing sheets, criteria, and evidence. Small-group or paired discussions help surface similarities and differences in reasoning, while criteria serve as tools to guide judgment rather than fixed checklists. Teachers are encouraged to prompt reflection and deeper thinking through questions and examples, supporting learners in revisiting and revising their initial conclusions.

Across the activities, student voice is intentionally supported. Learners are encouraged to use evidence to communicate safety concerns, recognize and prioritize risks, and consider how workplace hazards may be experienced differently depending on role, experience, or authority. Understanding the science behind hazards helps learners justify safer practices and advocate for improved safety in clear, evidence-based ways.

Design-focused components invite learners to apply scientific reasoning through structured processes such as visual algorithms and design thinking. Learners explore multiple approaches to reducing risk, including education, system redesign, behavior change, and inclusive design. Criteria are treated as reusable tools that learners can apply when designing solutions, explaining decisions, and giving feedback, reinforcing transferable skills for safety awareness and problem-solving beyond the classroom.

• Learners can be invited to add additional scientific ideas. This could be lightly gamified by having learners introduce a new scientific idea and challenge peers to identify how it might apply to a workplace hazard.
• These activities can be extended by inviting learners to act on their selected hazards and scientific ideas by designing or prototyping an innovation that improves workplace safety.
• If time permits, learners can revise their drafts or prototypes and create final products.
• For some students, consider providing samples of current safety practices and invite students to add to or revise the current practice or device.