This paper reports the findings of a study undertaken in four Nova Scotia public schools of twelfth grade students' information seeking strategies when they use the Internet as an information source. Various Nova Scotia Department of Education curriculum documents hold high expectations of students' information seeking strategies when using the…

The first segment of a long-term educational assessment plan, for which this three-part report was compiled, called for a study that would survey the status of English language arts programs in the province of British Columbia and serve as a pilot for future assessment programs. This portion of the study presents results from the third phase of…

In a survey of 517 8th- and 12th-grade students in Waterloo County (Ontario) schools, the majority of students who had attended outdoor and environmental education programs reported high levels of learning in key areas of ecology and environmental studies. In addition, most respondents reported feeling positive about the program and their…

Argues that individual teacher's conceptions of disciplinary knowledge are reflected in the curricula but that institutional factors also influence the curriculum presented to students. Discusses constructivist epistemology and employs qualitative research to interpret teachers' conceptions in a case study of three biology teachers. Suggests…

Discusses the challenges of making a grade 12 law course come alive. Suggests using oral simulation work such as mock trials, moot courts, and adversarial debates. Illustrates the use of the "Grade A Contract" to keep students on task and promote skill support, and presents an outline of a moot court enactment. (LS)

This document is a curriculum guide to a world geography course for grade 12 students in Manitoba, Canada. Following an overview of the course, the guide presents information about the six units that comprise the course. The units are: (1) World geography overview; (2) World population: characteristics, distribution, and growth; (3) World food…

This annual report combines the November, January, April, June, and August provincial results in diploma examination courses in the Alberta (Canada) schools. The graphs, tables, and text describe student performance for the entire school year. The report is designed to assist school personnel in identifying patterns of students' achievement in the…

Using text, activities, cartoons, and prose, the publication encourages junior and senior secondary students to examine the history of colonialism in Africa and the importance of colonialism in Africa today. Chapter 1 provides an overview of 500 years of colonialism. Chapter 2 describes pre-colonial Africa from the year 1000 to 1442. The focus of…

Intended for students taking Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test contains 70 multiple choice test items related to the 9 selections in the reading booklet. The questions examine students' skills in (1) understanding meanings, (2) understanding and interpreting the relationships between form and…

A study examined whether Canadian twelfth grade students' papers would rate differently when they were written in different modes and whether there are significant differences between global (modified holistic) scores and rhetorical effectiveness (modified primary trait) scores for the same papers. Fifty students wrote on two transactional topics…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: "My Magical Metronome" (Lewis Thomas); "Queen Street…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: "How to Set a World Record" (William Allen); "Andy…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test contains 70 multiple choice test items over the 10 readings in the readings booklet. The questions examine students' skills in (1) understanding meanings, (2) understanding and interpreting the relationships between form and content,…

Two groups of grade 12 French immersion students in Ottawa and Carleton, Ontario, one having been in immersion French since at least grade 4 and one having started in grade 6 or 7, were administered three tests of French proficiency in a study of the groups' comparative language achievement. Scores sufficiently high to excuse the students from the…

A study of the language proficiency of students in core French programs in a number of Eastern Ontario (Canada) high schools looked at the listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and oral skills of students in grades 9, 10, and 12. Comparisons were made across and within school districts, and also with previous groups tested. Findings show…