The Ministry of Education promotes the establishment of a resource-rich learning environment through the evaluation of educationally appropriate materials intended for use by teachers and students. The media formats include, but are not limited to, materials in print, video, and software, as well as combinations of these formats. Resources that support provincial curricula are identified through an evaluation process that is carried out by practising teachers. It is expected that classroom teachers will select resources from those that meet the provincial criteria and that suit their particular pedagogical needs and audiences. Teachers who wish to use non-provincially recommended resources to meet specific local needs must have these resources evaluated through a local district approval process.
The use of learning resources involves the teacher as a facilitator of learning. However, students may be expected to have some choice in materials for specific purposes, such as independent reading or research. Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of resources to support learning outcomes at any particular level. A multimedia approach is also encouraged.
The ministry considers support for cross-curricular focus areas and special-needs audiences in the evaluation and annotation of learning resources. As well, special-format versions of some selected resources (braille and taped-book formats) are available.
Learning resources for use in BC schools fall into one of two categories: provincially recommended materials or locally evaluated materials.
All learning resources used in schools must have recommended designation or be approved through district evaluation and approval policies.
Provincially Recommended Materials
Materials evaluated through the provincial evaluation process and approved through Minister's Order are categorized as provincially recommended materials. A Grade Collection is a subset of the provincially recommended resources that lists the resources that match the greatest number of prescribed learning outcomes for a particular grade.
Locally Evaluated Materials
Learning resources may be approved for use according to district policies, which provide for local evaluation and selection procedures.
Internet Resources
Some teachers have found that the Internet (World Wide Web) is a useful source of learning resources. None of the material from this source has been evaluated by the ministry, in part because of the dynamic nature of the medium.
A Note on Resources for Communications 11 and 12
For Communications 11 and 12, Appendix B and the main body of the IRP include only those the Grade Collection resources selected for 1998. The Grade Collections for Communications 11 and 12 will provide basic coverage of the prescribed learning outcomes for these courses. It is the intention of the Ministry of Education to add additional resources to these Grade Collections as they are evaluated.
Teachers may choose to supplement these Grade Collections with appropriate materials recommended in the English Language Arts 11 and 12 IRP or materials that have been locally approved.
The ministry no longer evaluates novels or plays. These resources are to be selected and authorized locally.
Revised: March 5, 1999
