Appendix B - Learning Resources

What is Appendix B?

Appendix B is a comprehensive list of the recommended learning resources for Music 11 and 12. The titles are listed alphabetically and each resource is annotated. In addition, Appendix B contains information on selecting learning resources for the classroom.

What information does an annotation provide?

Media Format   General Description     Cautions Audience Category Curriculum Organizers Grade Level Supplier

Opera: An Informal Guide Author(s): Stroff, Stephen M. General Description: Book provides a light-hearted introduction to opera. Written in an informal style, it describes several operas, discussing their plot, form, and structure as well as the composers. Includes a recommended listening guide. Caution:Author describes some of the more bawdy aspects of the opera plots. Audience: General Category:Student, Teacher Resource Curriculum Organizers:Context Structure Thoughts, Images, and Feelings Grade Level: 11-12 Year Recommended: 1996 Supplier: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. 195 Allstate Parkway Markham, ON L3R 4T8 Tel: 1-800-387-9776 Fax: (905) 477-9179 Price: $17.95 ISBN/Order No.: 1-55652-170-7

• Media Format: is represented by an icon next to the title. Possible icons include:

  	Audio Cassette
  	CD-ROM
  	Film
  	Games/Manipulatives
  	Laserdisc, Videodisc
  	Multimedia
  	Music CD
  	Print Material
  	Record
  	Slides
  	Software
  	Video

• General Description: This section provides an overview of the resource.
• Caution: This category is used to alert teachers about potentially sensitive issues.
• Audience: The audience category indicates the suitability of the resource for different types of students. Possible student audiences include the following:
  • general
  • English as a second language (ESL)
  • Students who are:
    • gifted
    • blind or have visual impairments
    • deaf or hard of hearing
  • Students with:
    • severe behavioural disorders
    • dependent handicaps
    • physical disabilities
    • autism
    • learning disabilities (LD)
    • mild intellectual disabilities (ID-mild)
  • moderate to severe/profound disabilities (ID-moderate to severe/profound)
• Category: This section indicates whether it is a student and teacher resource, teacher resource, or professional reference.
• Curriculum Organizers: This category helps teachers make links between the resource and the curriculum.
• Grade Level: This category indicates the suitable age range for the resource.
• Supplier: The name and address of the supplier are included in this category. Prices shown here are approximate and subject to change. Prices should be verified with the supplier.

The ministry attempts to obtain rights for most recommended videos. Negotiations for the most recently recommended videos may not be complete. For these titles, the original distributor is listed in this document, instead of British Columbia Learning Connection Inc. Rights for new listings take effect the year implementation begins. Please check with British Columbia Learning Connection Inc. before ordering new videos.

Selecting Learning Resources for the Classroom

Selecting a learning resource means choosing locally appropriate materials from the list of recommended resources or other lists of evaluated resources. The process of selection involves many of the same considerations as the process of evaluation, though not to the same level of detail. Content, instructional design, technical design, and social considerations may be included in the decision-making process, along with a number of other criteria.

The selection of learning resources should be an ongoing process to ensure a constant flow of new materials into the classroom. It is most effective as an exercise in group decision making, co-ordinated at the school, district, and ministry levels. To function efficiently and realize the maximum benefit from finite resources, the process should operate in conjunction with an overall district and school learning resource implementation plan.

Teachers may choose to use provincially recommended resources to support provincial or locally developed curricula; or they may choose resources that are not on the ministry's list; or they may choose to develop their own resources. Resources that are not on the provincially recommended list must be evaluated through a local, board-approved process.

Criteria for Selection

There are a number of factors to consider when selecting learning resources.

Content

The foremost consideration for selection is the curriculum to be taught. Prospective resources must adequately support the particular learning objectives that the teacher wants to address. Resources on the ministry's recommended list are not matched directly to learning outcomes, but they are linked to the appropriate curriculum organizers. It is the responsibility of the teacher to determine whether a resource will effectively support any given learning outcomes within a curriculum organizer. This can only be done by examining descriptive information regarding that resource; acquiring additional information about the material from the supplier, published reviews, or colleagues; and by examining the resource first-hand.

Instructional Design

When selecting learning resources, teachers must keep in mind the individual learning styles and abilities of their students, as well as anticipate the students they may have in the future. Resources have been recommended to support a variety of special audiences, including gifted, learning disabled, mildly intellectually disabled, and ESL students. The suitability of a resource for any of these audiences has been noted in the resource annotation. The instructional design of a resource includes the organization and presentation techniques; the methods used to introduce, develop, and summarize concepts; and the vocabulary level. The suitability of all of these should be considered for the intended audience.

Teachers should also consider their own teaching styles and select resources that will complement them. The list of recommended resources contains materials that range from prescriptive or self-contained resources, to open-ended resources that require considerable teacher preparation. There are recommended materials for teachers with varying levels and experience with a particular subject, as well as those that strongly support particular teaching styles.

Technology Considerations

Teachers are encouraged to embrace a variety of educational technologies in their classrooms. To do so, they will need to ensure the availability of the necessary equipment and familiarize themselves with its operation. If the equipment is not currently available, then the need must be incorporated into the school or district technology plan.

Social Considerations

All resources on the ministry's recommended list have been thoroughly screened for social concerns from a provincial perspective. However, teachers must consider the appropriateness of any resource from the perspective of the local community.

Media

When selecting resources, teachers should consider the advantages of various media. Some topics may be best taught using a specific medium. For example, video may be the most appropriate medium when teaching a particular, observable skill, since it provides a visual model that can be played over and over or viewed in slow motion for detailed analysis. Video can also bring otherwise unavailable experiences into the classroom and reveal "unseen worlds" to students. Software may be particularly useful when students are expected to develop critical-thinking skills through the manipulation of a simulation, or where safety or repetition are factors. Print resources or CD-ROM can best be used to provide extensive background information on a given topic. Once again, teachers must consider the needs of their individual students, some of whom may learn better from the use of one medium than another.

Funding

As part of the selection process, teachers should determine how much money is available to spend on learning resources. This requires an awareness of school and district policies, and procedures for learning resource funding. Teachers will need to know how funding is allocated in their district and how much is available for their needs. Learning resource selection should be viewed as an ongoing process that requires a determination of needs, as well as long-term planning to co-ordinate individual goals and local priorities.

Existing Materials

Prior to selecting and purchasing new learning resources, an inventory of those resources that are already available should be established through consultation with the school and district resource centres. In some districts, this can be facilitated through the use of district and school resource management and tracking systems. Such systems usually involve a computer database program (and possibly bar-coding) to help keep track of a multitude of titles. If such a system is put on-line, then teachers can check the availability of a particular resource via a computer.

Selection Tools

The Ministry of Education has developed a variety of tools to assist teachers with the selection of learning resources.

These include:

• Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) which contain curriculum information, teaching and assessment strategies, and recommended learning resources
• learning resources information via annotation sets, resource databases on disks, the Learning Resources CD-ROM, and, in the future, on-line access
• sets of the most recently recommended learning resources (provided each year to a number of host districts throughout the province to allow teachers to examine the materials first hand at regional displays)
• sample sets of provincially recommended resources (available on loan to districts on request)

A Model Selection Process

The following series of steps is one way a school resource committeee might go about selecting learning resources:

1. Identify a resource co-ordinator (for example, a teacher-librarian).
2. Establish a learning resources committee made up of department heads or lead teachers.
3. Develop a school vision and approach to resource-based learning.
4. Identify existing learning resource and library materials, personnel, and infrastructure.
5. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing systems.
6. Examine the district Learning Resources Implementation Plan.
7. Identify resource priorities.
8. Apply criteria such as those found in Selection and Challenge to shortlist potential resources.
9. Examine shortlisted resources first-hand at a regional display or at a publishers' display, or borrow a set from the Learning Resources Branch.
10. Make recommendations for purchase.

Further Information

For further information on evaluation and selection processes, catalogues, annotation sets, or resource databases, please contact the Curriculum and Resources Branch of the Ministry of Education.

Productivity Tools

It is expected that students in Composition and Technology 11 and 12 will have access to grade-level-appropriate productivity tools, including music synthesizers, CAD/CAM programs, word processors, spreadsheets, and database packages. Use of industry-standard software is encouraged. Reviews of appropriate software are regularly published in a variety of computer and trade magazines.

Selection of a particular application should consider:

• existing hardware and upgrade path
• cross-platform capability
• instructor training requirements
• time spent on student skill development versus curricular intent
• cross-curriculum applicability
• general flexibility and utility

The following chart lists some of the software that supports Composition and Technology 11 and 12. Teachers may identify other equally useful applications.