Educational standards in Trinidad and Tobago

[Janet Murray]

Educational standards for Trinidad and Tobago are available on the Ministry of Education’s web site: http://www.moe.gov.tt/pri_curriculum.html

Although they are all “due for revision,” the “goal of the national curriculum is to have learners progress from one level to the next in a seamless, continuous, coherent way through productive and meaningful experiences.  Learning should be progressive and developmental. … Levels of sophistication should increase and tasks become more complex as students move through the continuum.”

The curriculum must

• ·       “provide learners with the experiences, tools, resources and social structures to construct knowledge that is relevant to their needs and interests
• ·       empower learners to become agents of personal and social transformation
• ·       prepare learners and support their motivation for lifelong learning
• ·       equip all learners with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to attain a good quality of life.”

 

These goals and expectations are very similar to those in U.S. state standards and the Common Core.

 

The Primary School Language Arts Curriculum (1999) adopted a philosophy of integrated instruction. “Language is the central informing element in the curriculum, integral to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in all areas of the curriculum. …While it is at times necessary to delineate the unique elements which constitute the Language Arts Curriculum, it is important to emphasize the interrelatedness among the language processes of listening, speaking, reading, writing, thinking and viewing. The processes of thinking undergird all the language skills.” <http://www.moe.gov.tt/curriculum_pdfs/PrimarySchoolLanguageArtsSyllabus3_4_5.pdf>

 

Some examples of objectives that correspond to the Big6 stages:

 

1. Task Definition	Analytical/Critical Listening 3, 4&5: Listen to and recall information. (p. 5) Writing Informative 3: Narration, Description, Explanation, Persuasive writing (p. 53)
2. Information Seeking Strategies	Analytical/Critical Listening 3, 4&5: Listen to evaluate: make judgements, discriminate between fact and opinion, note the degree of relevance (p. 4) Writing Informative 3: Focus on a topic and selecting relevant fact, ideas, etc. (p. 56)
3. Location & Access	Reading-Study Skills 3: Use Table of Contents, Glossary, Index (p. 48) Reading-Study Skills 4&5: Skimming and scanning (p. 52)
4. Use of Information	Reading – Comprehension 3: Determining facts and opinion. (p. 41) Outlining, Summarising (p. 39) Reading-Study Skills 3: Interpret information as presented in graphs and charts (p. 50) Reading-Comprehension 4&5: Paraphrase. (p. 43) Assess the importance or relevance of facts. (p. 44) Summarise: state the main points in a passage. (p. 44) Critically analyze material bearing in mind the authority of the author. (p. 45)
5. Synthesis	Writing Informative 3: Narration, Description, Explanation, Persuasive writing (p. 53) Report Writing 4&5: Revising, Editing, Rewriting (p. 61)
6. Evaluation	Report Writing 4&5: Revising, Editing, Rewriting (p. 61)

 

 

[Nan Sirju- Rampersad]

Hello,

I am a school Librarian and I teach Information Literacy to form 1 and form 2 (ages11+ to 13+) on a scheduled basis. I have modified the current Library and Information Literacy curriculum to move it into the 21st century and I have developed a series of lessons to help me achieve the goals outlined in the document.

One of the things that need to be clarified is the 'information literacy status' of the children who begin at this school at the age of of 11+. Most of the kids have had little or no exposure to 'library classes' The use of a library, for most of them, is based on ad hoc visits to the public library on an 'as the need arises' basis.

Because of this I spend most of their first term (Sept-Dec) doing the basics with my classes. The response is generally very good and the level of library usage soars as their confidence increases.

I am in a secondary school and I have been doing big 6 for the past 7 years, I usually tie it in with a required class project (Math, Science, English etc) and I have had varied responses. Most of the students use the process without knowing it and I enjoy pointing this out when doing the structured big6 sessions. The area that is most often neglected is Evaluation and I have noted that students are just so happy to get the assignment done that they are not as thorough as they should be at this step. Another shortfall is in assessing information gathered and determining the authenticity of it. I spend more time on these two than I do on the other steps

I look forward to the next session   

[Janet Murray]

Thank you for your enlightening post. I agree that evaluation is often neglected - even in the standards - but it's a critically important step if we want students to improve their information problem-solving. I also agree that teaching evaluation of information sources is a challenge. But that's one part of the Big6 process that encourages critical thinking, so it is also essential.

[Colet]

I'd like to echo Janet's thanks for your post.  It is always to good to learn about what is happening in school systems outside of our experience.  A question I have relates to the class projects and the opportunity for cooperatively teaching information skills with classroom teachers. Do you have dedicated time to plan together for the projects?  How would you describe your role as the librarian?  When we talk about the predictable part of the Big6 by the Month approach, Mike describes a continuum for the librarian as the deliverer of Big6 instruction to more of a management role for instruction and resources.  Where would you place your role on that continuum.  

Colet

[Nan Sirju- Rampersad]

Hello again,

Thank you for your responses!

To Colet's queries;

No, generally the teacher(s) and I do not have dedicated time for planning, it is done whenever/wherever but we try to get it done in time that allows for scheduling of sessions. Sometimes it happens at the end of one term so planning for the next term can be done, other times it may happen in the new term and that's always a challenge. One topic that is ALWAYS done at the same time is referencing/citation- it's more a refresher for the form 4's and 6's and that session is done collaboratively with the subject teacher, sometimes.

My role as a Librarian is one that varies with people's perception of what I do. Having had exposure/training with different types of software I am part of the ICT team at the school.The students believe I either know everything (?) or at least know where to find information about it, and they are not shy about asking.The school's administration seems comfortable with the way the library operates and is generally supportive of plans for literacy classes even impromptu ones. Whilst at the Uni of Pittsburgh for the MLIS, one of my professors insisted that in a school library setting you have to be a teacher/librarian because that's what you represent, that's what you do, you teach Info. Lit and you manage the library. I have come to appreciate her wisdom because that is my reality at my school.

Where do I see myself in the big six continuum?

Difficult to give an answer because the scheduled inf. lit. sessions ends at the end of form two, however, over the years I have found that a lot of students will ask for and attend "refresher" classes though not specifically for big 6.

[Colet]

Hi Nan,

Thanks for describing your situation.  It sounds like a great (and familiar) environment for teaching information literacy and fostering good relationships with teachers and students.  A positive working relationship is so valuable to get at the Predictable part of the Big6 by the Month approach.

Thanks again for sharing.

CB