Unit 2 - Evaluating Resources - TESL 0150

Evaluating Resources - Residential School System Unit 
This unit is for CLB 7 learners. 
The content objectives were outlined in the teachers guide and they are as follows: 
learn about the history of the Indian Residential School System (IRSS) and its long-term impacts on the children who attended these schools, their families and their communities
learn what the Canadian government is doing to help IRSS survivors and their families
learn about the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
learn about the national TRC event held in Vancouver in September 2013
The teachers guide also specifies the CLB competencies that should be achieved in this unit.
I chose criteria detailed by Tomlinson (2014) and I've included my comments for evaluation purposes. 
Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation Comments
Will the learners perceive these materials as relevant and useful?
If we consider the context, newcomers should find this unit useful as the materials provide a more comprehensive view of Canadian history.
Do the materials expose the learners to language in authentic use?
Certain sections of these materials expose the learners to language in authentic use. For example the thinking critically exercises that facilitate discussion will assist the students with expressing and qualifying their opinions and feelings. 
Materials take into account different learning styles
I believe these materials do take into account different learning styles, although there is large focus on verbal learners (speech and writing). The unit provides some visual aids such as some photos of Stephen Harper and some colourful graphs and tables. 
Help the learner to develop cultural awareness and sensitivity
These materials provide a base of knowledge about a Canadian tragedy. This will help the learner to develop cultural awareness and sensitivity just by being aware of the effect of residential schools on the aboriginal population. 
Would the learner feel at ease with these materials?
Reading through the stories of personal accounts of the residential school system may not make all of the learners feel at ease. The teacher would have to carefully consider their language use and minority perspective when providing students with these materials. 
Provides opportunities for self-assessment of learning
These materials provide opportunities for self-assessment of learning via partner work such as the 'think, write, share' section and the reading section on 'keywords.'
I believe these materials provide sufficient exercises for learners to accomplish their objectives and competencies. The materials provide personal accounts of a Canadian tragedy therefore, I think that the teacher will need to consider minority perspective and be conscious of their language use. I think this could be an important detail to add to the teachers guide.
Additional changes could be made so that the materials include more visuals and perhaps a kinesthetic activity to provide different types of learner styles more opportunities to succeed. There is a large focus on speech and writing with some auditory activities but this could be expanded even further. 
Overall, the objectives are clearly outlined and should be obtained based on the provided materials. The resources provide authentic personal accounts and provide lots of opportunity for self-assessment and discussion between students. Some changes could be made such as a note about language use for teachers as well as additional activities for different types of learners. Specific sections of the materials would allow the learners to apply what they've learned in authentic situations however, sections such as the 'true or false' portion does not facilitate real-world skills. These materials provide learners with ample opportunity to improve their cultural sensitivity and awareness and to learn about history, government and reconciliation.  
References
Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. (2012). Canadian Language Benchmarks. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf
Collins. A. (2016) Framework for Evaluating ELT Materials. Retrieved from http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/te714ac792/2016/02/29/framework-for-evaluating-elt-materials/
Tomlinson, B. (2014) Developing Materials for Language Teaching. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Academic

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