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Independent
Study Project
Writing
Manuals For Government Environmental Agencies
Subject Area
This activity
is suitable for the English 3A/4A curricula. Teachers may be surprised
at the reception by government agencies, particularly local branches
of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, of student written
manuals and pamphlets. There is a constant demand for materials.
Busy Ministry officials are constantly working on manuals and
pamphlets, and frequently welcome the contact with school students,
not to mention the help that your students can offer them. Students
should find the experience of preparing materials for publication
and their use in the community at large, not to mention its practical
impact on their resumes, appealing and meaningful. Since ENG 3A
and 4A curricula both concern themselves with research skills
and writing for various audiences in a variety of forms, this
project could appropriately be undertaken as an Independent Study.
Depending on the size of the project and different skills involved,
the teacher may consider the project appropriate for two to three
students working as a team (See “Cross-Disciplinary Links”
below).
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the student’s ability
to:
- Identify
and describe aspects of environmental teachings and philosophy
which affect government planning and problem solving;
- Evaluate
concepts and principles of environmental philosophy against
government and civic response to these issues;
- Extend,
creatively develop, and publish ideas through supervised research
and writing.
Classroom
Development
- Preliminary:
Establish contact with an interested government agency well
before the term begins. The teacher should have opportunities
to discuss and establish the nature and limitations of possible
projects before introducing them to the students.
- Preliminary:
Arrange a meeting between students and (ideally) the Ministry
agent who will oversee the project. Ask that any relevant Ministry
Guidelines for the preparation of materials or model documents
be brought to the meeting. (See “Suggestions for Activities”
below.) You may also wish to arrange follow-up visits at this
time.
- Engage
in formal activities and/or informal discussions based on the
visit and introductory material. (See “Suggestions for
Activities” below.)
- If required,
set up a research plan or strategy. This may involve combined
work with other departments. (Students may be needed only as
recorders or they may be asked to assist in some aspect of new
research.)
- Organize
a mutually acceptable time frame for completion of the project
(See “Timing” below.). Students should keep logs and
journals recording their work and progress. Regular student-teacher
interviews are advisable to monitor progress and students should
be directed to keep track of questions and ideas for these interviews.
Be absolutely firm about students completing their proposed
work on schedule. (See “Suggestions for Activities”
below.)
- Analyze
and assess progress with students throughout the process. (See
“Suggestions for Activities” below.)
- Ensure
that students complete drafts, edit, polish and submit material
to the Ministry advisor. Allow time for changes and further
revision.
Suggestions
for Activities
- Students
must have some preparation for the Ministry agent’s visit.
Talk with them about the project; give them what general information
you have. Students should have a realistic idea of the extent
of the project and the importance of setting goals and meeting
responsibilities before they meet the visitor. It is a good
idea to ensure that the students prepare questions prior to
the visit.
- Follow
up the visit with students. Assist them to anticipate problems
and propose coping strategies. Encourage them to consult other
students and the teacher on any difficulty.
- Ask that
students submit clear proposals for their Independent Study.
This should include a specific topic, all collaborators’
names and phone numbers, especially if more than one student
is to be assigned to a project, an outline of the project, a
timeline for research and for its various sections to be completed,
and an interview schedule. (Models for proposal contracts can
be found in John Terpstra’s Independent Learning. See “Resources”.)
Make sure that students draw up a list of aspects of the project
which will cause the most problems and suggestions on how to
overcome them.
- Schedule
at least three (3) teacher-student interviews. It may be advisable
to organize at least one (1) combined meeting with the Ministry
contact after the project is well under way. It might be useful,
for example, to schedule such an interview after the first section
of the document, manual or pamphlet has been completed. The
section may then be forwarded to the project overseer who will
have had a chance to review it before the meeting.
- The keeping
a journal and/or log of time, place and work completed by students
is invaluable. You may need to suggest that students retrace
their footsteps at some point. These records can save hours
of time. Such records should also serve as evaluative tools
when you grade the project. (See Terpstra’s Independent
Learning for models of logs)
- Allow
time for editing, revision and rewriting after the project has
been submitted to and returned from the Ministry. Although you
may wish to grade their project before it is sent in or get
them to copy it for your evaluation and records, students must
be cautioned that they are still obliged to give time to rewriting
should the Ministry find it to be necessary.
Timing
Allow 3
months to complete the entire project, including students’
independent work. Be firm about deadlines. Visits with ministry
officials should take no more than 2 class periods each, one (1)
for preparation and one (1) for the actual visit, although you
may wish to take half the class time on the day following the
visit to deal with students’ questions and concerns arising
from the visit(s).
Resources
Almost
all government departments have their own guidelines for the production
of manuals. The following represent a “bare bones” list
of useful general guides to resources, academic notation, research
and writing styles which you may wish to consult or to refer your
students.
The Green
List: A Guide To Canadian Environmental Organizations And Agencies.
Ottawa: Canadian Environmental Network, 1991.
The
Canadian Writer’s Guide. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry
& Whiteside Ltd., 1992.
Kesselman-Turkel,
Judi and Peterson, Franklynn. Research Shortcuts. Chicago,
Illinois: Contemporary Books, Inc., 1982.
MLA
Handbook. New York: Modern Language Association, 1992.
Terpstra,
John. Independent Learning. Ontario Ministry of Education,
1987.
Cross-disciplinary
Links
There is
an obvious opportunity to combine this activity with Environmental
Studies (GNS 3A/4A) and Environmental Science (SEN 3A/4A). For
some projects, specialized abilities may be useful, however. Students
with Statistics, Mathematical, Visual Art and Photography backgrounds
may be needed. In such a case, you may wish to propose this project
as a combined Independent Study project to interested departments.
It is usually advisable to keep the number of students working
on a group project to no more than three, unless the project lends
itself to clear compartmentalization into smaller units that can
be handled by individuals.
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