Informal Evaluation Tools

1- Design an informal evaluation tool to describe a specific skill such as (reading fluency, math fluency or spelling).
2- Description of the skill to be measured. Briefly describe the skill or content for which you will be developing this tool to measure progress. I will compare this with the items to be sure you have a clear focus for the evaluation tool.
3- Development of clear instructions for student completing the evaluation and for the teacher giving the evaluation.
4- Development of items that directly measure the identified skill. Be sure they are clear, to the point, and unbiased.
5- Accommodations that can be made for students with various disabilities (e.g., limited vision, reading difficulties, attention problems, etc.)

The concept of faultlines, in other words, offers a useful approach for thinking about and studying the human geography of Canada. In this assignment, each student will select ONE of the four faultlines as the focus for a research paper. Each paper will develop a case study (or particular topic), which illuminates a geographical dimension or dimensions of the selected faultline. The case study should focus on a particular place in Canada where the selected faultline is evident.

For example, a paper might analyze how the immigration faultline in Canada is associated with policies, which have promoted the development of ‘ethnic enclaves’ in cities like Toronto. Or, a paper might evaluate the French/English faultline by analyzing and explaining the comparative electoral success of the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québeçois in various regions of Québec over the past few federal selections. Or, a paper might consider to what extent the politics of gun control is divided between particular rural and urban parts of the country. Case studies may involve questions that pertain to different geographical scales. For example, a paper might consider how the centralist/decentralist faultline is aggravated in a particular place by the liberalization of international trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Students have the freedom to choose their own case studies but these should be selected with care, as sources may be more readily available for particular topics. In every case, the selected topics must have a strong geographical dimension. A paper targeting, for instance, the aboriginal/non-aboriginal faultline might look at conflict over hydro development in a particular part of Northern Québec. A paper dealing with the immigration faultline for example, might focus on the development of ‘ethnic enclaves’ in downtown Toronto rather than just the rhetoric of, or changes to, immigration policy over the last 50 years. A map selected place/area for your case study should be included as part of your final submission.
The research paper should have a minimum length of eight double-spaced pages and a maximum length of twelve pages – not including bibliography and map(s)/table(s)/illustration(s). It is required that an appropriate, relevant, and clear (and properly cited) map, or maps, should be included. Tables, charts, and diagrams etc. may also be included, but only if appropriate. As this is a research paper, the bibliography must include no fewer than six academic sources (books and/or articles) in addition to the textbook. Reference must be made in the body of each paper to all the sources cited in the bibliography. Depending on the selected topic, news items are permissible as sources, but only in addition to the six academic sources mentioned above. The Progress Report is due Friday, October 12th. We will mark the final essay for quality of research, quality of argument, and quality of presentation (including grammar)