An Independent Problem-Based Course for Grade Twelve English: Advanced Level

Abstract

This project is an attempt to design a new English curriculum to fit a major organizational and philosophical change planned for Westmount Secondary School in the year 1990. Chapter 1 describes the context in which the innovation will take place, the nature of the innovation itself and the primary objective the changes is intended to fulfil; namely, the development of students who are self-directed problem-solvers. Chapter 2 attempts to clarify this objective by examining the origins of problem-solving in education and describing some recent accounts of its use, most notably in problem-based learning. Chapter 3 explores the philosophy of self-directed learning and differentiates among the many similar related terms. Autonomy is identified as the key feature of self-directed learning. Chapter 4 outlines the constraints on curriculum design imposed by the new English Guideline recently published by the Ministry of Education. Finally, in chapter 5 an attempt is made to identify the features common to both self-direction and problem-solving and adapt these to the requirements of "Westmount 1990" and the English Guideline. The result is a proposal for a problem-based independent Grade 12 course outlined in Chapter 6.