ARCHIVED—Recipient Bios
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Year: 1998 – Province: British Columbia
Certificate of Achievement Recipients
Elisabeth Dawson
School: Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School
Principal: Gary Little
Grades/Subjects Taught: Secondary geography and social studies
Teaching Approach:
- Use field studies to integrate physical and human geography through analysis rather than description.
- Promote students' interest through the study of their own community.
- Motivate students by emphasizing the practical (e.g. What are the right questions? What information is needed to provide answers? How should the data collected be analyzed?)
Outstanding Achievements:
Designed a range of field studies that integrate many academic disciplines and require a great degree of teamwork and cooperation among students. Based on the local area, this field work gives students the knowledge and skills needed to obtain valuable summer jobs to complement their study.
Prepares students in the International Baccalaureate Programme (IBP) for stiff competition with others in 80 countries, many of whom began geography study at a much younger age.
Consistently turns out students who perform well on IBP exams. For example, between 1989 and 1998, the average grade was a 5 (the scale is from 1 to 7, with 4 being satisfactory). In May 1998, seven students, a third of Ms. Dawson's class, received a 6, putting them in the top eight percent of IBP students around the world.
For exemplary work in the classroom and the field, and especially in curriculum development and professional support, Ms. Dawson has received a number of awards.