Regulation on the conduct
Regulation on the conduct of the Geographical Dictation, an annual education event
1. General clauses
1.1. This regulation establishes the procedure and requirements for the conduct of the Geographical Dictation, an annual education event (hereinafter referred to as the Dictation).
1.2. The topic of the Dictation is chosen by organizers.
1.3. The Dictation is organized by the All-Russian Public Organization “The Russian Geographical Society” (hereinafter referred to as the Society).
1.4. The Organizing Committee manages the conduct and results of the Dictation, and the Working Group provides operational guidance of the event. Both Organizing Committee and Working Group are made up from representatives of the Society, partner organizations and operational organizations.
1.5. The organization responsible for the conduct and results of the Dictation shall be authorized by the Russian Geographical Society to perform specified works
1.6. Questions and tasks of the Dictation are prepared by a team of authors made up by the Working Group from representatives of specialized education and academic institutions
1.7. Questions and tasks of the Dictation shall undergo mandatory expert evaluation. The Expert Commission is made up from professional geographers by the Working Group. According to the results of the evaluation the team of authors shall review and change the tasks if necessary.
1.8. The Dictation shall be conducted in all entities of the Russian Federation as well as abroad.
1.9. Information support is rendered by international, federal and regional mass media.
1.10. Detailed information about the Dictation is published on the website of the event at http://dictant.rgo.ru.
2. Aims, goals and principles of the Dictation
2.1. The dictation is conducted to assess the geographical literacy of the population.
2.2. The Dictation is aimed at:
– obtaining objective information about the level of geographical literacy of the Russian population with regard to its age and social structure;
– obtaining objective information about the level of knowledge about Russia in other countries;
– providing participants in the Dictation with a possibility to receive independent assessment of their knowledge in geography;
– attracting attention of mass media and Russian society to the problem of geographical literacy of the population;
- involving the various strata of society in studying the geography of their native country, knowledge of which is an integral part of an educated person;
- generating an interest to Russia and disseminating reliable information about it abroad;
- developing recommendations on improving the quality of geographical education.
2.3. The Dictation is based on the following principles:
- principle of voluntary participation in the Dictation and its preparation and conduct;
– principle of openness: anyone can take part the Dictation regardless of age, education, social origin, religion and citizenship;
- principle of accessibility: participation is free, each participant in the dictation is provided with a tasks and questions form and paper to write. It is guaranteed that the work will be verified and each participant will receive the results (on the website at http://dictant.rgo.ru) in case he or she has an individual Identification number given during the Dictation;
– principle of anonymity: participants do not write their names;
– principle of competence: the text of the Dictation is prepared by professional teachers and geographers as well as professional teachers and geographers verify works;
– principle of unity of time, procedure and verification criteria: Dictation is conducted on the same day at the same time (local time) in all subjects of the Russian Federation and foreign countries; participants receive equal time to complete tasks; tasks are checked and evaluated on the basis of uniform criteria.
3. Participants
3.1. Individuals from Russia and foreign countries who speak Russian, regardless of age, education, social origin, religion and citizenship may take part in the Dictation.
3.2. One can apply for participation at any location where the event will be conducted regardless of the place of residence. The address of the nearest locations can be found on the website at: http://dictant.rgo.ru.
3.3. Participation is voluntary and free.
4. Locations where the Dictation is held
4.1. The Dictation will be held at regional branches of the Russian Geographical Society, centers of the Russian Geographical Society abroad, Russian centers of science and culture abroad, schools and universities, professional education institutions, science and public organizations and other institutions in Russia and foreign countries.
4.2. The points of the Dictation will be provided with information and advisory methodological assistance, Dictation sheets (in electronic form), guidelines on how to conduct the Dictation and fill out sheets and forms; forms with tasks (in electronic form), presentation videos designed for demonstration at screens and scenario notes for the Dictation.
4.3. Each location is obliged to prepare and conduct the event and:
–to provide rooms equipped with seats for all participants of the Dictation at a particular regional location (if the capacity permits);
– to print a required number of copies of forms and sheets of the Dictation to all those who wish to write it at this particular location (if the capacity permits);
– to assign each participant an individual identification number allowing to get the results of the performed test;
– to print certificates of participation (number of copies should be equal to number of seats), fill them out and give to each participant who comes to the regional location;
- to provide each participant with pens or pencils (if necessary);
– to involve experts in geography, teachers, famous travelers, writers, artists, journalists, TV presenters and politicians (if possible) to read the Dictation;
- to take photos or video of the Dictation (if possible);
- to scan and email scan copies of the forms completed by participants to the Dictation verification center;
– to provide a photo and information report of the event.
4.4. Scientific, education, public and other organizations should take part in the event on voluntary and grant basis. Volunteers may be involved to work at regional locations. Expenses for the production of printed forms, purchase of stationery, use of office equipment and rooms shall be paid by the regional organization.
5. The Process of Organizing and Conducting the Dictation
5.1. The Dictation is held on the same day in all regions of the Russian Federation and in foreign countries. The topic of the Dictation, its date and time, as well as other important dates will be announced no later than 2 months before the Dictation date and they will be specified in the guidance notes on the Dictation conduct and in form-filling instructions published on the website at: http://dictant.rgo.ru.
5.2. The dictation is designed in five versions: four versions for conducting in the Russian Federation, identical in their complexity (including the online version) and a version for conducting in foreign countries.
5.3. Each version of the Dictation consists of 30 tasks which differ in their complexity and are aimed at testing knowledge of geographical concepts and terms, basic regularities, location of geographical objects on the map and ability to use knowledge in practice.
5.4. Tasks, including open and closed questions, are designed on the basis of educational programs on geography used in general basic and general secondary education in the Russian Federation.
5.5. The maximum amount of points that each participant can reach is 100.
5.6. The Dictation is conducted in Russian. The dictation can also be conducted in the official language of the country where it is conducted, provided that the text of the dictation is translated and answers to tasks are verified by local organizers of the dictation on a voluntary basis.
5.7. To prevent dissemination of information related to the content of the Dictation, prior to its date, each location shall appoint a person to ensure the safety of this information.
5.8. Before the dictation starts, each participant shall receive a printed form for writing the dictation and a form with tasks (participants will also be instructed how to complete these forms). Each participant will have 45 minutes to complete the tasks. Thus, the Dictation will last about 60 minutes (including briefing of participants).
5.9. Each participant receives an individual identification number that will be written in the form for writing the dictation when it is received. This number is also duplicated in the form of a voucher that remains with the participant of the dictation. By using this number, each participant will be able to check his/her results on the website: http://dictant.rgo.ru. The process of assignment of identification numbers is described in the Dictation implementation instructions.
5.10. Participants in the dictation shall complete all tasks by themselves, with no help from outside. It is forbidden to perform tasks collectively and/or with any outside assistance (including comments and answers to questions about assignments conditions), to use books, the Internet and any other sources of information to perform tasks, as well as any technical means of information transferring and processing, including mobile devices. In cause of violating this condition, the organizers reserve the right to exclude a violator and annul results of his(her) work.
5.11. Forms completed by participants and submitted for review shall be scanned by local organizers and scanned copies shall be sent to the Dictation verification center by email (to an email address specified in the instruction) no later than 5 days after the Dictation date.
5.12. Forms submitted for verification shall not be returned to participants of the Dictation. No appeals are possible.
5.13. Results of works (according to individual identification numbers), correct answers to tasks and analysis of common mistakes will be published on the website at http://dictant.rgo.ru no later than 45 days after the Dictation date.
5.14. Those participants who cannot personally attend the event can participate in the Dictation online.
5.15. Instructions for online participation and a link to a start page shall be are published on the website http://dictant.rgo.ru on the day of the Dictation at 12:00 p.m. Moscow time.
5.16. Online participants shall get their results immediately after the test is completed. Online results are not taken into consideration when the Analytical report is being prepared.
5.17. Each local organization where the Dictation was held shall receive a letter of thanks on behalf of the organization head responsible for conducting the Dictation.
5.18. Each participant who wrote the Dictation in any location shall receive a certificate of participation.
5.19. Based on results of the Dictation, an Analytical Report shall be prepared to assess the level of geographical literacy of the Russian population, as well as that of the Russian-speaking population of foreign countries, both for general population and particular age groups. The report shall estimate results of the Dictation in different regions of the Russian Federation. Moreover, recommendations on changes to the curricula on geography and on improvement of geographical education shall be made.