PAA Handbook

Guidelines for Survey Courses

General

The Foundational Objectives of each module must be achieved.

The application of the Adaptive Dimension encourages teachers to adapt the curriculum topics and materials, instruction and the learning environment to address the diverse needs of students.

When core modules are included in a survey course, they will provide the basic requirements for pure courses at the next level within a PAA course series.

Only PAA modules can be used in PAA survey courses. Modules must be used from three different curricula.

Some modules have prerequisites that must be met.

Career development modules are core in all PAA curricula. Each survey course should include one career development module.

Work study guidelines must be met for all work-based learning. Job shadows, career research interviews, field trips, guest speakers, etc. should be used to make connections to the workplace. Occasionally, work study modules may be used in a survey course.

Appropriate safety concepts should be integrated throughout survey courses.

Secondary survey courses must not exceed 50 hours from any one PAA pure curriculum.

When a survey course includes the work study preparation and follow-up module, the work study module, and an extended study module, these three modules together may not exceed 40 hours of the 100-hour course.

Recordkeeping is essential to avoid repetition of modules at other grade levels, to assist with the transfer of information when a student changes schools, and to support post-secondary program articulation, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), and Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). Recordkeeping templates for teachers are included in the PAA curriculum guides. Electronic recordkeeping of modules is done through the Student Data System. In addition to individual records, school should keep a central record of the modules that have been taught. See Appendix F for a generic recordkeeping template useful for survey courses.

Middle Level

Career Guidance A Curriculum Guide for the Middle Level (1995) is a requirement of Core Curriculum for grades 6-9.

Objectives for computer literacy will be integrated at all K-12 Levels.

Effective September 2004, students entering grade seven will be required to take at least three Practical and Applied Arts (PAA) survey courses before completing grade nine. Students in grades 7-9 may use Christian Ethics courses to fulfill two of the three PAA survey courses requirements.

Each course must be a minimum of 50 hours.

There should be a balance of subject area perspectives included in Middle Level PAA courses. Modules must be configured using a horizontal or random approach, and must be taken from a minimum of three PAA curricula.

Modules for suggested Middle Level courses are generally from introductory level modules, although intermediate and advanced modules may also be used, providing the prerequisites are met.

Some modules should not be used in Middle Level survey courses for various reasons: safety, developmental appropriateness, or a Trade Board decision.

Horizontal Approach – represents a selection of modules focusing on a theme from two or more clusters. An example of a survey course using a horizontal approach with a camping trip theme follows.

PAA Middle Level Survey Course Horizontal Approach
Curriculum	Module	Code	Time
Food Studies	Kitchen and Food Safety	FOOD02	8 hours
Food Studies	Snacks	FOOD09	5 hours
Food Studies	Canada's Food Guide and Beyond	FOOD10	7 hours
Forestry	Introduction	FRST01	5 hours
Forestry	Forest Ecology	FRST03	5 hours
Forestry	Canada's Parks and Protected Areas	FRST07	10 hours
Wildlife Management	Outdoor Experiences I	WILD03A	10 hours
Instruction required per course			50 hours

Random Approach – create a course by randomly selecting modules from two or more clusters to survey a variety of curricula. An example of a survey course using a random approach follows:

PAA Middle Level Survey Course Random Approach
Curriculum	Module	Code	Time
Drafting and Computer-aided Design	Sketching and Freehand Drawing Fundamentals	DRAF03	10 hours
Welding	Safety	WELD01	6 hours
Welding	Oxy-Acetylene Start-up, Shut-down and Cutting	WELD05	4 hours
Welding	Oxy-Acetylene Welding	WELD09	9 hours
Food Studies	Kitchen Basics	FOOD01	10 hours
Communication Production Technology	Introductory Video Production	CPTEC05	11 hours
Instruction required per course			50 hours