Saskatchewan Education gratefully acknowledges the professional contributions and advice given by the following members of the Practical and Applied Arts Reference Committee:
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Jerry Cherneski, Instructor
Hazel Lorenz, Consultant
Dean Lucyk, Teacher
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Dr. Kevin Quinlan
Professor, Faculty of Education University of Regina Doug Robertson Lloydminster RCSSD #89 League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents (LEADS) Gayleen Turner, Teacher Swift Current Comprehensive High School Board Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation Saskatchewan Home Economics Teachers' Association (SHETA) Previous Members: Susan Buck, SIAST Laurent Fournier, SSTA Morris Smith, LEADS Dave Spencer, LEADS Ron Wallace, SCWEA Debbie Ward, SSTA |
Saskatchewan Education wishes to thank many others who contributed to the development of these guidelines:
Saskatchewan Education would especially like to acknowledge the Minister of Learning, Province of Alberta, Canada for permission to adapt content from the Career and Technology Design Studies (CTS) Curriculum.
Within Core Curriculum, the Practical and Applied Arts (PAA) is a major area of study that incorporates five traditional areas of Home Economics Education, Business Education, Work Experience Education, Computer Education, and Industrial Arts Education. Students must have two credits from PAA and/or Arts Education in order to graduate from secondary school in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Education, its educational partners, and other stakeholders have collaborated to complete the PAA curriculum renewal. Some PAA curriculum guidelines have been updated; some components have been integrated, adapted, or deleted; some Locally Developed Courses have been elevated to provincial status; and, some new guidelines have been developed.
A companion Practical and Applied Arts Handbook provides background on Core Curriculum philosophy, perspectives, and initiatives. The Handbook articulates a renewed set of goals for PAA. It presents additional information about the PAA area of study, including guidelines about work study, the survey approach, extended survey, and related Transition-to-Work dimensions. In addition, a PAA Information Bulletin provides direction for administrators and others regarding the implementation of PAA courses. Lists of recommended resources for all guides will be compiled into a PAA Bibliography with periodic updates.
Design plays an important role throughout our lives everyday. The clothes we wear, the places we live, and the machines we use are all the end result of design.
Design has helped to shape our world. Sometimes that impact is very simple; for example, the utensils we use to prepare or eat a meal feel comfortable in our hands - the result of skillful design. Other examples of "good design" have a more dramatic affect on our lives. The invention and evolution of the automobile has drastically changed our lives. The impact of the car affects how and where we live (suburbia), the landscape, (freeways), our concept of time and distance, and the way we do business. The evolution of housing design has seen houses with large front porches that were built close to the street being replaced by houses set well back from the street with garages in front to buffer road noise.
The process of design is all about problem solving. It begins with a perceived need and results in a product or a change to an existing product. Every design has an end product reflecting historic, aesthetic, psychological, monetary, material, and environmental considerations.
Design Studies allows students to gain an appreciation for the design fundamentals. Learning how to manipulate and apply the design fundamentals in a variety of problem-solving situations is a major focus of this curriculum.
Creativity and problem solving are tools of design. Developing theoretical solutions to problems and testing those ideas using a variety of methods, materials, and processes helps students to evaluate and make decisions as to what is a good design. The students will solve visual, structural, and organizational problems. Students will have the opportunity to solve design problems making choices, compromises and decisions.
Aim
The aim of Design Studies is to provide experiences for developing proficiency in problem solving, goal setting, critical thinking, and to provide opportunities to develop co-operative work skills and technical skills using a design process.
Goals
Awareness and Understanding: To acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities related to design.
Careers and Employment: To develop an awareness of how knowledge and skills in design may be applied to various jobs and careers.
Communication: To develop the communication skills required to be effective in various design situations.
Employment Skills: To develop team-building skills by working in groups to plan, design, and create various products; to develop capacities for critical and creative problem solving using the concepts and processes of design.
Personal Skills: : To promote self-esteem and confidence with the development of professional portfolios and presentations.
Applied Technology: To develop proficiency in the use of various tools in planning, designing, and creating various products.
Foundational Objectives
Foundational objectives are the major, general statements that guide what each student is expected to achieve for the modules of the PAA curriculum guidelines. Foundational objectives indicate the most important knowledge, skills/abilities, attitudes/values for a student to learn in a subject. Both the Foundational Objectives for Design Studies 10, 20 and the Common Essential Learnings (CELs) Foundational Objectives to be emphasized are stated in this document. Some of these statements may be repeated or enhanced in different modules for emphasis. The Foundational Objectives of the Design Studies 10, 20 curriculum include:
All of the subject and CELs Foundational Objectives are stated explicitly at the beginning of each module.
Common Essential Learnings Foundational Objectives (CELs)
The incorporation of the Common Essential Learnings (CELs) into the instruction and assessment of the Practical and Applied Arts (PAA) curriculum offers many opportunities to develop students knowledge, skills, and abilities. The purpose of the CELs is to assist students with learning concepts, skills, and attitudes necessary to make transitions to career, work, and adult life.
The CELs establish a link between the Transition-to-Work dimensions and the Practical and Applied Arts curriculum content. The Transition-to-Work dimensions included in the PAA curricula are: apprenticeship, career exploration/development, community project(s), employability skills, entrepreneurial skills, occupational skills, personal accountability, processing of information, teamwork, and work study/experience.
The CELs are coded in this document, as follows:
| COM | = Communication |
| NUM | = Numeracy |
| CCT | = Critical and Creative Thinking |
| TL | = Technological Literacy |
| PSVS | = Personal and Social Values and Skills |
| IL | = Independent Learning |
It is anticipated that teachers will find additional ways to incorporate the CELs into their classroom instruction.
Design Studies should be promoted within the school and the community so participants (students, parents and business partners) understand the purpose of the course. Design Studies is not a manufactured project or product curriculum. It is a course that encourages students to be creative, and to work cooperatively with others to solve problems. Some of activities suggested in the course may be difficult to accommodate within the school and may require community partnerships.
The courses provide background and skill for related programs at post-secondary institutions. Examples of related programs could include graphic arts, drafting, as well as any of the fabrication skill areas.
There are four major content areas in Design Studies:
Work Study Component
(for purposes of articulation)
This module permits the student to apply academic and school-based learning to workplace settings in the community. Students are provided with an opportunity to experience the optional work study component through appropriate placements. The application of the design process is present in many workplaces; for example, engineering firms, architectural firms, interior decorating businesses, landscaping businesses, theatre groups, farm equipment manufacturers, and graphic arts businesses. The community placement may be with volunteer or amateur organizations in addition to professional establishments. Module 16: Work Study Preparation and Follow-up Activities must be taught if the students have not participated in a work study module prior to enrolling in this course. If students have completed a previous work study module in another course, less time needs to be spent in work study preparation, thus allowing more time for other modules. See the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook for detailed information under the "Work Study Guidelines". Students who have previously taken a work study module are expected to cover content developed by Saskatchewan Labour found in the Career and Work Exploration Curriculum Guide and the PAA Handbook. These content references include:
A portfolio is a valuable organizer of student projects and assignments. Envelopes, files, binders, or folders serve to compile information over a term for each student. Each student should have a portfolio representing his or her work during the course. Students may construct portfolios in which to keep their work and assessments throughout the term. Two portfolios may be valuable: a "working portfolio" to collect ideas observations, notes and critiques, and a "presentation portfolio" to maintain completed work. By keeping track of this material, students are able to monitor their level of achievement. Additions to and revisions of the portfolio should be done at the end of each module.
The portfolio should include evidence of work from each stage of the design process. If the students are preparing a portfolio for the first time, the teacher may wish to create a list of things that might be in a portfolio. The portfolio should demonstrate that the student understood what was required; knew the design process used; gathered and used information to make decisions; developed drawing, sketching, and fabrication skills; and, was able to work cooperatively with others.
When a teacher examines a student's portfolio in order to make a decision regarding student progress, the information it contains becomes documented evidence for the evaluation.
A daily journal may also become a part of a working portfolio as a means of tracking the student's use of time and to record progress on ideas that are being developed. This will provide the student with a focus for self-directed or independent learning as well as an anecdotal record for part of the student's evaluation.
Design Studies is 200 hours of curriculum and instruction within the Practical and Applied Arts requiring 100 hours of instruction per course credit. Modules 1, 2 and 8 are core (prerequisite) modules requiring 35-60 hours of study. Other core and optional modules may be selected to complete the remainder of the course(s). The optional work study module provides students with the opportunity to apply classroom learning in a workplace setting and to investigate career development further.
Each Extended Study Module (DEST 18A, B) suggests 10-20 hours of instruction. These optional modules can be used for a variety of purposes and at different levels. These modules may provide opportunities for students to do project or innovative work that can not otherwise be accommodated by the current curriculum. See Module 18 for more details, and the PAA Handbook for additional information.
Important considerations for these modules are:To support the principle of Resource-based Learning, a variety of instructional resources have been evaluated and recommended for the teaching and learning of Design Studies. See the initial list for Design Studies that will eventually be compiled into a PAA bibliography.
Teachers should also check the department's Learning Resources Distribution Centre (LRDC) catalogue. An on-line ordering service is available.
The on-line version of this Guide is accessible at www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/paa.html. It will be "Evergreened", as appropriate.