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. Saskatchewan Education, its educational partners, and other stakeholders have collaborated to complete the PAA curriculum renewal. Some PAA curriculum guides have been updated; some components have been integrated, adapted, or deleted; some Locally Developed Courses have been elevated to provincial status; and some new guides have been developed.
A companion Practical and Applied Arts Handbook (Draft 2000) 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 guides about work study 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.
Technical drawings are essential to constructing everything in society from the house one lives in to the computer on a desk. These drawings, created by a draftsperson, must be understood by hundreds of other people in our society. The renewed Drafting curriculum is designed to promote understanding and application of the graphical language used in technical drawings. Drafting will provide a foundation for future employment or post- secondary education in many fields.
To provide students with opportunities to acquire knowledge and develop skills in drafting.
It is highly recommended that students have the opportunity to develop skills with Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD) software. Manual drafting can be used to develop similar skills where CAD hardware and software are currently not available
Awareness: To develop an appreciation for drafting and the numerous
trades where it can be used.
Technological Advances: To obtain a working knowledge in the fundamental
principles of CAD and/or manual drafting.
Communication: To communicate effectively in a non-traditional
classroom environment.
Independent Learning: To develop independent work practices.
Accountability: To instill a sense of pride and responsibility for
one's work.
Career Development: To make informed career decisions based on
experiences.
Foundational objectives are the major, general statements that guide what each student is expected to achieve for the modules of the PAA curriculum guides. Foundational objectives indicate the most important knowledge, skills, attitudes/values, and abilities for a student to learn in a subject. Both the Foundational Objectives for Drafting and Computer-Aided Design 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 Core Modules of the Drafting and Computer-Aided Design curriculum include:
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 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 skilling, personal
accountability, processing of information, teamwork, and work study/experience.
Throughout the PAA curricula, the CELs objectives are stated explicitly at the beginning
of each module and 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 |
Although certain CELs are to be emphasized in each module, as indicated by the CELs
Foundational Objectives, other interrelated CELs may be addressed at the teacher's
discretion.
The new Drafting and Computer-Aided Design curriculum is intended for schools
that use computer-assisted drafting and schools that are in transition from manual
drafting. It should be recognized that manual drafting is rarely a skill employers are
looking for in today's job market and that all efforts should be made to modernize
equipment and practices in the classroom. The Introductory level modules are developed
for students who have no previous drafting experience. The intermediate and advanced
modules build on competencies developed at the introductory level and introduce
architectural and mechanical drawing fundamentals. Students are encouraged to maintain
a portfolio of their work throughout the courses. The portfolio may be electronic or
hard-copy. As students develop skill, they may wish to cull the portfolio so that it
represents their best work.
There are several good Computer-Aided Drafting and Computer-Aided Design packages on the
market. Some terms used in this curriculum guide are software specific.
Work Study provides students with an opportunity to enhance personal skills and to
develop skills using industry equipment and standards not available in a school setting.
Refer to the Work Study Guidelines, a section of the Practical and Applied Arts
Handbook and to the Work Experience Education Guide (1989), for information
on required and best practices for student preparation, employer partnerships, and
teacher responsibilities.
Note: the Work Experience Education Guidelines are being renewed as the
Career and Work Exploration Curriculum Guide.
A portfolio is a valuable organizer of student projects and assignments. Envelopes,
files, binders, or folders serve to compile information over a term for a 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 development of a portfolio is an important communication tool because it provides
information for students, teachers, post-secondary institutions, community organizations
and potential employers.
The portfolio can help the student:
The portfolio can help the teacher:
The portfolio can help post-secondary institutions:
The portfolio can help the community:
The portfolio can help the potential employers:
Through reflecting, updating and culling, students are able to compile portfolios that
display only their best and most recent collection of work.
When a teacher examines a student's portfolio in order to make a decision regarding
student progress, the information it contains may become 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 course evaluation.
To support the principle of Resource-based Learning a variety of instructional resources
have been evaluated and recommended to support the teaching and learning of Drafting
and Computer-Aided Design 10, 20, 30. See Drafting and Computer-Aided Design
10, 20, 30: An Initial List of Implementation Materials for recommended resources
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.
Student assessment and evaluation is an important part of teaching as it allows the
teacher to plan and adapt instruction to meet the specific needs of each student. It
also allows the teacher to discuss the current successes and challenges with students
and report progress to the parent or guardian. It is important that teachers use a
variety of assessment and evaluation strategies to evaluate student progress.
Additional information on evaluation of student achievement can be found in the
Saskatchewan Education documents entitled Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook
(1991) and Curriculum Evaluation in Saskatchewan (1991).
It is important that the teacher discuss with students the evaluation strategies to be
used in the course, when the evaluation can be expected to occur, the weighting of each
evaluation strategy, and how it relates to the overall student evaluation. The weighting
of the evaluation should be determined in relation to the amount of time spent and
emphasis placed on each area of the course, as suggested in these curriculum guides.
A suggested evaluation for Drafting and Computer-Aided Design is as follows:
| Tests (Written) | 25% |
| Project Work | 15% |
| Portfolio | 15% |
| Homework and Assignments | 10% |
| Classroom Presentations | 10% |
| Work Study | 25% |
As discussed in the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook (Draft 2000), there are
three main types of student evaluation: diagnostic, formative, and summative.
Diagnostic evaluation usually occurs at the beginning of the school year or before a
unit of instruction to identify prior knowledge, interests or skills of students about
the subject area.
Formative evaluation is an ongoing classroom process that keeps students and educators
informed of students' progress.
Summative evaluation occurs most often at the end of a module, to determine what has been
learned over a period of time.
For information about program evaluation refer to Saskatchewan School-Based Program
Evaluation Resource Book (1989).