Course Components and Considerations

Course Components and Considerations

Under Core Curriculum policy, each Secondary Level single (1.0) credit is based on 100 hours of instruction. Introductory modules may be completed at the Middle Level to help meet Middle Level requirements.

Modules were designed for a 400-hour Electrical and Electronics program. The course developed for the Introductory level (10) provides access to further studies in electricity, the Electrical focus leading to a career opportunity as an Electrician or the Electronics focus leading to a career as an Electronics Technician.

Electricity, Electronics 10 (100 hours)

Electricity, Electronics 20 Electricity focus (100 hours)	Electricity, Electronics 20 Electronics focus (100 hours)

Electricity, Electronics A30 Electricity focus (100 hours)	Electricity, Electronics A30 Electronics focus (100 hours)

Electricity, Electronics B30 Electricity focus (100 hours)	Electricity, Electronics B30 Electronics focus (100 hours)

Program Delivery

These courses may be delivered in a variety of ways involving classroom instruction, computer instruction, laboratory activities and industrial work sites. They lend themselves well to coordination with work study programs and industry partnerships. They provide opportunities for students who are interested in pursuing the electrical or electronics trade as a career path or for self-interest.

Work study is a suggested optimal component of all Practical and Applied Arts (PAA). A work study module is included. The Practical and Applied Arts Handbook contains a specific guide to set up optional work study components in one or more of the courses.

Suggestions For Module Configuration

1.	Modules that should be taught first at the Introductory Electrical level:

	Module 1A	-	Safety and Health
	Module 2A	-	Concepts About Electricity
	Module 4A	-	Wiring Circuits

2.	Modules that could be shared for either the Electrical or the Electronics Course(s):

	Module 1	-	Safety and Health
	Module 2	-	Concepts About Electricity
	Module 3	-	Electrical Principles of Alternating Current Circuits and Transformers
	Module 4	-	Wiring Circuits
	Module 6	-	Conductors
	Module 7	-	Overcurrent Devices
	Module 17	-	Introduction to Electronics
	Module 19	-	Measuring Instruments (Meters)
	Module 20	-	Careers
	Module 22	-	Soldering, De-soldering and Recycling Components

Work Study Component

Modules 34A, B, C permit the student to apply academic and school-based learning to workplace settings. Students are provided with an opportunity to experience the optional work study component through appropriate placements. The module 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 may need 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" section. Students who have previously taken a work study module may cover content developed by Saskatchewan Labour found in the Career and Work Exploration Curriculum Guide and the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook to supplement their learning. These content references include:

Labour Standards
Occupational Health and Safety Act
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

Creating Partnerships for Work Study

Creating partnerships is important to the success of this curriculum. There are three distinct partners that play an important role: industry, the school and the student.

Personal contact is the best approach to building partnerships. One should begin by making a presentation to colleagues within the school, to the student body, to school board members, to parents and to local businesses. It is important to outline the curriculum and the benefits and responsibilities for each of the partners.

See the modules outlined in the curriculum and the "Work Study Guidelines" in the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook for further information on work study.

Portfolios

A personal portfolio is a valuable organizer of student projects and assignments. It encourages students to collect examples of their work as they progress through the various activities, labs and projects. Selecting particular items to include in a portfolio encourages students to reflect on what they have learned or accomplished and what they have yet to learn. Portfolio items may include: journal notes, drafts, photographs, audio or video tapes, computer discs, sketches and drawings, etc. Portfolios may be used for peer, teacher, self- assessment and as a format to present selected works to parents, post-secondary institutions or potential employers. In addition, the portfolio can demonstrate the link between home, school and community in the student's education. Each student should have a portfolio representing his or her work during the course.

The portfolio helps students:

reflect on personal growth and accomplishment
see links between home, school and community education and activities
collect materials to prepare applications for post-secondary education and scholarship program entrance
collect materials to prepare for employment applications
focus on career planning.

The portfolio helps teachers:

provide a framework for independent learning strategies for the student
communicate student learning from one school year to another in a specific area of study
identify career planning needs for students
assess and evaluate the student's progress and achievement in a course of study

The portfolio helps post-secondary institutions:

determine suitable candidates for awards and scholarships
evaluate candidates for program entrance
evaluate prior learning for program placement

The portfolio helps the community:

reflect on the involvement in a student's education and the support offered to learners
demonstrate the link between the home, school and community in education

The portfolio helps potential employers:

identify employable skills desired in future employees
provide evidence of knowledge and skill development of potential employees.

Working Portfolio

Students collect work over time in a working folder. Each student should also keep a journal of observations, critiques, ideas and reflections as part of his or her working portfolio. Items in this portfolio may be used for the purpose of reflection, for ongoing and summative evaluations, peer, teacher and self evalutions, for documenting skill development and mastery.

Working portfolios may be used for purposes of conferencing between student and teacher, teacher and parent, teacher and teacher, or student and student. 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.

Presentation Portfolio

To compile a presentation portfolio, students should select items from their working portfolio. The presentation portfolio should cover the range of students' experiences and should display their best efforts. The preparation of a presentation portfolio can be an assessment strategy. It is strongly suggested that students at the 30 level prepare a presentation portfolio suitable for submission to potential employers or post-secondary institutions.

Through collecting, selecting and reflecting, students are able to compile presentation portfolios that display their best collection of work.

Extended Study Modules

The extended study module is designed to provide schools with an opportunity to meet current and future demands that are not addressed by current modules in the renewed PAA curriculum.

The flexibility of this module allows a school/school division to design one new module per credit to complement or extend the study of existing pure core modules and optional modules. The extended study module is designed to extend the content of the pure courses and to offer survey course modules beyond the scope of the selection of PAA modules.

The list of possibilities for topics of study or projects for the extended study module approach is as varied as the imagination of those involved in using the module. These optional extended study module guidelines, found in the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook, should be used to strengthen the knowledge, skills and processes advocated in the Practical and Applied Arts curriculum in which the extended study module is used.

It is recommended that a summary of any extended study module be sent to the Regional Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction to establish a resource bank of module topics.

For more information on the extended study module, refer to the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook.

Resources

To support the principle of Resource-based Learning, instructional resources have been evaluated and recommended for the teaching and learning of Electrical and Electronics 10, 20, A30, B30. See the enclosed Electrical and Electronics 10,20, A30, B30: An Initial List of Implementation Materials for a list of annotated resources. Teachers should also consult the comprehensive PAA bibliography. The annual Learning Resource Materials Update can also provide information about new materials evaluated since the curriculum was printed.

To order materials, except videos, teachers should also consult the department's Learning Resources Distribution Centre (LRDC) catalogue. An on-line ordering service is available at lrdc.sasked.gov.sk.ca.

The on-line version of this Guide is accessible at www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/paa.html. It will be "Evergreened", as appropriate.