Each level of Energy and Mines 10, 20, 30 is a credit program within the area of Practical and Applied Arts and requires 100 hours of instruction. The programs, combining compulsory core modules with a variety of optional modules, have been developed to provide a balance between:
Availability of three credits provides flexibility for the teacher to create one, two, or three courses tailored to local needs. To support this flexibility, a number of characteristics are emphasized throughout the program:
In addition to fostering information-based environmental responsibility and providing job and workplace-related skills and knowledge, the course will provide desirable background for entry into the work force or related programs at public and vocational colleges, technical institutes and universities.
Students will already have varying degrees of familiarity with Saskatchewan's energy and mineral resources from other courses and levels in the curriculum. These include, among others, the following:
Teachers may wish to review these units prior to beginning this course. There may be content, teaching ideas, or resources that would be useful, particularly in the introductory units of the Energy and Mines curriculum. As well, opportunities may be found for collaboration with colleagues in resource sharing, joint program planning, or both.
This module permits the student to apply 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. Module 26: Work Study Preparation and Follow-up Activities must be covered prior to and following the work study module. The Practical and Applied Arts Handbook has detailed information in 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. These content references include:
Partnerships are important to the success of the work study component. There are three distinct partners that play an important role: the industry/business, 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.
A 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 videotapes, computer discs, sketches and drawings, etc. Portfolios may be used for peer, teacher and 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 students’ education. Each student should have a portfolio representing his or her work during the course.
The portfolio can help students:
The portfolio can help teachers:
The portfolio can help post-secondary institutions:
The portfolio can help community:
The portfolio can help potential employers:
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, ongoing and summative evaluation, peer, teacher and self-evaluations.
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.
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.
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 Practical and Applied Arts 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 Practical and Applied Arts 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.
To support the principle of Resource-based Learning, a variety of instructional resources have been evaluated and recommended for the teaching and learning of Energy and Mines 10, 20, 30. See Energy and Mines 10, 20, 30: An Initial List of Implementation Materials for a list of annotated resources. Teachers should also consult the comprehensive Practical and Applied Arts bibliography. The annual Learning Resource Materials Update can also provide information about new materials evaluated since the curriculum was printed.