Aim, Goals and Foundational Objectives

Aim

The aim of Horticulture 10, 20, 30 is to provide students with an understanding of the scope of the industry and the potential for employment within the industry in the western provinces.

Goals

Skill Development:To develop progressive, tangible skill sets pertinent to the horticulture industry.

Careers Development: To cultivate an awareness of the career opportunities within the field of horticulture throughout Canada.

Personal Skills: To develop a sense of pride in developing skills to enhance community and personal surroundings.

Entrepreneurial Opportunities: To create an awareness of the opportunity to start your own business.

Multi-disciplinary approach: To promote a relationship among a variety of related courses that support horticulture (such as drafting, housing, biology, etc.).

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, attitudes/values, and abilities for a student to learn in a subject. Both the Foundational Objectives for Horticulture 10, 20, 30 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 Horticulture 10, 20, 30 curriculum include:

To introduce students to the fundamentals of horticulture.
To foster responsibility and self-confidence through the production of a horticultural design.
To afford students the opportunity to produce landscape plans, budgets and tender documents.
To expand students’ knowledge of career opportunities that may lead to securing employment in the horticulture industry.
To recognize health and safety hazards in the workplace so that the potential for personal injury and damage to equipment or the environment is minimized.
To examine relationships between plant species and humans and how populations are affected by the relationship.
To develop knowledge and appreciation for horticulture and its role in our society.
To develop skills in horticulture that may lead to securing employment.
To demonstrate skills with the tools, equipment and techniques used in the horticulture industry.
To use and understand horticulture terminology in context.
To develop skills that allow students to appreciate the natural world through direct experience.
To enable students to identify, using industry standards, common floral designs used for various occasions.

All of the subject and CELs Foundational Objectives are stated explicitly at the beginning of each module.

Common Essential Learnings (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 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. 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.

It is anticipated that teachers will find additional ways to incorporate the CELs into their classroom instruction.