Design Studies. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

With this Career and Technology Studies (CTS) curriculum guide, secondary students in Alberta can do the following: develop skills that can be applied in their daily lives; refine career-planning skills; develop technology-related skills in design; enhance employability skills, especially in design occupations; and apply and reinforce learning developed in other subject areas. The curriculum is organized in strands and modules. This guide encompassing the design studies strand contains 31 modules that define what a student is expected to know and be able to do (competencies). The guide is organized in the following parts: (1) program rationale and philosophy, learner expectations, program organization, curriculum and assessment standards, and types of competencies in design studies; (2) strand rationale and philosophy and strand organization for design studies; (3) planning for instruction for career and technology studies and for design courses; (4) module curriculum and assessment standards for introductory level design competencies; (5) module curriculum and assessment standards for intermediate level design competencies; (6) module curriculum and assessment standards for advanced level design competencies; (7) assessment tools; (8) linkages and transitions; (9) learning resource guide; and (10) sample student learning guides. Modules cover the following broad topics: sketching/drawing/modeling; 2-D and 3-D design fundamentals and applications; computer-aided design (CAD); drafting; technical drawing; living environment; CAD modeling; the evolution of design; the design profession; and portfolio presentation. (KC)