The new Applied Academics curriculum: "a win-win deal" for all education partners.
 "Why am I learning this?"
This is the number one question asked by today's students - and by parents and employers. It's a cry for relevance. Students are looking for knowledge that will help them go on to further education, get a job, and find their place in the modern world. Applied Academics is the answer.
"It's a pleasure to teach a course that gives students content they can relate to," said Rick Wunderlich a teacher at Shuswap Junior Secondary, Salmon Arm, "while adhering to the highest academic and professional standards. It's a win-win deal."
Teacher-friendly
By helping students understand the reasons for studying their subject - whether it's Mathematics, Physics, Language Arts or Information Technology - Applied Academics will make the classroom a better place in which to learn.
"I think BC teachers will really benefit from teaching the new Applied Academics courses and other curricula with a greater applied focus," said Mike Darnbrough of School District #23 (Central Okanagan), Kelowna.
"They're designed to motivate kids by showing them right away the immediate, real world applications of the material they're studying."
See the future now
Applied Academics is a major evolutionary leap in education. It's happening across North America and now it's a reality in British Columbia. This is an excellent opportunity for BC teachers and their students to gain new skills and expertise for the 21st century.
"I've seen a lot of things come and go," said Reno Ciolfi, Vice-Principal at Ballenas Secondary, Parksville. "Applied Academics is going to be around for a long time. It's a powerful way to learn. You'll have a major impact on your students and their future by teaching an Applied Academics course."
All courses in the BC Secondary School Curriculum now have a greater applied focus. Four entirely new courses coming on-stream in the Fall of 1997 are profiled in this newsletter.
What do students do in an Applied Academics class?
- learn in a concrete, participatory way
- study abstract concepts within practical, applied contexts
- make stronger connections between school and the community
- focus on understanding, rather than rote memorization and "getting the right answers"
- learn skills by demonstration, modelling and practice
Some examples
In the Information Technology 11 and 12 curriculum...
students start learning about computer programming, electronic communication and team-work skills.
In Technical and Professional Communications 12...
students prepare and present proposals on technical and business topics, as well as learn communication skills used in professions such as medicine, law and engineering.
In the Applications of Mathematics curriculum...
students learn about money management, and use market research surveys to experience how probability theory and statistics are applied in predicting consumer behaviour.
In Applications of Physics 11 and 12...
students design sports safety equipment to understand the laws of momentum and impulse, and conduct experiments to demonstrate fluid flow in a thermal system.
Flexibility and choice
The new curricula are designed to give students - and parents and teachers - flexible choices in how they meet the need for a relevant, high-quality education.
The strength of the Applied Academics approach in B.C.'s education system is that it allows students to keep their options open on where they will go after graduation.
Students acquire academic qualifications for entry into post-secondary programs at B.C. colleges, universities and technical institutes - but at the same time they also acquire skills for the workplace and job entry.
Academic rigour and standards are maintained, with no loss of opportunity for further education and training - but there is also much to gain in terms of employability and effective citizenship.
Choose your path. For example, the structure of Applied Mathematics courses from grades 8 to 12 is illustrated to the right:
Students can move between the Applied and the Principles pathways, selecting the mix of courses that best fits their career and educational goals.
Fall 97: Four new Applied Academics courses in your school
 Technical and Professional Communications 12
This course focuses on the importance of effective written and oral communication in all types of careers and in everyday life. Students use a variety of traditional and electronic technologies - and collaborative processes similar to those in the workplace - to address real or simulated communication challenges.
Topics covered include reading, viewing and listening; critical analysis; research; writing, representing and speaking; products and presentations; drafting, revising and editing; communication and collaboration; the nature of language.
Information Technology 11 and 12 
Students learn about Network Planning, Programming, Electronic Communications and Multimedia - gaining the level of computer literacy they need to succeed in the modern workplace or in post-secondary education.
Foundations study provides students with fundamental knowledge, skills and attitudes to use information technology tools in all areas of learning. Process allows students to select, organize and modify information to solve problems. Presentation shows students understand how to effectively use information technology tools to communicate ideas in a variety of media.
 Applications of Physics 11 and 12
Focussing on practical applications, science concepts are explained in depth to show how they relate to each other in real-world systems. Theory, principles and laws of physics are learned by examining four systems - mechanical, fluid, electrical and thermal - in practical contexts. Students learn to work scientifically, collaboratively, responsibly and safely. Grade 11 curriculum includes linear and rotational force, pressure, voltage, temperature, rate, energy and resistance. Grade 12 curriculum includes transformers, momentum, energy conversion, transducers, waves and vibrations, electricity and magnetism.
Applications of Mathematics 9 to 12 
Courses provide a basic foundation of mathematical literacy in preparation for post-secondary education or careers. Students gain a solid base for using math skills in a variety of real-world contexts. Technological tools are used by students to help them conceptualize mathematical ideas and solve problems. Grade 11 topics include money management, use of technological tools for graphing and solving equations, vectors, geometry, data analysis and trigonometry. Grade 12 topics include financial decision making, matrices, fractal geometry, linear programming, non-linear functions, and project design and layout.
Teamwork, communication, problem solving, decision making ... what I learned at school today.
Knowledge and skills for the modern world 
B.C. schools are doing an excellent job of teaching the three Rs and traditional curricula. To meet new challenges, students need to develop key social and workplace skills as a formal part of their educational experience.
Students must acquire these skills to function effectively in higher education, in society and in all types of work environment. They include:
- ability to work with others
- appropriate balance between leadership and teamwork
- adaptability, creativity and initiative
- energy and persistence in getting the job done
- ability to set goals, priorities and performance standards
- effective time and resource management
- responsibility for actions and decisions
- ability to access and apply specialized knowledge
- using technology, instruments and information to achieve specific goals
- comprehension and use of a variety of written and visual media including graphs, charts and displays
These skills will be now be taught more systematically, to achieve the learning outcomes of each Applied Academics course.
 Everyone benefits
Applied Academics brings the classroom closer to the community, by involving all partners in the process of making public education more relevant.
Students graduate with skills and goals
The new Applied Academics courses complement the Career and Personal Planning curriculum [CAPP] in preparing students for life after high school. Practical applications help students explore career and personal interests, post-secondary opportunities, and what it means to be part of a community.
Teachers stimulate
Applied Academics helps create a better teaching environment in which educators can help more students learn challenging subjects such as math and science. It provides a fresh, exciting and stimulating approach. Students will get more out of the time spent in the classroom - and so will teachers.
Parents gain confidence
Applied Academics helps meet a key expectation that parents have for the education system - that it will help young people become self-supporting after high-school by preparing them for post-secondary education, training and employment.
Employers and community participate
Applied Academics provides a way to strengthen a school's connections to the community. Teachers can involve businesspeople as guests in the classroom, and as providers of workplace experience. Schools can establish education partnerships with post-secondary institutions, volunteer agencies, professional groups, retired people and other members of the community to support the implementation of Applied Academics.
College and university connections
Applied Academics is a key part of the transition process, allowing students to access post-secondary education opportunities that meet their goals. The Ministry is working with B.C. universities, colleges and technical institutes to ensure that secondary school courses provide effective transition to post-secondary programs.
Applied Academics emphasizes applications of theory, problem solving and critical thinking - skills that post-secondary institutions are encouraging high-school students to acquire as a foundation for further study in any field.
New approach, old philosophy
While Applied Academics may be new to some people, the concept behind it is as old as civilization and has been around ever since people first started to teach. . .
Tell me and I forget.
Show me and I might remember.
Involve me and I learn.
~ Confucius
We learn how to do things by doing
the things we are learning to do.
~ Aristotle
Education today, more than ever today,
must clearly see two objectives:
education for living, and
education for making a living.
~ James Mason Wood
We are now at the point where we must
educate people in what nobody knew yesterday,
and prepare in our schools for what no one knows yet
but what some people must know tomorrow.
~ Margaret Mead
What is Applied Academics?
- an effective way to make public education more relevant
- a holistic approach integrating what we teach and how we teach
- based on the proven concept that most people learn better by doing, Applied Academics enables students to qualify for post-secondary education, enter into careers, and function effectively in modern society
- All of the above.
How does it work?
By showing concrete applications of how a theory is used in everyday situations - to solve problems at home or in the workplace - Applied Academics gives students stronger motivation to learn the theory.
The teacher is teaching them something real that will help them in the world beyond school - rather than abstract theory they perceive as having little meaning in their lives.
Where can a teacher get assistance?
If you would like more detailed information on Applied Academics, please send in the attached reply coupon. The Ministry of Education, Skills and Training and the Center for Applied Academics are working hard to ensure that teachers throughout B.C. are effectively supported and prepared to teach the new curriculum. Your commitment is vital.
CFAA's Help Pack contains useful, concise information and communication tools to help you teach an Applied Academics course - and promote it to students, parents, colleagues and the community. It also has information on the status of Applied Academics in BC post-secondary institutions.
To receive a copy of the Applied Academics Help Pack send us an e-mail indicating your full name, school, mailing address, postal code and subject area you teach.
Published by of the Center for Applied Academics, in partnership with the BC Ministry of Education, Skills and Training. The Center for Applied Academics plays a lead role in implementing education policy, working with the provincial government and education partners.
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