Over the next couple of months, students across the
province will sit down with course calendars and will chart their future schooling.
Courses will be picked, career paths will be pondered and advice will be sought. As a
teacher, administrator, counselor or parent, students will be turning to you with some of
those tough educational choices.
Since many of these questions may involve applied
academics, we are beginning a three part series to help you guide inquiring students. This
issue we will cover the topic of gathering basic yet critical info on applied academics.
In the up-coming issues we will examine how to identify whether Applied Academics is best
for a student, and we will explore the educational options available at the post secondary
level.
For many students and parents, the whole notion of
Applied Academics is still quite foreign. The basic concept behind these courses is that
many students learn better through hands-on and contextual teaching styles. In other
words, if you allow some students the opportunity to see and experience how the subject is
used in the real world, then they will find it easier to learn and to succeed. Applied
Academics courses are structured around using workplace and real-life examples to connect
curriculum with the realities of the world around them.
There are currently nine Applied Academics courses
available: Applications of Mathematics 9-12, Applications of Physics 11 and 12,
Information Technology 11 and 12 and Technical and Professional Communications 12. A brief
description of these is available in our parent's brochure (call 1 877 293-CFAA to request
copies).
This brochure offers a thumbnail sketch of the courses,
but for some, more detailed information will be needed. A student brochure will be
released within the next couple of weeks, and detailed course descriptions will soon be
posted on our website (www.bced.gov.bc.ca/cfaa).
For many students, Applied Academics courses will be only a part of their career and
education plan. The Career Education Society and the CFAA have produced a brochure
highlighting how career education and Applied Academics can fit together. These brochures
are available through our office by calling 1 877-293-CFAA. More information about the
wonderous world of Applied Academics can be gleaned from surfing our website.
As course decision time quickly approaches, now is the
time to brush up on the facts, reread the information available, and prepare yourself for
those tricky questions students may ask.
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Wanted: Keen Vancouver Island Applications of
Mathematics teachers!
Bruce Podetz has just received the funding approval to
host an Applied Academics Summer Institute on Vancouver Island. As you can imagine, there
is a lot of work to be done between now and when the doors open for summer classes. So the
call has gone out for keen educators who are interested in serving on the steering or
organizing commitees. Sound interesting? Drop Bruce an email (bpodetz@mail.island.net) or give him a call at
(250) 722-2831 at work or (250) 755-1547.
The choice is now yours!
Even as you read this, the bugs are being worked out on
our soon to be launched NEWSFLASH. In the next few weeks, we will begin faxing a fax-out
version of the Newswire to all secondary schools. Would you rather receive a fancy fax
version or the email version. The choice is now yours. If you want to change to a fax
version, please call 1877 293-CFAA or email cfaa0010@bcitvm.bcit.ca.
Correction!
Last issue we told you of the Information Technology
Forum (April 29th and 30th). Registration requests were to be directed towards Gus Fraser;
however, those pesky computer gremlins made contacting him a bit of a challenge. You will
find it much easier to reach him at gfraser@schou.sd41.bc.ca,
than you will at the address we last printed. Incidently, the gremlin has been trapped and
released in a wilderness area, far from anyone's computer.
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