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The business education component of the Applied Skills Kindergarten to Grade 7 curriculum and should be examined when working with this IRP. Learning outcomes for senior courses found in the Business Education 11 and 12 IRP should also be referenced to see how Grade 10 business education learning outcomes link with those in Grade 11 courses.
The learning outcomes in this IRP are grade appropriate and it is expected that students will achieve the outcomes presented at each grade level. However, there is flexibility as to when and how these outcomes may be addressed.
Because of the relevance of business education topics to students' future success in the world of work, it is expected that attention will be given to business-related careers at each grade level.
Requirements
Students are required to devote a minimum of 5% (about 48 hours) of the instructional time to Applied Skills in each of grades 8 through 10, up to a maximum of 15% in Grade 8 (about 144 hours) and 20% (about 192 hours) in grades 9 and 10. These times are based upon a typical course allotment of about 120 hours, or 12% of total instructional time. This flexibility provides an opportunity for schools to address business education learning outcomes in ways that best meet the needs of learners.
Because the curriculum does not imply a particular organization for instruction and learning, teachers may address different clusters of learning outcomes drawn solely from business education or from combinations of outcomes from two or more curricula including business education. For example, in planning a 120-hour course in which business education learning outcomes are addressed half of the time, teachers will need to determine which of these outcomes are to be addressed. If the course draws from other curricula, such as Career and Personal Planning 8 to 10 or Information Technology 8 to 10, teachers will again need to decide which learning outcomes from these curricula would make sense to link to those of business education.
Considering Student Needs
When planning a comprehensive grade 8 to 10 program around the business education learning outcomes contained in this IRP, consideration must be given to the needs of students who might elect business education courses in their senior years and who would be expected to have an appropriate level of conceptual knowledge and skill proficiency. Flexibility of time (5% to 20%), availability of resources, local priorities, and the desire to address student differences suggest that learning outcomes may be addressed differentially and selectively.
Options and Setting Priorities
The Business Education 8 to 10 curriculum is sufficiently comprehensive to support a full course (about 120 hours) in business education at each of grades 8, 9, and 10. Schools that wish to offer shorter courses will need to set local priorities and select learning outcomes that best address student and district needs. In most cases, this will mean selecting outcomes from all five curriculum organizers. Schools that choose to address this curriculum within a course of 100 to 120 hours as a business education experience linked to other subjects such as Information Technology 8 to 10 and Career or Personal Planning 8 to 10, will also need to determine the particular outcome cluster and emphasis based on the business education contribution to the course.
When setting priorities, it may be useful to first consider the global activities, themes, units, projects, issues, and problems that are already part of present teaching practice. Teachers may wish to first identify those learning outcomes already addressed in current practice before adjusting their activities to include additional learning outcomes. Many learning outcomes from both business education and related curricula may be addressed through large instructional segments.
In planning for learning it should be stressed that the instructional strategies and assessment strategies identified in this IRP are not prescriptive. While they are intended to support the learning outcomes, they may also be considered as starting points for large-scale instructional planning.
Transition Period
Teachers will need to adjust their expectations for student performance within this IRP over time. The impact of the Applied Skills Kindergarten to Grade 7 subjects and an Information Technology curriculum will be felt differentially across schools and classrooms as technology continues to evolve and as students advance their skill performance with respect to technology.
In this period of transition, teachers should monitor the prior learning of their students. Special considerations might be given to student proficiency in keyboarding skills. This may entail dedicating blocks of time to concentrated practice and reinforcement for some students. Adjustment may also be required in the balance of knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and problem solving that are addressed over a longer period of transition.
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Revised: October 29, 1997
