Student Orientation & Curriculum Guide 
Curriculum
Philosophy and Principal Components

Before we defined our curriculum, we had to define what we wanted to teach, and we had to be clear about how we wanted teaching to occur.

It was important that students learn skills in context.  That the connectedness among different types of skills, and different levels, styles and variations of techniques be clearer and more obvious.   That classes be made up of students with more similiar skill and accomplishment levels.   That students have fun, but at the same time be challenged.   That teachers be prepared to instruct students utilizing their read, see, hear, and touch senses.

Conceptually, we began to define each class in terms of three continuums:
a.  Project-oriented ---- Concept/Design-oriented ---- Applications-oriented

b.  New to the skill ---- Some experience with the skill ---- Full knowledge of the skill

c.  Follows directions, diagrams, patterns ---- Learns concepts w/simple applications and can expand on directions, diagrams, patterns --- Designs and creates projects, including directions, diagrams, patterns

We felt different students would want to get different things out of taking courses.    Some would primarily want to learn a lot of different technical skills at a project level -- what we call horizontal development.    Others would want to explore a particular skill in more and more depth -- what we call vertical development.  

It was from all this thinking that our curriculum program and its courses were derived.