Developing Pre-Technical Secondary Education Programs: Rationale, Content, and Methodology

Abstract

This guide outlines the rationale, content, and methodology of a three-part high technology program that was developed in Georgia to provide secondary school students with training in the areas of electronics and electromechanical and mechanical technologies. Discussed first are the Georgia Initiative, the impact of high technology and the role of the engineering technician, Georgia's associate degree engineering technology curriculum, and the pretechnical curriculum model. The next section, which is an outline of the high school curriculum model, includes course descriptions, a list of competencies addressed in the individual courses, a list of affective skills, a discussion of the importance of applied problem solving and creativity in pre-technical curriculum, and examples of high school pre-technical curriculum tracks developed at one high school in Georgia. Provided in a section on implementing a pre-technical curriculum are guidelines pertaining to the following areas: obtaining information, developing a program description, obtaining input from business and industry, organizing a teaching team, problem solving in a high school environment, and obtaining needed equipment and materials. Appendixes to the guide contain a description of a course in unified technical concepts in physics and a career decision model. (MN)