Course Syllabus

Faculty: Nathan Reimer

First Peoples Principles and Land Acknowledgement 

I acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured to live, work, and play on this land together. 

As part of contribution to reconciliation, ADST 8 makes the following First Peoples Principles visible in class by providing students with an experiential, hands-on program of learning through design and creation: Learning involves patience and time.  Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational. Learning requires exploration of one‘s identity.

Course Description

The ability to design, make, acquire, and apply skills and technologies is important in the world today and key in the education of citizens for the future.

The Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) curriculum fosters the development of the skills and knowledge that will support students in developing practical, creative, and innovative responses to everyday needs and challenges.

In the ADST 8, students grow through the use of design thinking principles to construct a robot that meets an identified need. This approach helps them gain understanding of how to apply their skills to both finding challenges and solving them in creative ways, using appropriate technologies for the task at hand.

Design involves the ability to combine an empathetic understanding of the context of a challenge, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and critical thinking for analyzing and fitting solutions to context. To move from design to final product or service requires skills and technology. Students will use their design to develop their understanding of sensors, control systems, circuits and programming. 

Contacting Me

• email: nreimer@stgeorges.bc.ca
• office: 215A

Assessment and Evaluation

A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to demonstrate proficiency in these skills and learning these concepts.

Major assessments for this course include:

• Self-reflections
• Presentations of learning 
• Evidence of design thinking demonstrated in class and collected in journals 

A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to engage in the design process as outlined by the BC ADST Curriculum:

• Understanding Context by engaging in research and observation
• Defining the problem by choosing a design opportunity and identifying users, criteria for success and any constraints
• Ideating by taking risks in generating possible design ideas, keeping criteria and constraints in mind.
• Creating and keeping a record of multiple prototypes, making changes to design, tools and technology based on testing. 
• Making a final version using appropriate tools and minimizing waste.
• Sharing their work and providing critical reflections on the success of the design and their design thinking and process.
• Identifying and learning the appropriate skills and technologies required to complete their design.

Using the design process as our framework, students will challenge themselves to learn and demonstrate their understanding of some of the following topics:

• types of sensors
• user and autonomous control systems
• uses and applications of end effectors
• movement- and sensor-based responses
• program flow
• interpretation and use of schematics for assembling circuits
• identification and applications of components
• the VEX platform for robotics programming

Resources 

• All current unit and major assessments for the current term, and a plethora of helpful learning resources can be found on my Canvas page.

Course Expectations

• Because all coursework will be posted on Canvas, students should check the Canvas page to find assignments and handouts if they are away from class.
• Unless otherwise noted, all work should be submitted through Canvas.
• Students are expected to arrive on time, with a functioning laptop capable of running the required software for class, and power cable in case the laptop battery is out of charge. 

Learning Plan

Unit	Learning
1 Sept - Nov	Understand (Big Ideas)	Design can be responsive to identified needs. Complex tasks require the acquisition of additional skills.
	Do (Competencies)	Define a design opportunity Ideate possible solutions Plan and Prototype, making changes as needed Test prototypes, make changes and test again Plan for production, identifying and using appropriate tools, technology and materials.  Share and describe process Identify and develop skills as needed Select, and as needed learn about, appropriate tools and technologies
	Know (Content)	Uses of robotics in local contexts Types of sensors User and autonomous control systems Uses and applications of end effectors Movement- and sensor-based responses program flow The VEX platform for robotics programming
2 Dec - Jan	Understand	Complex tasks require the acquisition of additional skills. Complex tasks may require multiple tools and technologies.
	Do	Define a design opportunity Ideate possible solutions Plan and Prototype, making changes as needed Test prototypes, make changes and test again Plan for production, identifying and using appropriate tools, technology and materials.  Share and describe process Identify and develop skills as needed Select, and as needed learn about, appropriate tools and technologies
	Know	interpretation and use of schematics for assembling circuits identification and applications of components

 

Core Competencies

Students will have the opportunity to communicate with peers in group work/projects/design opportunities, presenting ideas to groups of peers and receiving and responding to feedback.

Students will think critically and creatively to solve design problems.

Through individual and group work, students will demonstrate self-respect and perseverance, they will set goals and monitor their progress, and they will empathize with their classmates and group members.