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CTE Content Areas

Technology Education Content Guides

Content Guides

The content guides provided on this page are designed to provide a curricular framework for a variety of courses that may be offered within technology education. Please note, with the exception of the Design and Drawing for Production and Career & Financial Management courses, New York State determines required learning standards but not curriculum. Course curriculum development is carried out at the local level.  

 

Design and Drawing for Production 

The state syllabus is designed to provide opportunities in design and drawing through creative thinking, decision making, and problem-solving experiences. It emphasizes strategies of design and drawing that are appropriate now and in the future. A shift from conventional learning methods to this problem-approach method is the basis for this syllabus. 

Design and Drawing for Production (DDP) is an approved course to meet the one unit of art/music requirement for graduation for all students. To fulfill the art/music credit, the course of study must use the state developed DDP syllabus in its entirety.

 

Career and Financial Management

Career and Financial Management (CFM), provides students with the necessary career and life skills for success beyond high school. All NYSED-approved CTE programs must include CFM—either as a stand-alone course or as embedded content—and must provide the equivalent of a minimum of one half-unit of credit encompassing the sixteen themes identified within the framework. 

Elementary Level Content Guides

Elementary School Technology Education Grades K - 6

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 208 pg. (syllabus, grades K-6)
A ½-unit course of study designed to enable students beginning at the kindergarten level to become aware of technology and their relationship to it. 

Middle Level Content Guides

Technology Education: Introduction to Technology Grade 7 and 8

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1987, 333 pg. (syllabus, grades 7-8)
A comprehensive broad-based introduction to the study of technology. Includes modules on Resources, Systems, Problem Solving, Technological Processes, Societal/Environmental Impacts, and History and Future of Technology. Student activities (Technology Learning Activities) are provided.

Commencement Level Content Guides

State Developed Content Outlines

 

AC/DC Electronics

Albany NY: The New York State Education Department, 20 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½ to 1-unit course providing a strong mathematical and scientific/technological base for the study of basic electronic components and circuitry. Topics include safety, direct current fundamentals and circuits, properties of magnetism and current generation, capacitance and inductance, alternating current, reactance, and AC to DC conversion circuits.

 

Aerospace

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1984, 247 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course introducing the growing field of aerospace activities. Topics include: historical evolution of aerospace, fundamentals of flight, navigation, communication, meteorology, flight physiology, propulsion systems, space technology, and aerospace careers and occupations.

 

Architectural Drawing

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 63 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of design and drafting related to building construction. Topics include culture and history, tools and techniques, lettering and dimensioning, and preparation of site, floor, elevation, section, and perspective drawings.

 

Audio Electronics

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 19 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of amplifier systems, including theory and application, sound generation theory and control, and processing systems. The background knowledge and skills necessary to purchase, operate and design amplifier devices will be developed.

 

Automotive Technology

Albany NY: The New York State Education Department, 39 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- to 1-unit course designed to provide a broad base of technical knowledge and skills within the field of automotive technology. Topics include career awareness, work habits and attitudes, basic automotive electricity and electronics, the subsystems of the automobile, their functions and maintenance. Environmental impacts of automobile use and disposal, workplace relations, and consumer issues are explored.

 

Biotechnology Learning Activity Briefs Packages

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 40 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A framework for teachers.

 

Biotechnology Student Activity Packages

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 105 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
Provides integrative health sciences/technology education student activities with a focus on bio-related technologies.

 

Communication Electronics

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 20 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of electronic communication systems. The basic principles of communication, the functions of major components in a complete system, and career opportunities in the field will be investigated.

 

Communications Systems

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 20 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing instruction in the electronic, graphic, and photographic systems which people use to communicate information and ideas. The projects are driven by client needs, and the communication processes used to meet them. Included are media such as television, radio, motion pictures, printing, photography, and computer-based communication.

 

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 27 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- to 1-unit course that explores the history, components, applications, design functions and career opportunities within computer-aided design graphic problems will be solved using the CAD system to acquire technical drawing skills and an understanding of industrial standards. CAD systems will be used to generate hard copy. Emphasis is placed on the use of computer technology and an understanding of the changing role of CAD and its effects on the design and manufacturing process.

 

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 17 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course that develops a base of knowledge related to the manufacturing industry’s robots and their uses. Students use and describe the functional apparatus, related to computer-aided manufacturing, learn how a program controls and directs a robot to perform a task, and become familiar with the capabilities and limitations of robots.

 

Computer Applications

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 20 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course relating to the evolution and architecture of today’s computer, and its impact on education, industry and individual. Personal, social, industrial, and commercial applications of computer systems will be emphasized, including applications software, telecommunications, and computer control.

 

Construction Engineering and Management

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 29 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- to 1-unit course expanding on the principles presented in construction systems. Using the universal systems model as it relates to construction, residential commercial, and industrial construction processes are explored. Topics include construction systems throughout history, the role of management and engineering in construction, light and heavy construction, and civil construction projects. Hands-on activities in research and planning, site preparation, and the building of superstructures are outlined. Control and impacts of construction systems are included.

 

Construction Systems

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 44 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing instruction in the construction aspects of production. Topics are specifically tailored to construction of a structure on a site. They include planning; sources of capital; and building foundations, superstructures, floors, walls, ceilings, and roofs. The impact of construction on the environment is addressed as well.

 

Creativity and Innovation

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1988, 56 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course which encourages the solving of technical problems through the use of unconventional approaches. Topics include: methods of approaching creativity and innovation, developmental factors of creativity and innovation, and cultural impact of creativity and innovation. Given a defined supply of materials, students will use laboratory facilities to optimize solutions to stated technical problems.

 

Digital Electronics

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1986, 17 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of binary logic, decision-making, logic gates and combination logic circuits, digital signals, number systems, gate symbols, and truth tables necessary for the complete understanding of digital circuits and systems found in the home and commercial electronic equipment. Logic systems, sequential logic circuits, and logic systems applications are included.

 

Electricity/Electronics

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1986, 63 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing study of electricity in the home; line and low voltage, electronic systems, passive and active devices, circuit applications, integrated circuits, and an introduction to digital electronics.

 

Energy and Power

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 125 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of the forms and sources of energy, energy conversion, the laws of thermodynamics, solar heating and cooling, energy-conscious design, and photovoltaics.

 

Energy Applications

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1986, 48 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of the evolution of energy sources as a foundation of technology, and as fundamental to systems of communication, transportation, and production. The instruction provides to students the opportunity to analyze systems applications of energy sources through appropriate performance testing and experimentation. 

 

Graphic Communications

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 33 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course which consists of instruction and hands on activities in image design, electronic imaging, equipment interfacing, telecommunications, prepress processes, and image transfer and finishing. Desktop publishing and other computer technologies are stressed.

 

History of Technology

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 96 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course of study of technology from the earliest use of tools through modern information-based systems. The development of technology, through the agricultural, industrial and information ages will be traced.

 

Manufacturing Systems

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 125 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing instruction in the manufacturing aspects of production. It is organized around five topics that correlate very closely to the universal systems model: manufacturing inputs, resources, processes, outputs, and control. Students study the history of manufacturing, material sources and conversion, tools and machines, manufacturing processes, and social and environmental impacts.

 

Materials Processing

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 50 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing a broad, generic view of the way humans convert materials. The course focuses on the processing of a variety of materials such as wood, metal, plastic, ceramics and composites through techniques of forming, separating, combining, and conditioning.

 

Media Production Technology

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 24 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- to 1-unit course providing study in the evaluation, appreciation and production of media-assisted presentations. Electronic and graphic communication systems are explored through hands-on media learning activities. Experience in proposal development and approval, message production, presentation, and assessment is provided.

 

New York State Furniture The Federal Period 1788-1825

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 24 pg. (reference material)
Reference material featuring select pieces of New York State Museum furniture and their historical relevance. 

 

Photography

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 33 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course designed to expand students’ understanding of the photographic medium and its role in society. Students are introduced to general terminology, safe operating procedures, career opportunities, and selected developments in technology/art that have made the field of photography important. A focus is on the processes involved in black and white still-image photography.

 

Principles of Engineering: A MST Approach to Technology Education

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1995, 61 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- or 1-unit integrative, hands-on, laboratory-based course which introduces students to concepts of engineering (ethics, design, modeling, optimization systems, technology/society interactions). These concepts are applied to solving problems contained in "real world" case studies. Case study abstracts relate to auto safety computer automation and control, energy, communications, structural design and designing technology for people with disabilities.

 

Principles of Engineering: A High School Course Emphasizing Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1996, 438 pg. (supplementary material, grades 9-12)
A ½- or 1-unit integrative, hands-on, laboratory-based course which introduces students to the concepts underlying engineering. This curriculum resource guide complements the syllabus by annotating four of the five key case studies including auto safety, structures, machine automation and control, and energy. This guide contains several sample lesson activities, problems and their solutions along with hands-on projects and experiments for students incorporating elements of mathematics, science, and technology education.

 

Principles of Engineering Energy Case Studies

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 108 pg. (supplementary material, grades 10-12)
Supplementary case studies involving solar home and solar-powered car design.

 

Product Design and Engineering

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 22 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½- to 1-unit course recognizing the dramatic changes that have occurred in the way products are manufactured. Hands-on activities in the development, production and evaluation of manufactured goods will emphasize a team approach to manufacturing. Conventional and computer-aided manufacturing processes are explored with quality control and statistical analysis of manufacturing defects included.

 

Production Research and Development

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, (Reprinted 1985), 27 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of the significance and procedures of the research and development process, applied to the production of material goods, the improvement of industrial processes, and the acquisition of new knowledge. The course involves the students in realistic, hands-on research and development. Brainstorming, library research, problem solving, modeling, prototype production, and other skills are developed.

 

Production Systems

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 68 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course providing instruction in the systems of manufacturing and construction; their resources, processes, products, and quality assurance. The impact on society, the economy, and the environment is also covered.

 

Residential Structures

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 52 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit study of the many systems and skills involved in constructing non-high rise residential buildings. Course content includes resources (e.g. materials, supplies, and finances), processes (e.g. planning framing, roofing, and insulating), and outputs and effects (e.g. quality assurance, environmental impact, and economic consequences).

 

Technical Drawing

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 57 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course that teaches basic concepts and principles of technical drawing—projection, size description, pictorial representation, and techniques and tools.

 

Transportation Systems

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 1987, 54 pg. (syllabus, grades 9-12)
A ½-unit course presenting an overview of aerospace, land, and marine transportation systems organized into five topics—inputs, resources, processes, outputs, and control—which are specifically tailored to transportation.

 

Student Activity Ideas for the Technology Sequence Systems and Foundation Courses

Albany, NY: The New York State Education Department, 88 pg. (supplementary material, grades 9-12)
A compendium of student activities for production, communications, transportation systems, materials processing, electronics, and technical drawing.