Curriculum
Curriculum |
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Timber Frame Apprenticeship Curriculum Competency OutlinesTFG members can now download and print the draft outlines of all 16 sections of our proposed Apprenticeship Curriculum. (See download instructions below.) The purpose of these competencies is to define:
We recognize that you, our Guild membership, are experts in many of these areas. We'd like to call upon your experience and good will by asking you to help us edit and improve this information. What you can do nowWe invite comments and suggestions, and you will find a link to a site where we will have each section open for feedback. Sections will be presented for review in small groups, and will only be open for comment online for a limited time (2 to 3) weeks; after that you will be able to send your suggestions via mail or fax. Those of you not online may request a CD of the curriculum at no charge; those needing a printed copy will need to pay a printing and postage fee (it's a big document). We hope you'll take the time to review the Outlines and let us know if we missed anything. How to Comment Online: Click on the Links
Review PART 1 - SAFE WORK PRACTICES
Read through the text. The document has a numbered blue “comment dot” Will Beemer and Gord Macdonald will automatically be notified of your comments, and they will include these as part of their upcoming review of the apprenticeship documents. This is the right place for questions/comments that specifically relate to the training competencies. Simply post your comments into the document using the Quicktopic tools (it's quick and easy!). If you have questions, comments or concerns that relate to the BIG PICTURE of this ambitious project, then please use the Apprenticeship Topic on our Ask the Experts forum at the following link: www.tfguild.org/ubbcgibin/ultimatebb.cgi, then click on ”Apprenticeship/Curriculum.“ On behalf of the Timber Framers' Guild, we thank you for taking the time to read through this information! We look forward to your feedback. This document was the result of much work this year by Gordon Macdonald, along with a review committee of Rudy Christian, Leon Buckwalter, Chris Feddersohn, Curtis Milton and Will Beemer. Gord helped establish the in-house training program at Carpenter Oak and Woodland in Britain, and we hired him after he moved back to Canada for this effort. Download InstructionsClick the download button above to obtain the PDF file (download Acrobat Reader here if you don't already have it). You can search by word to find your specific areas of interest. To make the search faster, download the .ZIP file of the PDF and the prepared index. This is a specially prepared file that spans multiple files. However to search an Adobe PDF index file, you must open Acrobat as a standalone application, not witin your Web browser. To search an index:
Where to from here?The Competency sections outline the Content and Goals for academic training at what we could call the “Journeyman” level. While it may be impossible for anyone to become a master of all of these Competencies, we have tried to establish a basic level of proficiency for each one that would allow the learner to become a valuable and efficient employee. For example, we have Goals in the engineering sections that provide a fundamental understanding of timber frame design, rather than the same level a graduate of a four-year degree program in engineering would enjoy. We anticipate different classifications of competencies, including “core” and “elective” studies. Together this collection can provide the curriculum for custom short courses up to a comprehensive 2-4 year program and an accredited college. Our next steps will be (in order):
You will notice that nowhere in the above tasks is the establishment of a TFG Apprenticeship program mentioned. It is a big leap from providing curriculum to administering a training program. In the short term we would provide materials to institutions or shops that want to provide training. These would be available in printed form, online or on CD, and permission would be granted to reprint the material but not in excess of the number of employees at the company or students in the class. Curriculum materials would be available for purchase by individuals as well. The TFG would also train trainers to teach the curriculum, and provide instructors to shops and institutions. This is the simple scenario that is easily implemented. The certification that results from these programs would be diplomas from the institution, not the TFG. The TFG may decide to implement its own skill certification program. Given a large enough market of applicants and resources to maintain a certification staff, the following program might work: THE APPRENTICE TO MASTER PATHThe Guild could institute three levels of competency in the craft: Apprentice, Journeyman and Master Timber Framer. Applicants could attain these levels through previous and future work experience, or through a combination of work and academic training. An APPRENTICE would be an entry-level position for a new employee of a company or self-employed as a timber framer, and for someone who has enrolled in the TFG Curriculum and begun or completed any portion of the Competencies. Any person can test out of a Competency without taking a course. Membership in the TFG is required. A JOURNEYMAN would have 4 years of work experience (at 1,800 hrs/yr with employer certification or other work records) and successfully completed the Goals for 75% of the Competencies, including the Core Curriculum (topics like Safety, Basic Tool Use, Layout, etc.). Membership in the TFG for at least one year is required, and membership must be current and in good standing. A MASTER TIMBER FRAMER would have ten years of work experience (and a portfolio showing skill, breadth and variety) and will have successfully completed the Goals for 100% of the Competencies. Membership in the TFG for at least three years is required, and membership must be current and in good standing. The above requirements may need to be waived under certain conditions. In summary, the Curriculum provides a platform for training and evaluation, and the Guild can use it in our own workshops or provide this to other programs. For the Guild to take the results of these programs (that is, qualified graduates) and certify them is another issue requiring a new level of administration that we may not be capable of currently. It requires a steady pool of applicants and available jobs to justify the expense and time of providing a valid and secure system. The Guild would, in the near future, simply be a Curriculum Provider. The Curriculum can still be used to evaluate students and job applicants, even if we decide not to “certify” them by the TFG. The Competency Outlines are copyrighted by the Timber Framers Guild and may not be reprinted without permission. | ||||||||||
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