Consider books by Mike Darlow as a source for course outlines.
flyrod444 said:
Hi,
I have taught Carpentry in public school for 24 years. There is a chance that I will be allowed to offer a woodturning class to my students sometime over the next few years. To make this happen, a detailed curriculum would have to be submitted. If there are any curriculum's aready out, it would save me from having to create a new one. I would appreciate any help in this area.
Thanks,
Jack Mincey
Jack:
It is assumed that you are looking for some sort of written outline or other listing of topics to be included in a course in woodturning that would be submitted to a school board, principal, or other administrator. I doubt that any of the major turning schools or other places that have organized turning instruction (such as Craft Supples in Utah) have written syllabi that could be used directly in this form, particularly if the syllabus to be submitted needs the (almost required) section(s) on academic outcomes statements and assessment procedures. Most of these places follow a hands-on teaching style, and none that I have ever heard of or inquired about have published syllabi of introductory courses; most cater to intermediate to advanced turners, as far as I know.
I have been reviewing academic curricula for years (although at the University level), and am quite familiar with the general requirements for most curriculum proposals, including the need to provide the required educational jargon to be able to convince people that what is intended to be taught will actually result in student learning (and how you will ultimately document this). The educational goals and how the learning will be accomplished experientially need to be clearly explained in such a proposal, as well as how available 'resources' will accomplish these goals.
I would suggest that you take a look at some of the general woodturning books, and see if their table of contents matches the concepts for what you have in mind to be able to teach a course in woodturning. Keith Rowley's
Woodturning: A Foundation Course was suggested in another reply, however in my opinion, the most 'academic' of the available woodturning writers is without doubt, Mike Darlow. If I was in your position having to come up with a syllabus to present to the powers that be, I would construct a general outline or syllabus based on material found in Darlow's
Woodturning Techniques or from his earlier books
The Practice of of Woodturning or
Fundamentals of Woodturning, any of which could be used as a great textbook if one is needed to be identified as part of your proposal. When I teach beginning woodturning, I often rely on Darlow's writing, (and some of his figures) to help allow the students to understand not just
how to do a particular technique or cut, but also
the theory behind why the technique is done in such a manner. Darlow also approaches turning from a broad perspective, writes clearly, and explains things well. I also suggest that you look at his publications as useful sources of information to put your proposal together, if not follow his books tables of contents to form a basic outline for the turning curriculum you are seeking. I just obtained his new 2-DVD set on turning tool sharpening; it is really an excellent set of lessons on turning and sharpening theory, and provides a great 'learn by watching' review of basic turning theory. I would recommend these DVDs for both students AND the instructor as a well explained and well-illustrated overview of turning theory.
I would be interested to learn what you eventually come up with after you have compiled information from all of the replies here, and what you ultimately submit. If it would help your cause, I'd be happy to comment on your proposal, from a curriculum review standpoint, before it is submitted. (I chair our Biology Curriculum Committee here at Iowa State, have served on a College Curriculum Committee for over 6 years, and have reviewed/commented on high school science curriculum for our local public schools...).
Good luck! - I'm very happy that you are attempting to support teqaching woodturning in schools. I have given some turning demos as a 'guest' instructor in our local high school as part of a general woodworking class, but never as a stand-alone course on turning.
Rob Wallace
