This CTS Course Overview can be downloaded here.
The skills you will learn in CON 3040 are an introduction to stair building. They are directly applicable to many different possible jobs, including carpentry/construction, project manager, draftsman, civil engineer, architect, building inspector, homebuilder, shop teacher, college instructor, and are tangentially relevant to many more. These skills can be expanded to include dogleg, circular and winder stair construction, and transfer from woodframe construction directly to steel fabricated, masonry, and manufactured plastics.
Many of the occupations noted above might be part of an individual's career path. For example, a carpenter might move on to become a project manager for a construction company; might become a homebuilder as they progress in their career, then might return to school in middle age to become a teacher or an architect. Every step of this career path requires specific knowledge of stair construction, to differing degrees, in order to succeed.
The course is very flexible, in that the main project, building a straight run of stairs and railing, can be modified in collaboration between student and teacher, to fit the student's needs. The student might build a new front step for their home, or a set of steps leading to their deck. They might replace a set of steps on the local playground, or build a portable box step for their parent's motorhome. In any event, they will research the appropriate building code requirements, measure a project onsite or work from a blueprint, then complete their project.
Differentiated instruction falls within a limited range for this course, as basic competencies must be met as a prerequisite. Beyond that however, an IPP still applies, and if a student requires a scribe or reader during testing, those resources will be made available according to their IPP. Further, videos are broadly available online, and hands-on learning occurs if the student is working on a jobsite, or in the classroom while they build the project. Further, because a large portion of the project mark is given for self evaluation and improvement, students can be successful by addressing their difficulties after the project has been submitted.
