Begin Main Content Area

Technology Education: Grade 7

PA Core Standards

The 2020–21 school year presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges due to the disruption to instruction in spring 2020 as well as the uncertainty as the school year unfolds. Educators know that every school year there are students who require support in addressing unfinished learning from prior grades, a challenge that will be felt more prominently in the 2020–21 school year. It is vitally important that educators are supported to make deliberate instructional choices that allow all students to effectively engage with grade-level work.

The most effective and equitable way to support students in their learning is to ensure that the vast majority of time is spent engaging with grade-level content, remediating with precision and only as necessary. It is entirely possible to hold high expectations for all students while addressing unfinished learning in the context of grade-level work. Since time is a scarce commodity in classrooms — made more limited by anticipated closures and remote or hybrid learning models in the fall of 2020 — strategic instructional choices about which content to prioritize must be made.1

Assessing students at the start of the year will identify learning gaps and provide data to inform grade level instruction — as well as incorporating both remediation and acceleration along the way. Diagnostic Assessments determine student strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills. Diagnostic assessments allow teachers to adjust the curriculum to meet the unique needs of all students. While some concepts have greater emphasis in a particular year, all standards deserve a defined level of instruction. Neglecting concepts may result in learning gaps in student skill and understanding and may leave students unprepared for the challenges of a later grade.

This guidance document is designed to identify and define areas of high-level focus in Technology Education instruction supported by key PA Academic Standards. Note that while all standards deserve a defined level of instruction, neglecting key concepts may result in learning gaps in student skill and understanding and may leave students unprepared for the challenges of a later grade.

1Adapted from 2020–21 Priority Instructional Content in English Language Arts/literacy and Mathematics, Student Achievement Partners/Achieve the Core. May 2020

Roadmap for Education Leaders: Focus on Instruction (2020-2021)

This guidance document is designed to identify and define areas of high-level focus in Technology Education instruction supported by key PA Academic Standards. Note that while all standards deserve a defined level of instruction, neglecting key concepts may result in learning gaps in skill and understanding and may leave students unprepared for the challenges of later grades.

​​Focus Areas of Instruction ​​PA Academic Standards

Biotechnology

  • Apply knowledge of plant and animal production processes in designing an improvement to existing processes.
  • Identify and explain the impact that a specific medical advancement has had on society.
  • Explain the factors that were taken into consideration when a specific object was designed.
  • Define and describe how fuels and energy can be generated through the process of biomass conversion.
  • Identify and group basic plant and animal production processes.
  • Explain the impact that agricultural science has had on biotechnology.

Information Technology

  • Demonstrate the effectiveness of image generating technique to communicate a story (e.g., photography, video).
  • Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of a graphic object designed and produced to communicate a thought or concept.
  • Apply basic technical drawing techniques to communicate an idea or solution to a problem.
  • Apply the appropriate method of communications technology to communicate a thought.

Physical Technologies

  • Use knowledge of material effectiveness to solve specific construction problems (e.g., steel vs. wood bridges).
  • Differentiate among the different types of construction applications (e.g., microwave tower, power plants, aircrafts).
  • Explain basic material processes that manufactured objects undergo during production. (e.g., separating, forming, combining).
  • Evaluate a construction activity by specifying task analyses and necessary resources.
  • Explain the relationships among the basic resources needed in the production process for a specific manufactured object.
  • Explain the difference between design engineering and production engineering processes.
  • Analyze manufacturing steps that affect waste and pollutants.
  • Explain transportation technologies of propelling, structuring, suspending, guiding, controlling, and supporting.
  • Identify and explain the workings of several mechanical power systems.
  • Model and explain examples of vehicular propulsion, control, guidance, structure, and suspension systems.
  • Explain the limitations of land, marine, air and space transportation systems.

3.6.7.A Explain biotechnologies that relate to related technologies of propagating, growing, maintaining, adapting, treating, and converting.

3.6.7.B Explain information technologies of encoding, transmitting, receiving, storing, retrieving, and decoding.

3.6.7.C Explain physical technologies of structural design, analysis and engineering, personnel relations, financial affairs, structural production, marketing, research, and design.