SLO Action Reserach Weld & Electricity

Many public Pennsylvania schools use what is called a student learning objective otherwise known as an SLO to measure understanding of important information gained throughout their courses.  As part of our student teaching experience we h

ad to create and conduct our own SLO and Action Research project. 

I created an SLO to measure retention of electrical wiring skills gained in a general agricultural mechanics class.  My problem statement read… Retention of information and skills previously taught is very important especially in the agricultural mechanics shop when each class is a building block to the last.  Mr. Smith & Mrs. Oberholtzer have noticed in their welding and electricity class many students do not retain information related to proper wiring.  Each student in this class has already taken introductory Ag. Mechanics and covered in depth general electrical principles to pave the way for their learning specifically in welding and electricity.

Below you can see the infographic I created for measuring growth of my 7 students in my welding and electricity class. 

Hay Rack Construction (Community Based Unit)

Community support and interaction with community members is vital to any successful agriculture program.  At about the halfway point in my student teaching experience I was approached by a local farmer to construct a hay rack for his dairy cattle.  I jumped on the opportunity and began discussing his vision for this final project.  It was something that would fit in very nicely in my welding and electrical class.  My students by now were also proficient in both arc and MIG welding and had the choice to use either or during the construction of this project. 

To make the most of this community based unit of instruction I also incorporated other members of the community.  On April 18^th I took my seven students on a tour of a local Amish metal fabrication shop.  This proved to be very beneficial.  My students got to ask an array of questions and see how a metal fabrication shop functions.  There they got to see them build a large two compartment mulch dump box.  It was interesting because they were building it for an uncle of one of the students in my class.  They also got to see a CNC cutter in action as well as three other large metal shears.  This Amish metal fabrication shop does many small customer projects as well as builds two products of their own.  These products include a hay conditioner for the small hobby farmer and driveway graders.  It amazed my students and me that while this small shop located in Lancaster County actually markets their products to multiple dealers up and down the east coast. 

On Wednesday April 20^th we had a conference phone call with Jason Scales who is the manager of educational development with Lincoln Electric.  During this conference call the students got to listen to best tips and tricks when constructing a hay rack and other relatable products.  This conference call proved to be very successful and the students as well as I learned something new.  The students also learned about career opportunities in welding and with Lincoln Electric.

Then on Thursday April 21^st a college representative from Thaddaeus Stevens College of Technology came and spoke about their welding program and metal fabrication program.  This meeting proved to be a valuable tool as well.  While only one of my students was a senior who was graduating it got the rest of my students’ minds thinking about maybe pursuing a technical career at Thaddaeus Stevens.  She brought a plethora of information that she shared with the students and also offered to partner with Lampeter Strasburg in the future to set up any industrial tours or college visits.  Holly and I thought this was a great door which we opened with a local upper level institution of education.

All week long we continued as well working on the hay rack.  The students impressed me greatly with their go get it attitude on this project and taking ownership of it.  I am very proud of the progress all seven of my students have made in my welding class.  They should be completing this project this coming Monday just in time for the cows to be eating hay out of it.

Deadlines

Thursday, in my welding and electrical class the students began constructing a boot scraper.  All of the students were excited to put their welding skills to the test thus far and finally construct something out of metal. 

Class began on a great note going over how to properly set up the plasma cutter which the students just became certified on.  After that I passed out their directions to constructing a boot scraper.  Upon all the students reading through the directions and procedures we headed out into the shop.  The class measured out 26 inches of flat stall and marked it in the appropriate spots to be cut in the metal shear.  After all the students’ flat steel was cut in the metal shear they began measuring and cutting their pieces into the proper lengths to be welded together to make a boot scraper. 

At this point the students have been certified in the plasma cutter, oxy-actelyene torch, and of course metal hack saw.  All cutting methods were chosen by the class to cut their pieces of flat steel.  As the class period ticked on the students worked diligently to construct their boot scraper. 

I have found sometimes not to set a time stamp on projects in the shop.  At least for the class that I am teaching this semester, each student works hard and stays on task.  While I realize this might not always be the case, but for this class not giving a time stamp at the beginning of the period ends up in better quality work.  About three quarters through the period students began coming up to me asking “is this due today?”  I realized that many of the students were just finishing cutting their pieces of metal or beginning to cut their holes in their base metal pieces.  So, as students came up to me I told them “no this project is not due today.” 

Sometimes deadlines must be set.  And in the agricultural mechanics shop there are going to be times when there are deadlines which must be met.  However, since there is no monetary amount involved, and these students are not on the job sometimes students should be given the time to construct their projects and end up with a quality piece.  Than something put together last minute.  I did appreciate that my students kept track of the time and worked diligently to complete the task given to them.  Realizing the end of the period was near.  This time I felt that the students deserved more time. 

Reflecting on this class when I come back to school Monday I must take time to talk about deadlines.  While I realize my students were not going to complete this assignment in a period.  Many of my students plan on pursuing mechanical careers.  I must stress the fact that in such careers there will be deadlines.  And to stay employed these deadlines must be met.  Yes, sometimes the deadlines are unrealistic and you will realize when they are, but many times with the skills you have obtained the deadlines you are given must be met or you will be out a job. 

Grading is Difficult... Incorporate A Rubric!

This week in my welding and electrical class I began grading the work my students were doing for more than just completion and participation points.  My welding and electrical class is a really good group of guys.  With only seven in the class small group work and individualized instruction is the way to go!  These seven gentlemen have very little experience welding and it has been a challenge for some of them.  However, at the same time they take right to the tasks I assign them and give it their whole hearted effort.  Which I stress to them is all that I ask.  It is an awesome feeling when they come up to me and say “Mr. Tate how does this look?” or “Mr. Tate can you give me some advice on how to make it look like it does on the poster?”  The no quit attitude they have as a class is stupendous.  And the smiles on their faces when they are given a word of encouragement or praise on a job well done makes me smile as well from ear to ear.

So here is a quick run-down of the class there are two freshmen, three sophomores, one junior, and one senior.  With every grade level represented in the class it is fascinating to observe the class dynamic.  As a whole they help each other and work well together when given a group assignment. 

As I stated earlier I began grading my students on how well they could do a specific type of weld.  Grading them has been a challenge because each student is at a different skill level.  Using rubrics has made it that much easier although!  It blew me away how their self-evaluation lined up almost exactly with where I felt they stood in the class right now.  Each student honestly and whole heartedly put in their best effort and did not cut any corners.  As we continue on throughout the semester I want to continually make the point that as long as they give it their best it is all that I ask of them. 

Yesterday the students were given the task of completing a butt weld and given a rubric to self-evaluate themselves before turning it in.  Before we went out into the shop we spent some time discussing the theory of a butt weld and what makes a desirable butt weld.  The students were given ample amount of time to practice on scrap metal and provided the expectations for the assignment.  While most of my students worked diligently and on task.  One did not.  He did not create a butt weld, but more so just layered his two pieces of metal together with welds.  At the end of the period I spoke with him asking why he did not create a butt weld.  His answer was “this is a better stronger weld and I didn’t want you to be able to break my weld on Monday.”  I left our conversation at that.  What made giving him the grade he deserved was he himself allotted the points I was going to give him.  The takeaway is that a solid well produced rubric leaves no gray area.  And when questions do arise why a student received the grade they did.  You the instructor can give specific examples of why he/she did.