Searching for future career paths
Lauren Vane
At Dwyer Elementary last week, students were busy getting a head
start on their careers.
One pair of students completed a graphic design project, while
another group was concentrating on creating a computer program that
will carve a piece of wood.
Although these seventh- and eighth-graders are years away from
joining the work force, a new industrial technology lab program is
allowing them to gain hands-on experience in various technology
trades, building on the lessons they learn in other subjects.
“It’s really the direction schools are moving today, to look at
ways to integrate technology and industry,” said Dwyer Principal
Duane Cox.
“The piece that’s the most powerful is that you’re teaching
language arts and math standards while learning about technology,”
Cox said.
The program, introduced for the first time this semester, is
produced by Paxton/Patterson, an equipment supplier for technical
trades and a leading provider of technology education.
A computerized text book guides the students through the lesson
using pictures and examples. Beyond reading on a computer screen, the
students actually complete six technical tasks that the program lays
out for them.
Students have the opportunity to work on projects such as rocket
launching and taking apart an engine.
“It’s just amazing to hear the kids talking about the concepts
they learned in math, while they’re making a rocket,” Cox said.
Scott Bradbury, the industrial technology teacher at Dwyer, said
that, because it is so interactive, the program works for all
learning styles.
“It gives a chance for all students to be successful,” Bradbury
said.
Bradbury said the program gives students real-life situations that
would apply to what they’re learning.
“A friend has fallen down a cliff, how would you use a pulley
system to pull him back up?” Bradbury said as an example.
Bradbury said that by seeing how the lessons are applicable to
real life, the students become interested in the possibilities of
future careers.
“It peaks their interest,” Bradbury said. “This is the intro into
what they may do in the future.”
Cox said that the program is doing more than just showing students
the different kind of technological trades they can explore as future
careers.
“It’s taking it beyond just working on engines or motors or
robots,” Cox said. “The kids can actually start to think they might
want to design and work on these things some day.”
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