To: All Staff & Parents
From: Don Lippincott

After going through a number of interviews for Technology Education positions, I realized just how many different interpretations there are for Technology Education. I am not sure just which one is currently correct or if I even know all it encompass. That led me to the assumption that you probably don't know what your kids do when they go to Tech. Ed. or the kind of techniques I use to teach them.

In an attempt to try and explain what and how I teach I will first:
give a summary for all classes
give a general classroom routine
give a breakdown by grade and specific areas taught.

All classes must learn shop safety. This includes the proper use of hand and power tools. That even loud talking at times can be dangerous. What procedures to follow if there is an emergency or injury occurs. That they are responsible for their actions in the shop, keeping the shop clean, how to work with others to accomplish a task and to report any safety problems they see. This usually takes two or three class periods with intermittent reinforcement throughout the course.

Generally the first few weeks of class are spent in lectures, demonstrations of tools and usage, testing on machines or retesting if I have had them before. All the safety and classroom regulations are reviewed. The course is described and expectations are set. The goal is to get students, quickly as possible, to hands-on learning. After that, the first ten to fifteen minutes of the class are instructional, sometimes to demonstrate a new procedure or to problem solve. This continues throughout the rest of the course.

Grade 6

The course for grade 6 this year will be essentially the same as last year. Students will learn through project production:
General Safety
Hand tool usage and safety
Power tool usage and safety
Construction
Jointery
How to read blue prints
How to measure both in inches and metric
Design
Sanding and finishing techniques

Some of the projects that they produce will be required projects, others will be of their selection. As with the other grades, the most important attendance is the first few classes and then the first 15-20 minutes of all other classes.

There is a requirement for them to keep a daily log of what they did each class and then add the final paragraph about what they felt about the course

During the course they will be expected to:
take notes
follow both written and verbal instructions,
learn some history
environmental impact of using wood for construction
measurement and basic physics (very basic)
how to work with others

Grade 7

This course is called Manufacturing. There are going to be some major changes in how this course is run. Because of the change in class sizes, there will be only one product produced by each class for production. This product will be determined through a competition where a prototype of any groups project will be produced, advertising and marketing research will be conducted and a school wide presentation will determine the product to be produced. There will also be competition between classes.

Some of the skills to be learned in this course will be:
General Safety
Hand tool usage and safety
Power tool usage and safety
Construction
Jointery
Advertising, to include Video Ad's (60 seconds)
Marketing, to be done on paper so it does not interfere in regular class work
Elementary accounting to determine cost, overhead, credits, debits and profit or loss.

There is a requirement for them to keep a daily log of what they did each class and then add the final paragraph about what they felt about the course

During the course they will be expected to:
take notes
follow both written and verbal instructions,
learn some history
learn how to work with others!

Grade 8

This years classes will differ greatly from last years grade 8 classes. In the past two years students should have learned the basic hand and machine tools. They have worked together to achieve a common goal and made personal projects from drawings and work sheets. Now it is time for them to be able to design and understand construction principals. To meet this end, the majority of the course will be drafting. In addition, according to the skill and choice of the class, students may: design and produce a personal project (materials to be paid for by the student), design and construct a scale model of a building or other structure, participate in the construction of a 12x12 foot storage shed or any other activity they would like to attempt so long as it relates to the goal of learning basic drafting and constructions principals.

Some of the skills learned in this course will be:
Use of basic drafting tools
How to draw to scale
How to draw full and three view drawings
How to accurately read drawings and blue prints
How to put their ideas on paper so that the item may be produced
Gain a basic knowledge of construction principals

As I will only be having each student twice in a six day period of time, it is not known just how far and fast this course will be able to go. Because of the small size of the classes, it is expected that each student will get more personal attention from the instructor and will be able to proceed at a pace that is suited to their individual skill level.

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