Last Day! and Question 6

Today is my last day at Art's Way.  We've spent a lot of time on the floor checking on projects.  Not a lot for me to do since I got my job done yesterday.  Just going around and helping where I can.  It's a good day to end on knowing I got everything done and I'm not panicking to get something finished.

Week 6: Wrap Up. We have seen what you have been doing over the summer, here is your last chance to reflect on what the experience has meant to you, what you will take with you to the classroom and perhaps how the experience could be made better or more effective.

The experience was great.  1st of all I was able to see exactly what goes on in Art's Way.  I've been in the community for 5 years and this is the first time I've been here.  I was able to see how the Grinder Mixer was built from start to finish.  I can say that I know more than anyone should know about the frame and tank on the Grinder Mixer.  I am definitely going to take my experiences back with me to the classroom.  First of all I am just excited to tell the students what I have been doing during the summer.  I can't wait for the first time this year a student says, "what do we need this for?"  And I can answer that question with a story from working at Art's Way.  I feel I have made connections with the company that will continue.  I hope to have some engineers come in my classroom in the future and talk about the math they use.  I feel I have a great idea about a project for my students that involves improving production which is what Art's Way is always striving for.  I also feel there will be many more ideas pop in my head in the future that I can credit this program for.  It was a great experience and I hope to be able to do it again next summer!

End of Week/Question 5

Eric (the engineer I've been working with) had a meeting with the CEO about projects that needed to get done.  One project was a time study on the paint line.  This is another study where they need to check on the standard and see how it aligns with what is in the computer system.  I was put in charge of this time study and was able to complete this Wed. and Thurs.  On Friday I did some computing of the numbers I got from the paint line.  I figured averages for putting up, taking down, and painting the part.  I was also fortunate to sit in with one IT guys to see what they do.  He was working on updating the website and had troubleshoot some problems with some computers.  This really hit on the 21st century skills.

Week 5: How can your business (or others) be more involved in your classroom? What can you or your school do to engage students with the real world? What can the real world (our externship hosts) do to engage students in their world? 

On Wednesday afternoon I met with the CEO and the Plant Manager of Art's Way to ask them some questions about getting the school and the company connected.  One thing that I brought up was to have Eric or someone from the company to come to my class to talk.  They thought this was a great idea.  I know Eric can come in when were dealing with Excel because he works with it so much and can show the students some cool things that it can do.  During the meeting we discussed how this connection with the school is important because they feel that the students don't know what opportunities Art's Way can provide.  Students may not be familiar with all the jobs involved with Art's Way that does not include working on the floor.  We talked about maybe having a class tour that would show all the students the different parts of the building such as the IT department, engineers, and accounting department.  All of these areas involve math that is used daily.

Week 5, 1st Blog

On Monday I finished up my time study.  Tuesday I spent the morning analyzing and sorting through the data.  The engineer that I am working with wanted the data put in an Excel spreadsheet.  I was able to give him some times on how long it took to make the parts, the average times of the parts, and I was able to give him some approximate weld percentages.  One thing he really wanted to know during the manufacturing process was how much of the time was spent welding as opposed to assembling. 

Week 4

This is my post for the end of week 4.  It was a short week not working on the 4th however I put in some long days.  Still doing the time study on the Grinder Mixer Line and collecting data.  I think I will be doing this for one more day next week.  Then I look forward to organizing and looking at the data a little more.  After that I am not sure what is in store for me at the company.

Poll results from last week. The poll question was, "Do you have an idea for something you can use in your classroom?"  28% didn't have anything concrete yet.  57% (including myself) have an idea but still working on it.  14% of you have an idea and ready to use it in the classroom.  Thanks all of you that took the poll question.

Week 2 and 4 Questions

Week2: Now that you have been with the business for a few weeks engage them in a conversation of their concerns at the beginning of the externship. Share them, and what you have done to alleviate those concerns.

After chatting with Eric about this question he said there really wasn't any concerns he could think of.  He was excited about the program.  After a little more talking one concern he realized he had was overwhelming me.  I did meet with him a couple weeks before I started working there and he showed me around and talked about some of the jobs he had in mind.  After that talk it was a little much but I felt confident that I was going to be able to do what they wanted from me.


Week 4: Now that you are one month in, how do you see this experience changing your classroom? Think in terms of what you teach and how you teach. How will your students know something has changed?

Well I know for one thing when I have students say, "when am I going to use this,"  I can quickly tell them about my experiences at Art's Way.  There are a few projects/ ideas I have in mind that I want to use in my classroom.  One of them is having students brainstorm on how they can improve a process in order to make things easier, which is what Art's Way does all the time in order to improve production.  I hope to have students collect data and graph their data.  I will make sure to let them know this is something companies all over the World including Art's Way do this on a daily basis.

This is the end of the third week and I just finished up doing the time study on the tank for the Grinder Mixer.  I will be doing the last part of this all next week.  Below is the third week question and my response which tells a lot of what I have been thinking about this week.

Week 3: What are some of the connections you see between your externship and math or science essential concepts and skills? 21st Century Skills? Five Characteristics of Effective Instruction? Eight Standards for Mathematical Practice?
The main connection I have made deals with collecting data and analyzing it.  Many times throughout the year I have students collect data and graph it and then analyze it.  This is the same thing.  I can make that connection with them and show them that it is being done here in town at Art's Way.  There are so many things you can do with the data especially on Excel which I use in my class as well.

Getting into week 3

This is my second day into week three.  I am still doing a time study.  It is the same as last week except I am now with a different part of the welding line.  Still timing and collecting data.  I am really thinking of how I can use this data or how I can dig deeper into this data to help out the company.  I know they need it to check on the standard but I am trying to think of how it can help them a little more.  Nothing yet but I am going strong with my stop watch!

End of the second week.

This week went very good.  I am doing a time study on how long it takes to make the Grinder Mixer.  This week I have been working with one welder who is building the frame for the mixer.  I was able to collect a lot of data that I feel will be very beneficial to the company.  Next week I will go down the line and be with the welder that is in charge of making the tanks.  I will  be analyzing the data and finding averages and percentages which are all things we do in my classroom.  I also plan on using excel to organize my data which is another connection I can share with my students. 

Poll Question from last week was " How did the first week go?"  42%(including me) said it was a little over your head but your starting to get the hang of it.  58% said things are going good.  Thanks for answering the questions I will have another question up soon for anyone who wants to take part. 

Middle of week 2

This is two days into my second week at Art's Way.  The last two days I have been working on a time study.  I have been sitting at a station that is building the frame for a Grinder Mixer.  My job is to collect data on how long it takes to make this section of the mixer.  I am also collecting data on how much welding, assembling, and fitting the welder is doing and separating the times.  The data is important for the computer system.  From what I was told this time study has not been done in a long time and they need more current data.  So for the rest of the week and I think for the next couple of weeks I will be timing several different stations to collect as much data as I can about how these stations are running.

Week 1 Question

Week 1: What concerns did you have at the beginning of the externship? What did you do or what help did you have to overcome those concerns?

The concern I had was I would not be able to perform the job they need me to do or would need a lot of help.  I was afraid I would get in the way and might keep them from getting their work done.  That was my initial concern.  I realized I was trying to do some work that many did with much more training so I took my time and made sure to pay attention to details.  The people I'm working with have been really helpful and don't mind me asking questions.  It was just some nerves of getting started and things have been getting easier.

1st Week at Art's Way

During my first week I was able to experience many different aspects of Art's Way.  Right now they are working on manufacturing potato harvesters. I have assisted in process by putting part bags together and installing parts.  I've really noticed the teamwork and communication needed to get this job done quickly and correct. 

I have also been involved with changing orders in the system.  This included using Excel to calculate the area of the parts that are being made.  Then these parts get cut out of metal and produced.  I realize how using simple equations in Excel can save time by allowing it to do the calculations for you.  Excel is a program I've used in my 6th grade classroom and I showed the class how you can enter equations and it will solve it for you.  The class was pretty amazed how that worked.  This is a connection I know I can share with my class and share how it is important to know how to use Excel and what it can do for you.

1st Day at Art's Way

Today was my first day on the job.  It went pretty well.  I think it was a little out of the ordinary at least for what I'm going to be doing. (I think)  They were putting together a potato harvester that they had been working on the last couple of weeks.  Today was the day it was getting shipped out.  I helped a little in the process painting and putting little parts on.  Everyone seemed pretty excited to get it finished.  Tomorrow I think will be a totally different day.

Orientation Meeting

Orientation meeting tomorrow. 

Externship Begins

Today I have my first meeting with Art's Way to begin my externship.  We'll soon see what the summer will bring.