If you let them build it they will learn
G.S. Lakie Middle School offers hands-on learning with ‘Build Day’
Grade 7 students from G.S. Lakie Middle School were able to experience some hands-on learning during “Build Day” Wednesday. Approximately 90 students who are enrolled in an optional Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) program at Lakie spent the morning exploring potential interest and career possibilities. It’s the second time the school has hosted such a day, but a first for Grade 7 students.
“We did a build day this past fall where we built the outdoor furniture and we did that with the Grade 8 class,” said Paul Bohnert, a CTF teacher at Lakie.
The stations and projects from Wednesday varied from those in the fall.
“The projects are a little less complicated, but we’ve done a whole lot more. We’ve done 12 separate stations instead of just five.”
Students rotated through the various stations, seeing and trying some of the work machinery operators, electricians, plumbers and carpenters may do.
“We felt it was important that kids be exposed to the technology and some of the actual practical skills, so they’re introduced to that terminology, and in high school they can take the CTF courses at a higher level and possibly into trade school,” Bohnert explained.
In addition to teaching at Lakie, Bohnert is a member of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Career and Technology Education Council and explained, within 10 years, a labour shortage is expected that will affect the trades and skills field in particular.
In an effort to combat that, “these types of projects are popping up all over the province,” he said, “and they’re having great success."
CTF provides students with a more hands-on approach to learning that may help students succeed in their core courses.
“The kids that can see the practical application of what math means to them, or measurements, or understanding currents and electricity ... they can see the practical application of the numeracy and literacy skills that we’re trying to teach in the other courses, but they actually get to apply them to something, a project,” noted Bohnert.
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