This week in AEE 412 Lab we completed our Problem Solving Approach Labs. We were challenged to get our students thinking on higher levels and more critically about content by having them work through a problem. For my lab I had students break into groups of two or three and identify the cause for several different imperfections on welding beads.
I started my lesson by showing students real life issues that can happen when welds are done improperly and had students identify the need for a good welding technique.
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| Students identified the need for good welding technique and strong welds. |
Then, after introducing the problem solving activity, I guided the students with some sample questions to ask themselves that would be important in identifying the cause of each imperfection.
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| Questions to help guide students and get them thinking about factors that could cause weld imperfections. |
After the students had time to work, we came back together as a class to discuss the answers and how we reached each conclusion.
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| Student Activity Worksheet |
| Overall, I think my lesson went very well and the Cause and Effect problem solving activity was a great way to get students thinking critically about welding technique and ready to evaluate their own welds and modify their own techniques (the second half of the days lesson would have students reflection on welds they performed in the previous lesson and taking more time in the shop to practice). |
I also think I did a great job at keeping students on task by walking around the room and managing the timing of the lesson. One thing that I think could make this lesson more engaging and beneficial for students is having real welds for each example instead of just pictures. I think it would also help to have cross sections cut or pictures that would show the penetration of each weld into the base metal so they can see the strength of each weld as well.
Questions:
How would you improve my lesson to make it more engaging or helpful for students learning welding for the first time?
What are some of your favorite Problem Solving Lessons for students?
