Page 3 - Spring 2014 World of Welding

hiwt@welding.org HOBART INSTITUTE OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY

HOW WELDERS LEARN

By Andre A. Odermatt, President
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology
The Weldability of Metals course is one week of theory and
this is a stretch for some students. However most students
This is a subject that has appreciate learning the theory. For example, why aluminum
interested me ever since behaves differently than steel when heated by an arc.
I became associated with
Hobart Institute of Welding Welding is an appreciably complex process that involves many
Technology (HIWT). As the variables. Instructors face challenges every day to successfully
student graduates from HIWT address these with a focused curriculum and an instructional
he or she should master the approach based on contextual learning. Generally speaking,
basic arc welding processes contextual learning is when students apply the academic
to be able to satisfy industry knowledge immediately in real world situations. This type
standards and requirements of teaching and learning can also be successful in teaching
such as AWS D1.1 and ASME mathematics, a topic that is a struggle for many students.
Section IX. This defines what
to teach and what the student Most students who want to become welders are kinesthetic
welder needs to learn. In learners who like to learn by doing. To be successful in teaching
designing curricula it is equally important to understand how kinesthetic learners requires an appropriate combination of
students learn. Once this is understood, the curricula designers instructor, student, and curriculum. The HIWT curricula for
and instructors have different possibilities to accomplish this the different welding processes have been carefully designed
goal. The balloon chart below illustrates several methods. with the kinesthetic learner in mind and the materials are
improved as new technologies and knowledge becomes
available. Over one thousand training organizations are using
the Hobart Institute curricula.

How People Learn.psd Learning experience_dropfonts.ai
“How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School,”
Expanded Edition, 2000. Reprinted with permission by the National
Academy of Scineces, Courtesy of the National Academies Press,
Washington, DC. The learning experience involves the curricula, the instructor
and the student. A student eager to learn, a learning-style-
Lecture-based methods are probably less practical and less focused curriculum and an instructor with an ability to work
desirable methods in teaching welding students. This is why, with students from diverse backgrounds and abilities, with a
at HIWT, only a minimum amount of course time (10 to desire to educate people and with enthusiasm about welding is
20%) is spent on book and classroom study. a winning formula for a marvelous learning experience! Most
Hobart Institute graduates will attest to that.

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How People Learn.bmp