Week 4 Reflection

Week 4: Ah ha!                                                                                                                                                                 6/29/12

As I prepare to start my masters this fall (in Educational Leadership), I notice my mindset shifting to the leadership side of tasks.  I’m recognizing what people say, how they approach others, and I’m focusing on the qualities that are promoting success.  As I reflect on how I think this externship will change my classroom, I keep looking at the bigger picture.  I know I’m going to have stories, and I know my students will be fully aware of my summer job (and how incredibly fascinating it was).  However, my curriculum and pacing are not going to change.  Since that’s set by the Common Core and our school district, I don’t have much flexibility there.  However, I do anticipate a change in my demeanor and motivation to incorporate real-world stories into the math.  I feel like I’ve taught my classrooms to be driven by problem-solving, but instead of getting stories out a book or online, I will have my own toolbox of options.

                One strategy I would love to incorporate next year is definitely a word wall.  Having the vocabulary and catch-phrases defined and available to my students can be priceless.  Last week I read a great line from a fellow extern, “It’s stressful when you try to manipulate something that you don’t understand.”  I have found myself in this same situation on more than one occasion the past few weeks.  “Who?  Where?  Sorry, could you explain that again?”  It gets frustrating when you’re trying so hard to learn new things, but everyone else around you is already so fluent that you don’t want to be the one to ask the question.     ---Oh. So that’s what it’s like for so many of my students!---     I feel like I’ve done a decent job of asking questions and seeking answers (and everyone around here has been super patient), but I’m sure it’s much more difficult for a teenager who’s lacking confidence and/or motivation. 

Another idea I’ve been thinking about is creating a bank of jobs in the mathematical field.  I know there are some fantastic posters/books that have already compiled this, and it would be fun to have some of those, but I’m talking specific jobs and companies around here.  When I ask students what they want to be when they grow up, most frequently I hear, “I don’t know yet.”  Not really wanting to push those buttons, and understanding they’re freshman, I regrettably have accepted that answer.  No more of that!  I will cheerfully offer some math career ideas.  I know many of them won’t stick, but I would love for a student to chase a dream with the motivation of something like, “My freshman algebra teacher said she thought I’d be great at it.  I looked into it and loved it, so here I am!”

Week 3 Reflection

3 weeks deep, and the projects keep coming!                                                                                        6/21/2012 

                I’m getting much more involved with the different areas of Accumold, and as I put things together, I can really see the connections that make things work so smoothly.

                I see many connections between jobs here at Accumold and the essential skills and concepts in math.  First of all, numbers are everywhere—product numbers, mold numbers, amount of products, types of raw material, sizes, pressures, temperatures, and I could go on and on.  Having the ability to differentiate between numbers is a very baseline skill around here.  One of the most important jobs at Accumold is measuring parts to make sure they’re within the specifications provided by a customer.  Not only is measurement involved, but they take that essential skill to the next level and incorporate number reasoning.  An employee must read a control plan and reason to determine if a measurement fits within the specification.  A part we used the other day, for example, measured .0391”, the employee had to determine whether that satisfied the required specification of .04” ± .002”.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the guy who runs the wire tool room.  He uses some incredible technology that has the ability to use an electric charge along a wire to cut steel with precision for the plastic molds.  His software involves a large amount of geometry—odd shapes, slopes, and angles all over the place. Another essential skill very present at Accumold is data analysis by recognizing ideal injection parameters (pressure, speed, temperature, timing, etc.), recognizing errors, and trends with non-conforming parts.  As for functions, functions are all over the place.  In school, I’ve spent many hours drawing up function machines with my students, and it’s quite humorous for me to envision an injection molding machine as just a fancy function.  Each input produces one output.  If you put in the same material into the same machine, but something different comes out (a different part), that would be bad as it wouldn’t be a function! I’m super excited to use this as a new function example for next year!  J

                Along with the essential skills in math, there are also numerous 21^st century skills necessary.  The biggest one that comes to mind is problem solving.  It’s imperative at Accumold, and I think it’s a life lesson that never quite goes away.  Being able to recognize a problem and execute a plan in order to achieve success is such a huge task.  Whether employees are trying to fix a machine, the leader teams are discussing part problems, or techs are attempting to fix an ongoing measurement issue—problem solving is everywhere! Along with problem solving oftentimes come social interactions.  I’ve heard that businesses of today are noticing that younger employees are lacking collaborative skills.  I don’t think solitary work would be acceptable around here.  Having the ability to talk to a coworker, share ideas, and collaborate is one reason why I think Accumold is having such great success.  The employees work together, cross-departmentally, to make sure things run smoothly.  Then there’s also the use of technology, another 21^st century skill. Since everything is run by machines, with computers and software, technological literacy is a must.  I’m fairly confident that every position at Accumold requires some use of technology---computer, email, processing software, microscope, tool scope, and I think I could go on for days.  Technology is only getting more intense, and it’s important that an employee be comfortable with his/her surroundings.

                As I put together an orientation plan (first day of training) for a new employee, I’m trying to incorporate one of the characteristics of effective teaching—teaching for understanding.  Under the current training program, a new employee jumps right out onto the floor and follows around an experienced employee as he/she explains what takes place on the job.  Although jumping right into it may sometimes seem like the most beneficial, to actually teach for understanding, there’s more that comes into play.  For the first day, I’ve incorporated some videos, handouts, writing opportunities, and time to go out and watch what’s taking place on the floor.  The new employee will hopefully not feel totally overwhelmed by just following around the experienced, but will rather receive information about a wide variety of topics, along with some time spent in his/her element on the floor.  Another characteristic of effective teaching is formative assessment.  I’ve been doing this through my measurement testing.  I did a little check with everyone individually to see who could properly use the measurement tools.  It wasn’t used as a pass-or-fire test, but rather as an opportunity for growth and improvement.

                A few of the standards for mathematical practice that stand out are using appropriate tools strategically and attending to precision.  Knowing which tool to use when measuring a part can save a lot of time and hassle.  A caliper, micrometer, tool scope (sometimes a fixture can help), Go/NoGo, and drop indicator all serve their own purpose. Some are more effective than others for particular parts.  Along those same lines, attending to precision is a non-negotiable.  When talking about differences between thousandths or even ten-thousandths of an inch, there’s not much room for approximating and guessing. 

                I’m recognizing that throughout my writing, there are quite a few parts that I claim to be “very important” or a “key to success”.  I think this is largely because the entire process of manufacturing these tiny parts still blows my mind.  As I get deeper into the process, getting more familiar with the injection molding machine and steel mold/tool creation, my mind isn’t getting put to ease.  The intricate detail of each and every step is just phenomenal.

Week 2 Reflections

2^nd week in, and things keep getting better!                                                                        6/15/2012

                My initial concerns have now been swept away, and I’m becoming more and more comfortable with my time here at Accumold.  I was initially concerned with the lack of clarity on potential projects and tasks, but things have been working out quite well.  As days progress, more and more opportunities for involvement arise, and I find myself diving into things I never imagined.  I love it!  Another concern I had towards the beginning involved a little bit of nervousness for not knowing anyone around campus, but my task of measurement testing has provided a wonderful opportunity to put names with faces.  It’s great to be able to greet one another, and it definitely makes me feel more at home here.  Even further, in case I struggle with remembering who’s who, I’ve been granted access to Accumold’s SharePoint which has a file of everyone’s name and picture.  It’s another fantastic tool that has helped to make me feel welcome.  As a whole, Accumold has done a phenomenal job of welcoming me on board, and the transition here has been outstanding.

                While inquiring about Accumold’s concerns at the beginning, my supervisor mentioned that she wasn’t very worried, but rather excited and ready to get started. She said she saw the program as a win-win situation and could see the connections with how the program would help with what they’re trying to accomplish.  She had an expectation that, as an educator, I had excelled in the classroom and would bring skills capable of being successful at Accumold.  From my understanding, I have shown that to be the case.  Also, some words in my application offered some ease and confidence for the program.  I mentioned that some of the most important things I try to teach my students is problem solving strategies and instilling in them a desire to keep learning and challenging themselves.  My supervisor mentioned that her long term goal is “to help the staff see that their value to Accumold is not as an operator, process tech, or tool maker, but as a problem solver who can make a difference.”  With these common goals in mind, we’ve been working together quite well!

                I have two current projects involving more of my expertise of teaching, and I’m very excited to see how it’s going to play out.  The first is to help revamp the training process of an employee.  It’s been agreed upon that a day in a classroom-like setting prior to following around a trained employee on the floor might be most beneficial. I have been assigned the task of putting together said classroom instruction.  With the help of a very wise employee who currently heads the training process most frequently, I am integrating modality changes and interactive writing opportunities throughout the day.  Hopefully this will help the new employee to better retain the information provided throughout the training process.  The other project is to help employees become more informed about their health and health care options.  I have yet to dive completely in to this one, but my brainstorming gears are turning, and I’m excited for the many directions it might possibly take. 

Picture Overview

This is an example of how small some of the parts are.  In comparison to a finger print---you can see they're definitely "micro"!

 It takes some very high-tech equipment to be able to create and inspect quality parts.

Just another example of the itty bitty details on already tiny parts.  I'm totally fascinated with how this all works!

This is the building front, off Oralabor Road in Ankeny, Iowa.

Week 1 Reflection

What a great first week at Accumold!        

Throughout my first few days, I’ve gained a much better understanding of the company, the procedures, and the tasks I am going to tackle during my time this summer.  Accumold is a micro-molding manufacturer of tiny plastic parts.  They construct steel molds according to customer specifications, inject resin with precision, and have an intense quality control line.  I have never been involved with manufacturing before, and the processes Accumold has are clearly in place to make sure things run smoothly.  It absolutely blows my mind how tiny most of the parts are, and I find it fascinating how the molds can be SO precise and accurate.  When measuring in fractions of microns, there isn’t much room for error.

I’ve been growing more accustom to the language of the field with words like gates, gate vestige, flash, MRB, BOM, AQL, and RMA.  Having always been in the educational field, it’s fun to work with people who have been in the Accumold family for years and have a strong passion for these strategies and processes.  It’s an entirely different world from what I’ve ever known.

            I had the opportunity to sit in on a Material Review Board meeting that focused on process improvement (to clearly follow parts from being labeled faulty, solving the problem, and getting the parts back to where they belong).  The explicit outline for the meeting was incredible!  There was a set agenda, purpose, goals, and payback posted up and reviewed prior to beginning.  My favorite part—the payback.  So frequently we set goals and talk about what we need to accomplish, but what do we specifically get out of it?  It was great to have a clear layout of what will be in place when we’re done. 

            One of the biggest issues at the process improvement meeting focused on a deadline.  When the parts are due to be shipped that day, paperwork gets put on the backburner for efficiency purposes.  That’s were pieces get “lost” or electronic files don’t match where the parts actually are located.  It then requires additional effort to realign the inventory movement paperwork before it’s released for shipment. When it’s due, it’s due, and priorities shift a little.  This rang a bell for me with testing in accordance to district standardized tests.  We have a common unit test to give at the end of every unit, and there’s a target due date to get the scores submitted.  As the date approaches, priorities shift a little, and some of the supporting standards might get shoved aside by the priority standards.

            Another big ah-ha moment focused on implementing a Gradual Release of Responsibility.  Some employees failed a Phase 1 measurement test.  One of my tasks is to help remediate and ultimately retest these employees.  I was given instructions to retest the employees on the same 6 parts.  If they failed again, I was to test them on a new set of 20 parts I put together.  Recognizing a teachable moment, I offered some teaching strategies at this point.  Rather than just retesting them on the larger sample, I will use about 10-15 of the pieces to train them.  I’ll model it for them, then help them through a couple, then they’ll show me they can measure more independently.  After the series of instructions, I’ll retest them when I’m more confident in their abilities. 

            One big mind-puzzler for me is with a few employees who are still learning the English language.  Right now their job is quality inspection.  They inspect the parts to make sure there aren’t any blemishes, gate vestige, flash, or anything else that could make it a faulty part.  Computers, cameras, and robots threaten their job security.  Someday, their job will be obsolete, and they’ll have to learn a new skill.  One thing that was mentioned was Accumold’s deep care for their employees and helping them provide for their families.  To have to lay off an employee would be heart-wrenching.  We discussed a few options to make sure this doesn’t happen, one solution being to help educate these employees.  Teaching them English and broadening their skill set would help to make sure they don’t get replaced.  Of course, that takes time, money, and other resources.  This brings up a puzzling moral question.  What’s more important?  Spending resources on employees with intentions of keeping them around, or spending those resources elsewhere to further the company? 

            I haven’t found many direct links of things to use in my classroom yet, but the ELL experience definitely has had the most lasting impact.  Educating the students to actually know the language and to have a desire to be a lifelong learner is key.  With a few more projects coming underway next week, I’m very excited to see what’s in store for this summer at Accumold!

Basics at the beginning

I am Maria Kasparbauer, an Algebra 1 teacher at North High School in Des Moines, Iowa.  I have been teaching for four years, all in Des Moines Public Schools (three at the middle school level, one at high school).  This is my first externship experience, and I'll be spending my time at Accumold in Ankeny, Iowa.  

Some of the tasks I will be involved with include:

--Creating a Phase 2 training/testing procedure for helping employees learn how to use measuring tools such as a caliper, micrometer, and tool scope.

--Train/test employees who have failed Phase 1 of the measurement testing, many of whom are English Language Learners.

--Create a pre-employment math screening test.

--Participate in Material Review Board process improvement meetings.  Process mapping, problem solving, and implementation of new strategies.