ms ummmsm AND FEAstBEm‘Y cm: ms:
PRODUC‘HQN As AN soummum EXPERIENCE
IN laws-mm ARTS ‘

Thesis {at the Baum of Eat. D.
MECHTEGAN Si‘ATE UNIVERSi‘X‘Y

Lee P2. Smaléey
3962

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

THE DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY OF MASS PRODUCTION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN
INDUSTRIAL ARTS

presented by

Lee H. SmaIIey

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ed a _degree in_£d.|.Lca_LLo.n'

 

Dateggj’a 2/ /f/Z/

0-169

.4_ .4-

A A

LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

   
 
     

ABSTRACT
THE DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY OF MASS PRODUCTION

AS AN EDUCATION EXPERIENCE IN
INDUSTRIAL ARTS

by Lee H. Smalley

Industrial arts, as does every subject matter area,
needs to re-evaluate constantly its philosophy, content, and
methods. In examining present practices of teaching indus-
trial arts, one is struck by the similarity and singularity
of the method used--the project. Sound educational practice
warns of such heavy reliance upon one method of organizing
instruction, so that teachers do not even recognize alter-
natives. The subject matter presented is generally that
which can be "worked in" while the student is constructing
his project. ‘Induatrial arts, drawing its content from
industry, needs a broader franework to meet more adequately
the challenge or a changing technology.

Industrial arts as general education implies accept-
ance on the part of educators of the contribution of indus-
trial arts to the total school curriculum, as well as
understanding on the part of industrial arts teachers of a
philosophy and the objectives of general education. Neither
proposition is supported by present practices.

The objectives of industrial arts, as accepted for
this study, are the ones proposed for general education by

the Educational Policies Commission” mm,

Lee H. Smalley

figg§g_§g;§§iggg, Egoggmic Efficiency, and Civic fiegpgggibilitz.
By analyzing these objectives and translating them into
student behavior, a direction may be found that will include
industrial arts as a significant subject in the public school
curriculum.

If industrial arts draws its content from the indus-
trial demands of the society, than industries or segment of
them will have to be surveyed and analyzed in order to derive
the scope of the content. One of the dominant features of
the present day industrial scene is the mass production of
goods. This development has been taking shape for many
years,though almost totally ignored by industrial arts
teachers.

Understandings, skills, and infornation about mass
production cannot be "worked in” as each student makes his
individual project. has unit method of organization is
appropriate for this kind of instruction. A definite time
is set aside to teach about mass production; objectives are
identified, content selected, teaching methods proposed, and
evaluation procedures worked out.

To test for feasibility, several industrial arts
teachers were asked to teach a unit on mass production in
one of their classes. The writer observed and evaluated
their endeavors. A written test over knowledge of mass
production use given to students who had participated in a

mass production unit. This test was also given to control

Lee H. Smalley

groups, or if no control groups were available, a pro-test
and a post-test were given to the experimental group.
Generally the experimental groups scored significantly higher
than the control groups, who had no organized contact with
mass production.

Based upon the response the author received from
teachers who were willing to teach a unit on mass pro-
duction, it would seem that industrial arts teachers are
willing to improve their teaching, especially if a little
assistance is offered. Using average teachers, facilities,
and students, a product may be mass produced in an industrial
arts laboratory and significant behavior changes can take
place because of it.' Generally, the only important change
that needs to take place in order for a mass production
experience to be included in the industrial arts curriculum

is in the values of the industrial arts teacher.

 

1Educational Policies Commission, e
c tion in eri oc (Washington, D.C.: National
Education Association,.193 .

THE DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY OF MASS PRODUCTION
As AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN
INDUSTRIAL ARTE

By

Lee HA Smalley

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

College of Education

1962

/ , --_

PREFACE

The constant need to re-evaluate goals and practices
of education in light of new conditions and forces in our
society has always been a motivating force for change in
educational institutions. This is all the more true in
these times of rapid technological and social change. New
generations, viewing their society with new eyes, need to
blend their views with the ideas and skills that have been
previously developed. With this aim in mind, the writer em-
barks upon the present undertaking.

Encouragement and a challenge has come from faculty
advisers: Dr. Walter Ditzler, formerly of State College of
Iowa; Dr. R. Lee Hornbake of the University of Maryland; and
Dr. John Fuzak of Michigan State University. To the re-
mainder of my doctoral committee, Dr. Charles Blackman, Dr.
George Brandon, and Dr. Orden Smucker, plus Dr. Lawrence
Borosage and Mr. C. Blair.MacLean of the Industrial Education
Service, there is an acknowledgment of their influence.

Wives always seem to have an important part in a
person's professional life, and Helen is no exception. This

is an Opportunity to formally say "Thank you!"

11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 1

Chapter
I O INMDUGTION O O O O O O o 0 0 e O O O O O O O 1

Need for the Study
Methods of Research
Organization of the Thesis

II. SOME RACTORS AFFECTING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
IN INDUSTRIAL ARTS . . . . . .-. . . . . . . . 9

A Concept of General Education

Industrial Arts as General Education

Development of an Industrial Arts
Curriculum

III. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF MASS PRODUCTION . #3

History of Mass Production

Relationships of Mass Production to General
Education

Mass Production in Industrial Arts

IV. SOME EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN’MASS
PRODUCTION O O O O O O . O O O C O C O O O C O O 9#

Description of Selected Mass Production
Experiences

Evaluation of Selected.nass Production
Experiences

V. RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Teaching Unit on Mass Production
Bibliography for a Unit on Mass
Production
VI 0 SW 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O 0 O 167
Conclusions
Implications

iii

iv

Chapter Page
eeeeeeeeeeeee ‘78

mENDI CES O O O O O O O O O O O

B IBLImMY O O O O O O O O

eeeeeeeee‘ee 183

Bibliography for>an Industrial Survey
Letter to Industrial Arts Teachers
Teacher Reply Fbrm

Test over’Mass.Production

Student Opinionnaire

Teacher Opinionnaire

Supplementary Information on Situations

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
9 he

Industrial arts, because of its relatively recent
emergence as a subject area for inclusion in the curriculum
of the public schools, is under pressure to remain dynamic
in relation to our changing society. The re-evaluation that
followed Sputnik, the increased demand for more tax monies by
all departments of the government, and the higher'cost of
education have all had their impact on newer areas of the
curriculum. The very fact that industrial arts relates to
the industrial aspect of our democracy is enough to demand a
constant look at its curriculum.

Continuing study of the curriculum in American
schools is highly important. Not only is it essential
that prospective teachers have a good understanding of
curriculum principles and practices before undertaking
the responsibility of teaching; it is important also

-that teachers in service constantly review and refine
their conceptions of what the curriculum should be.
This is especially true in American schools because of
a great pioneering undertaking in which we are engaged
in attempting to provide appropriate education for all
the children of all the peeple extending through the
elementary and secondary periods in a common program.
Great progress has been made toward this goal, but
many problems remain to be solved.

 

1Galen J. Saylor and we. M. Alexander, 1
Planning (New York: Rinehart and Co., 1954), p. v.

1

Although the writer had taught and observed units on
mass production previous to this study, there was a need to
provide more examples of what industrial arts teachers would
do if they were to teach a unit on mass production. There
was also a need for a model unit to be proposed so that
others could be judged against it. The examples of a unit on
mass production that have appeared in the literature are
mostly personal experiences the teachers wish to relate. In
only one instance in approximately 30 articles that have ap-
peared in magazines during the last ten years has any mention
been made of gallsuch a unit was taught. In no cases were
specific objectives defined nor were there any illustrations
of evaluation procedures or instruments. What has been
written then are personal, fragmented experiences that are
of little use to a teacher starting to plan, organize, teach,
and evaluate a unit on mass production.

The content of industrial arts in the public school
has tended to reflect the patterns of industry that have been
prevalent in the past. Wood, metal, and drawing have formed
the core of the offerings, even though these may not be
appropriate for every situation. Slowly other content areas
are beginning to take their place: electricity, plastics,
mechanics, and graphic arts. The latter are still in the
minority as far as number of offerings are concerned.

The method of organizing instruction in industrial
arts has been limited generally to the individual take-home

project. Although teachers generally feel this method is
adequate, a closer examination will usually reveal that
important aspects of a comprehensive curriculum are missing,
or not being emphasized. If a variety of educational experi-
ences are to be included, then the organization of instruction
will have to be flexible enough to accommodate this variety.
There is a definite need in industrial arts for a continuing
re-evaluation of the content and organization to keep pace
with our changing technology.

Many industrial arts teachers have gotten into a
habit sometimes ascribed to a physical education teacher who
will ”throw out a ball" and that is the end of his teaching.
The individual interest take-home project has provided a
ready device to capture the enthusiasm of many students, re-
gardless of what may or may not be learned. When the indus-
trial arts teacher says, "O.K. let's go to work!" it becomes
a familiar and welcome cry.. A look at the planning books of
industrial arts teachers would reveal many of them composed
of ”work on projects" for weeks at a time, or else not filled
in At all. The majority of industrial arts teachers still do
not use a textbook. To say the least, the industrial arts
teacher has generally become careless in planning and
organizing his teaching, relying rather on a day-to-day off-
the-cuff kind of a preparation. The mission, responsibility,
and content of industrial arts demands more than that from

an industrial arts teacher. This study will attempt to show

that if something is valued, i.e., mass production, it takes
work, planning, and organization to accomplish something
significant. Good teaching just does not happen.

Industrial arts must constantly build upon one of its
traditional and inherent strengths; the possibility of pro-
viding students with concrete experiences rather than with
merely verbal ones. The concept of mass production can best
be learned by the maximum involvement of the learner in
planning, organizing, designing, producing, assemblying, and
distributing a product by assembly line techniques. This
study will attempt to show why this is important and how

this may be accomplished.

Methods 2f Research

"While there may be countless ways of uncovering
evidence and of analyzing and classifying it for purposes of
research, they can all be described broadly under four head-
ings: (1) documentary or historical research, (2) experi-
mental, (3) descriptive research or the survey, and (4) the
case study."2 All four of these techniques were used in this
study. '

Documentary research techniques were used in develOping
a concept of general education, in orienting industrial arts
as a part of general education, and in developing a curriculum

that is appropriate for industrial arts. In these areas, and

 

2Tyrus Hillway, I t i e (Boston:
Houghton.Nifflin Co., 195 , p. 125.

others as well, the literature on the subject was examined
and a summary of relevant ideas presented.

Expertmental techniques were used to determine the
significance of the differences in information about mass
production between groups of students who had participated
in a unit on mass production and those who had no fermal
exposure.to mass production. The t-test was used to test
the significance difference between the means of the two
groups.

Descriptive research, or a survey, was made of the
opinions of students and teachers who had participated in a
unit on mass production. This was given at the conclusion of
the unit and was concerned with their Opinions on the
appropriateness, strong and weak points in the unit.

A case study approach was used in describing the 11
units on mass production that were observed and evaluated by
the writer.

The industrial arts teachers who participated in this
study were selected in a number Of ways. Names of public
school industrial arts teachers who might be interested in
teaching a unit on.mass production were solicited from
teacher educators at Michigan State University. Other names
were added so that a form of a stratified sample was developed.
Care was taken to see that teachers were represented from
larger city systems to smaller rural schools, that they

ranged in teaching experience from one year to those who had

been teaching for some time, that a variety of industrial
arts courses were represented, and that there was a range
from 7th to 12th grade. Twenty-four teachers were selected
with the additional criterion of teaching within a radius of
about 45 miles of.East Lansing, Michigan. Letters3 were sent
to these 2# teachers on August 24, 1959. A reply form4 was
enclosed asking the teachers what they knew about mass pro-
duction and if they would be willing to teach a unit on mass
production. Sixteen replies were received and 11 of those
expressed a desire to cooperate with the writer in teaching-
a unit on mass production. These 11 were sent followbup
letters requesting that a meeting be arranged where this
could be discussed more fully. After meeting with the 11
teachers individually at his school, each agreed to include
a unit on mass production in at least one of his classes
during the school year 1959-60.

The writer made three requests of the 11 cooperating
teachers; (1) that the mass production project be assembled
by an assembly line process, (2) that the writer be allowed
to evaluate the unit, and (3) that the writer observe the
unit during its operation. All other decisions concerning
the organization and teaching of the unit were left up to
each individual teacher to decide. The writer acted as a

consultant, helping the teachers when asked, and as an

 

3See Appendix II.
“See Appendix III.

observer, recording impressions Of what was taking place
during the unit. The writer visited each school at least
three times during the unit. These visits ranged from one
hour to a full school day. When necessary, or possible, more
than three visits were made.

These public school experiences were used in two ways:
(1) to provide examples Of teaching techniques and organiz-
ational patterns that could be incorporated into a model mass
production unit the writer includes in Chapter V, and (2) to
evaluate and compare what the selected public school teachers
did with the model unit the writer recommends.

With some of the classes that participated in this
mass production experience a pro-test and a post-test5 were
given to see if any changes in behavior could be measured.
Hhere possible an experimental and a control group were set
up and the measurements taken from both groups. Instrumentss
were develOped to get Opinions from the teachers and students

participating in this study.

Orgnnization of the Tnegig

In Chapter II, "Some Factors Affecting Curriculum
Development in Industrial Arts," a concept of general edu-
cation is develOped. Industrial arts as general education

implies an understanding of a philosophy of general education

 

58cc Appendix IV A.
63cc Appendix IV B and C.

that will necessitate a place for industrial arts to contri-
bute. A curriculum in industrial arts must be develOped
from this rationale.

Since it would be impractical to attempt to develop in
detail the whole range of educational experiences that could
be included in a comprehensive industrial arts program, one
segment of our industrial society was abstracted to emphasize
and to illustrate curriculum planning in industrial arts.
That segment is the concept and Operation of mass production.
Chapter III, "Educational Implications of Mass Production,"
is devoted to tracing the historical development of mass pro-
duction, its relationship to general education and the appli-
cations that may be made in teaching industrial arts.

Chapter IV, "Some Educational Experiences in.Mass
Production,” is a description and an evaluation of the 11
mass production units that were organized and taught by
public school industrial arts teachers. The author's
recommendations for a teaching unit on mass production are
presented in Chapter V, followed with the summary, conclusions
and implications.

The appendices contain forms used in the study, data
collected from participating students and teachers, and
supplementary information on the 11 situations reported on

earlier in the study.

CHAPTER II

SOME FACTORS AFFECTING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN
INDUSTRIAL ARTS

A ggngent o; Genena; ngugation

As a culture changes, so must the social institutions
that support it. Within the last 80 years there has been a
tremendous change in American life. In 1870 more than one-
half of the people were employed in agriculture while today
the farmers represent less than 10 per cent of our labor
force. The number of persons engaged in the mining indus-
tries declined 28 per cent during the last 40 years, yet there
has been an increase in production by 38 per cent. In the
present labor force of 70 million people, less than 5 per
cent are employed as laborers. The craftsman has given way
to the mass producer, which is now being characterized by
the automated dial watcher. Iron has given way to steel.
The transition from steam to gas to atomic power has occurred
during this period. The rise of Big Labor, the shorter work
week, increased mobility, and a.higher standard of living
than any people on earth, has been accomplished within the

life span of our older generation.

10

These changes could be added to, but certainly there
is no disagreement that important changes have come about in
fairly recent years. The importance of these changes is in
the effect they have had on education, particularly at the
secondary level. The two most dramatic changes in secondary
education have been the enormous numerical growth of the high
schools, and the enlargement of the school's functions. The
increased industrialization of America has raised the age of
entry into the labor market and has demanded a,higher level
of skills from the workers.

”In 1880, there were approximately 110,000 youths en-
rolled in American high schools. In 1950, the corresponding
secondary school grades enrolled approximately 5,700,000
students. The Ingnzfold increase in secondary school
attendance during the past 70 years compares with a,§nnggr
fold increase in total population during the same period."1

With this influx into the schools, or rather with a
larger percentage of students staying in schools longer,
teachers were faced with a wider range of abilities, interests,
and ambitions. This was partially compensated for by the in-
crease in the number and variety of course offerings on the
secondary level. PrOportionally there were as many additions

to the curriculum as there were increases in the number of

students enrolled in school.

 

1Educational Policies Commission, Edugnnign {on All
To h (Washington, D.C.: National Education Associ-

8121011, 1952 g p0 30

‘3."

0'1

11

At the rate of six courses each academic year it

would take a student almost 46 years to complete all

of the 27# courses offered by the high schools in 15

or more states in 1948-49! At the same rate a stu-

dent could have finished all the courses Offered in

1889-90 in a maximum of six years.2
Courses were dropped, sub-divided, and added, but the general
trend was away from the strictly college preparatory cur-
riculum to one that would more adequately meet the needs of
all children.

As it became increasingly clear that the schools

would have to provide for the great masses of children, rather
than for just a few, the organization of the curriculum became
more important. As the elective system became more popular
in the high schools, there needed to be some compromise
between a completely required and a free elective system.
As the high schools also became the "common" schools, there
was the obligation to transmit some common body of knowledge
and skills to all of the students enrolled. Some students
were physically separated, mainly into vocational schools,
while others were in the same building but following differ-
ent ”tracks" or curricula. These different tracks usually
were composed of different courses leading to different
goals, as their names implied: College Preparatory, General,
Commercial, Industrial, or Vocational.

The comprehensive high school attempted to work this

out by requiring a number of courses that everyone would

2John P. Latimer, 's e ed o Our Hi h School T
(Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 19535, pp. 37-1-8.

 

12

take, and then leaving time for a student to choose some
electives. This position is expressed by James B. Conant:
"Recommendation 3 - Required Programs for All

A. GENERAL EDUCATION: The requirements for gradu-
ation for all students should
be as follows:

Four years of English, three or four years of
Social Studies - including two years of History
(one of which should be American History) and a
senior course in American problems or American
Government - one year of Mathematics in the ninth
grade (Algebra or General Mathematics), and at
least one year of Science in the ninth or tenth
grade, which might well be Biology or General
Physical Science. By a year I mean that a course
is given five periods a week throughout the
academic year or an equivalent amount of time.
This academic program of general education in-
volves nine or ten courses with homework to be
taken in fOur years and occupies more than half
the time of most students, whatever their
elective programs.

B. THE ELECTIVE PROGRAM:

The other requirement for graduation should be
successful completion of at least seven more
courses, not including physical education. All
students should be urged to include art and music
in their elective programs. All students should
be advised to have as their central core of their
elective programs significant sequences of courses,
either those leading to the development of a
marketable skill or those of an academic nature."3

Conant makes the common assumption that the general I
education of students is met through the required courses.
If it is required it is general education, if it is elective
it is something else. This does not seem to be a realistic
position for determining what is general education. Is

 

3James B. Conant e Ame ican Hi S 0 (New
Yerk: McGraw-Hill, 19595, pp. 7-

A“

«I,

.re

a
J

 

'I

i

13

learning to type a part of general education? Typing may be
a.marketable skill, or only used for personal use.

The general - whether it be a course to take, an

atmosphere to be striven for, a heritage to be glimpsed,
an outcome to be achieved, a need to be fulfilled, a
problem to be solved, a vision to be shared, a heart to
be stirred - must be so conceived by a faculty that all
pupils have a chance to participate in it. NO other
meaning of general education is gufficient for the task
facing the American high school.

General education is something more than a list of
required courses, of sacred subject matter that can be put
into neat bundles and labeled "general" or ”specialized."
Much of the separation has to come from the learner; how is
he going to use this information, this skill, this idea?

But the learner does not classify his life into general and
specific, it is all one life. So the difference has to be
an organizational, and sometimes an administrative, one.

General education is not an attempt to make everyone
into the same mold. As people get more and better education,
they move together as well as apart. The moving apart, or the
being different, is not only related to the person's occu-
pational dboice, but also rightly belongs in general education.
For instance, everyone should have a chance to participate in
the expressive arts, but this does not mean that everyone has
to attain the same proficiency in playing the violin, that

everyone has to play the violin, or that everyone has to

play a musical instrument, but that everyone should have the

 

4Association for Supervision and Curriculum Develop-

ment, Whnt Shn;l the Hign Sghonln 1°?097 (Washington, D.C.:
National Education Association, 195 , p. 172.

14

chance to participate in the expressive arts. Such experi-
ences would tend to make people different although they are
shared experiences, represent a common body of knowledge,
and are products of our cultural heritage.

The philosOphical foundations of general education
determine to a great extend the content and method to be in-
cluded under the heading of general education. The rational-
ists and neo-humanists rely on "the great tradition" of
Western Culture for their body of knowledge. The general
education program in the secondary school is merely a down-
ward extension of the traditional college program of the
liberal arts; however, the instrumentalists in education
believe that the data from psychology and the social sciences
provide the clues for making up a school program.

The intention of the new program is not simply to
sharpen the reasoning powers of the student or to in-
crease the powers by which he can serve his own ‘
particular ends, but to make him an active element in
the creative change of the society around him. It
seeks to mesh the individual and social aspects of
education in such a way that the sensibilities of the
private person and the commitme ts of the responsible
citizen are developed together.

The position taken by the instrumentalists seems to
be more defensible in the 20th century. It takes into ac-
count not only where our society has been, but where it is
going. The subject matter would not be limited, but rather

unlimited, for it would allow for any material to be presented

 

5National Society for the Study of Education, angnnl
.EEBEQIAQB: Fifty-first Yearbook, Part I (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1952), p. 43.

15

that would produce a better citizen in our society. General
education must look constantly both to the individual and to
the society for its direction.

General education is based upon the reOOgnition that
schools are obligated to provide instruction planned to meet
the life needs of students, not just academic scholarship or
preparation for the professions. It is intended for every-
one, and concerned with the total personality of the student.
Generally it is concerned with the non-specialized activities
of the student, but still recognizing that each person has
to contribute to society and, usually, earn his own living.

The objectives of general education which seem to the
author to have had the most impact upon the school program
are those published by the Educational Policies Commission
in 1938. They seemed to have the same impact the "seven
cardinal principles" had when they were first published in
the 1918 Report of the Commission on Reorganization of

Secondary Education. The 1938 report, The EBZEQAEI of
Enugntion in AEEELEEE ngncnncy, preposed the following four

objectives for general education.

The first role, or phase of total behavior, is that
of the educated person. Conduct in this field is
centered on the personal development, growth, and learn-
ing of the individual. It includes his use of the
fundamental tools of learning, his health, his recre-
ation, his personal philosophy. The placing of these
objectives first in the list is not accidental. They
deal with the develOpment of the individual himself.
In a democracy this field is of supreme importance.
Success in this role conditions one's success in every
other phase of life's activities. The purposes of

at” We\ IHII\

16

education which fall under this section of total be-

havior will be referred to as The Objectiyes 2; Self-
IEEEAJEIAQB-

A second area is that of home and family relation-
ships with their immediate and natural extensions to
neighbors and community. Educationally the home is
the most powerful as it is perhaps the oldest, of all
social institutions. Good homes and good communities
are the basic units of democracy. The activities of
the educated individual which relate to these immediate,
person-to-person contacts are, therefore, grouped to-

gether in a section on The Object;ve§ 0; Human
Rglnninnsn n. .

The next aspect of the activities of the member of
a democratic society includes the economic sphere - the
creation and satisfaction of material wants. Here we
consider the education of the individual as a producer,
a consumer, an investor. The importance of such edu-
cation in providing the indispensable material basis
for comfort, safety, and even life itself is clear.
The objectives within this general area will be classi-

fied under the heading of EB: aneg§;yeg 2f Econnmic
W-

Pinally, there are the activities of the educated
citizen. They involve his dealings with his government -
local, state, and national - his relationships with the
peoples of other nations, and his other "long distance"
contacts in large scale collective enterprises. This -
field of activity is served by education through‘gnn

onjggngvgs of Cizic Rnsnonsinili 1.
What is general education? It is impossible to hum

up in a neat phrase all of the implications involved in this
concept. It is a way to organize and administer a curriculum
so that students are improved, so as to improve society. It
is a way to select content so that students will be able to
apply this to the solution of their problems. It is a way

to have students share experiences, yet still become different.

 

6Educational Policies Commission, Th Pu
Educ t o in Ame i ocra (Washington, D.C.: National
Education Association, 19 , pp. 45-t7.

17
In t 1 ts as or 1 Educat n

In the previous section an overview of general edu-
cation was developed. Consistent with this view would be the
twofold responsibility Of subject matter areas in general
education: (1) to provide a common core of learnings for all
students, and (2) to provide for students who would be
interested in, and profit by, increased specialization in an
area. The role industrial arts can play will be developed
later in this section, but first some definitions of indus-
trial arts will be examined to more clearly identify the area.

One of the original definitions, and one that seems
to have had the most lasting impact, was that of Frederick
Bonser in 1924:

The industrial arts are those occupations by which
changes are made in the forms of materials to increase
their values for human usage. As a subject for educative
purposes, industrial arts is a study of the changes made
by man in the forms of materials to increase their

values, nnd‘of the problems of life related to these
changes.

In 1937, in a bulletin from the U. 3. Office of
Education, came this definition:

Industrial arts is a phase of general education
that concerns itself with the materials, processes,
and with the contribution of those engaged in indus-
try. The learnings come throth his study of
resultant conditions of life.

7Frederick Bonser and.lois Mossman, Innnnnnnniynnnn
g2; Elemengnzy Sghools (New YOrk: Macmillan Co., 192 , p. 5.

8U. S. Department of the Interior, IBQEAIIAAA_A£E! -
t t tio Ame ' b O s (Washington, D.C.:

U. S. Government Printing Office, Bulletin 1937; No. 34),
pe 1e

 

18

The American Industrial Arts Association in 1947
attempted to create a new definition that would more clearly
express the changing concept of industrial arts. Dr. William
Warner's contribution in this regard was as follows:

Functionally, industrial arts as a general and

fundamental school subject in a free society is con-
cerned with providing experiences that will help per-
sons of all ages and both sexes to profit by the
technology because all are involved as consumers,
many as producers, and there are countless recre-
ational opportunities for all.9

He then elaborates on the scape, content, method, and
physical setting of an industrial arts program that would
implement his definition.

Dr. Gordon Wilber states that ". . . industrial arts
will be defined as those phases of general education which
deal with industry--its organization, materials, occupations,
processes, and products--and with the problems resulting from
the industrial and technological nature of society."‘°

In a class discussion in which the writer participated,
Dr. R. Lee Hornbake, at the University of Maryland, defined
the purpose of industrial arts as that of "helping boys and
girls meet their problems that confront them, particularly
as their lives are affected by the industrial aspects of our

culture. This industrial arts can do through work centering

 

9William Warner, "A New Type of Definition," un-

published paper adopted from m; Ingugnrial AIEE Tgngh 3;
(March, 19‘7).

'oGordon Wilber,

 

19

on tangible or concrete media, calling into play an Optimum
of learning participation by the student in all phases of
the learning process.

If these definitions are representative of those that
have been formulated, certainly some patterns emerge that
should be of importance. First of all, industrial arts is
concerned with the productive enterprise of man. The scope
of the content covers all of our industrial technology, not
just the mechanical trades. It is concerned with such areas
of our industrial technology as products, processes, occu-
pations, tools, materials, and organization. This is ac-
complished by working in one or more Of these areas: wood,
metal, ceramics, textiles, graphic arts, mechanical drawing,
transportation or power mechanics, and electricity. The
ends to which industrial arts works are the same as any
other area in education, to provide the student with ex-
periences that will make him a better contributing member of
the democratic society of which he is a part by educating
him to his optimum development.

The functions of industrial arts may be more clearly
expressed by using the four objectives of general education
as adopted by the Educational Policies Commission and out-

lined in the previous chapter.

222 onjegtIvgs 2f Self-Rea;ization

Some of the current literature reveals objectives,
aims, methods, and content that seem appropriate under this

objective.

20

"It seems quite Obvious that improvement in the
critical thinking ability of every individual as applied to
the problems of democracy, must be a paramount purpose of
industrial arts teaching."11

"I can foresee a date which will be upon us far sooner
than we dare believe, a date when: Our students will be
prhmarily concerned with problem solving. As our society and
our technology become even more complex, our students cannot
be provided with a package of skills adequate for future
problem solving needs."12

"Emphasis upon the develOpment of the potentialities
of the individual will be of the same order in industrial
arts as in all other aspects of education in the school in a
democracy."13

"To begin with, we look upon the shop room as a
laboratory where students can explore the medium of the tool
and the material. This includes the origination of an idea
through the entire processes that result in the product:

emphasis on creativity, problem solving, and aesthetic taste."14

 

‘1John Fuzak, "Analysis of Developments to Determine

Implications for Industrial Arts," Inc Indnstninl Ant; Tenghen,
XVII (November-December, 1957), p. 12.

12Aarre K. thti, "Design for Industrial Arts," Th2
Indusgrinl ngts Iencnen, XIX (March-April, 1960), p. 6.

13M. Ray Karmes, ”Improvi Industrial Arts Education,"

14Vincent Napoleone, "Time for Awakening," Industrin;
‘35; 322 Vognninnal Enucntion, XLVIII (June, 1959), p. 177.

21

In addition to the above statements, industrial arts
can make a contribution in the area of the individual's self-
realization by providing experiences to improve his work
habits and aesthetic appreciation and to teach him to
practice safe procedures and to recognize good standards of
accomplishments. By providing the amount of individual help
that is usually found in an industrial arts program, this
may be one of the strongest areas of emphasis for industrial
arts as general education. The processes by which a student
solves problems is an important element in his education,
and problem solving is receiving much more consideration and
thought by industrial arts teachers than had previously been
the case. By utilizing the individual project approach,
individual needs and capabilities can be accommodated, and
the student's potential contribution can more adequately be

reached.

The Objegtivgg of Humnn Re;a§innshins

This is an area of general education that does not
seem to lend itself to specific techniques and evaluation.
In an area such as industrial arts, where students are:work-
ing together’in one room, some immediate concern has to be
recognized in order for some work to get done. This, of
course, is in itself not enough. The immediate situation
must be compared and associated with other situations that
may occur out of school, or after the students leave school.

This has been generally recognized in the literature, as

22

indicated by the following:

The third group includes a reasonable willingness
to cooperate with others and to have consideration
for their convenience and welfare, a reasonable re-
liance on one's own ability. When properly organized
and properly presented these industrial arts experi-
ences provide excellent opportunities for exploration
and guidance.1

In the living, moving situation of the industrial
arts laboratory, the student has an opportunity to be
honest with himself and with others in the care and
return of equipment, checking out and use of’materials,
tabulation of coats, and sharing of locker space with
other students.1

Sociologically, each pupil should develOp as one
of the group. The somewhat informal organization of
the industrial arts class makes possible many oppor-
tunities for working with others. . . . Both leader-
ship snd followership can be developed. By partici-
pating in a well organized personnel plan, the pupil
comes to feel that he is a part of the group, that
his efforts and contributions are accepted, and that
his worth is recognized. Werking with others on a
common project also helps to develop a sense of
belonging. 7

As educators try to structure experiences so that
students learn how to live and work together, certainly the
industrial arts laboratories provide a natural setting for
them to engage in activities that will attempt to fulfill
this objective. Small group projects will help to focus
attention upon this area, for when several people have to

work together, sharing facilities and making decisions, the

 

15U. S. Department of the Interior, Indugnr;n; All! -

Iis_IaiaE2Iaisii2n_in_sssrissn_§2222ls. D. 57.
16Department of Public Instruction, du i s
f 0 ho (Des Moines: State of Iowa, 19%3), p.

17Wilber, gnnnggnigl All! in Gengrnl Educatinn, p. 40.

23

problems of relating to others will be enlarged, and, it is
hoped, then diminished by good teaching.

Th3 Objgctivgg 2f Egonomic Eggicieng:

When general education is looked upon as assuming
some of the responsibilities of preparing people to enter the
world of work, then the objectives of economic efficiency take
on a new and added importance. Industrial arts is many times
confused with vocational education, and unfortunately the
literature, and leaders in the field, sometimes do not clarify
the difference between the two aspects of education. Because
industrial arts students work with industrial materials and
procedures, it is assumed by some that this is done in order
for the person to learn the skills Of the occupation associ-
ated with the materials and processes. This assumption is
true to the extent that students should become acquainted
with occupations in the area in which they are working, but
this is also true of students in science, English, social
studies, etc. But, as is pointed out in the present chapter,
this is not the only function of industrial arts.
Some authors have indicated the responsibility of
industrial arts as follows:
The value of basic mechanical resourcefulness has
been increasingly apparent during the rapid expansion
of technological work and scientific progress of
recent years. The ability to do has become equal in

importance with the ability to think; and often dis-
covery, research, and planning can be carried out

24

only piece by piece to the degree that mechanical
and mangpulative work accompany theoretical develop-
ments.

In the developmental phases of the basic and ap-
plied sciences, a relatively few top-level people
carry the responsibility. But the effective pro-
duction, application, use, and maintenance of the
instruments, machines, and goods which results re-
quire technical competence on the part of the masses
of the people. A.primary personal and social contri-
bution of industrial arts is precisely this dual
task; namely the develOpment of technical competence
among the millions and the discovery of a variety of
technical talents. These goals can be achieved only
if children and yogth are provided with representative
experiences . . .'

"If we will construct our program for the technology,
then we must conceive of a subject matter representative of
the new industry, as well as appropriate to the new leisure."2o

Preparing to make an intelligent choice of life-work,
becoming a.more literate consumer, recognizing problems re-
lated to organized business and labor, etc., are certainly
important aspects of students' education. The traditional
relationship with federally subsidized vocational education
has been that of exploration, and basic preparation, for a

vocation. Industrial arts was generally for junior-high

school students so that they might try out and select an

'8Emanuel Erickson. MW
(Peoria, Ill.: Manual Arts Press, 19 , p. 25 .

19R. Lee Hornbake, "Professional Growth in Industrial

Arts Education " Th; IBAB§&£131 AEEE Tencner, XIX (November-
December, 1959 . p. 50.

 

20Delmar Olson “A Call to Industrial Arts," hoo
Shon, XIX (June, 1960 , p. 10. .

25

occupation in which they thought they could be successful.
Industrial arts was a screen and a feeder for the high school
vocational curriculum. This relationship is becoming less
important as more pe0ple see the broader implications of
industrial arts as general education, its direction, and

goals.

Ins Objgcgiveg 0; Civic Benngngibiliny
Civic responsibility may be characterized by the term--

participation. A democracy is founded upon the principle of
citizen participation in the affairs of state. The nature
of the problems that may be identified in industrial arts,
the concreteness of the material and the laboratory or shOp
environment demands an involvement of the learner--citizen
in the tangible solution of the problem. If this is done
consciously by the teacher and the students are aware of
this facet of industrial arts, a great contribution to the
civic responsibility of future citizens may be made.

Other industrial arts responsibilities in this area
includes: seeing present-day industrial events in some
historical perspective, becoming oriented to the physical
world, and appreciating what scientific advancements mean to
a society. What does a person need to know to be an American
citizen? Certainly knowledge of our industrial technology
and the productive enterprise of man is an area that needs
to be considered in the education of our future citizens.

rollowing are some concerns that other people have had about

26

this responsibility of industrial arts.
"The cultural, social and economic implications of the

use of tools and materials will receive much more attention

in the preparation of teachers of industrial education."21

A course, Modern Industry, is available to the
upper-undergraduate industrial arts students. The
course provides an overview of manufacturing indus—
try in the American social, economic, and cultural
pattern. Representative basic industries are visited
and studied from the viewpoints of personnel and
management organization and control, industrial re-
lations, communications, production practices, distri-
bution of products, and other essentials of importance
in teaching Industriag Arts as an indispensable phase
of general education. 2

when production--the quantitative--becomes the
means to the qualitative we shall be entering the
third phase of industrial relationship, the phase
in which man can proclaim that the machine serves
man, not man the machine. I have thus tried to show
how the problem of industrial arts education is the
same problem in the schools as in the shop. It is
the problem of putting knowledge to work in order
that the arts which the few have enjoyed in the
past may now be available to all. To bring this
about would amount to affecting a major revolution
in American life, a revolution in the democratization
of the Arts.

we may approach social purpose or social function
in two ways. In one sense we may work toward having
the pupil come to understand and accept the responsi-
bilities inherent in his culture. Or we may view
social purpose as the Optimal development of the
learner so that he may make his own unique

 

2‘w1111am Micheels and Wesley Sommers, The Minnesota
Pl fo dustri e he c (Bloomington:
McKnight and McKnight, 195 . p. 23. .

22American Council on Industrial Art Teacher Edu-
cation, e ior Pr e (Bloomington: McKnight and
McKnight, 19 . p. 3-

23Henry Herrmann, W (Washington, D.C.:
American Industrial Arts Association, 1956), p. 1 .

27
contribution to his cu ture. We, in industrial arts,
can use both avenues.

Some of the objectives of civic responsibility may be
realized by involving students in the problems, products,
and processes of modern technology. The materials that are
used should reflect as closely as possible those used in
commercial products. In ceramics the students cannot "pinch
a pot,” thinking that this is the way much of the commercial
models are produced. They cannot set type by hand in graphic'
arts, thinking that this is the way newspapers and magazines
are published.

The potential of any subject field to fulfill its
mission will depend upon the imagination and competence of
the teachers and leaders in the field plus the support and
recognition they receive from other areas of education and
the lay public. Industrial arts has not been recognized by
the peOple in general education as providing a significant
experience for all students in the public school. The role
of industrial arts has been conceived as assuming some
responsibility for the education of the non-college bound
boy. As illustrated in previous quotations, there have been
many peOple in industrial arts who have sounded a warning,
issued a call, or shown a way that would make industrial
arts a more meaningful part of general education. It would

seem unnecessary and redundant at this point in the history

 

24Hornbake, "Professional Growth in Industrial Arts
Education," p. 14.

28

of industrial arts to keep insisting that "Industrial arts
is a part of general education." What we need now is to
get other peOple to say this.

Industrial arts, through the contemporary content of
technology, has the Opportunity to provide all students in
the public schools information, knowledge, and concepts
about our industrial democracy which is necessary to be a
functioning citizen in our future society.

Industrial arts, through the process of experiences
working with concrete materials and solving problems in a
laboratory situation, has the opportunity to provide all stu-
dents in the public schools with attitudes, skills, and in-
sights into the nature of learning and how problems are
solved in an industrial situation.

This is the challenge to industrial arts--to become
general education and to have some demonstratable results
so that others are convinced. The increased cost of edu-
cation, the shortened time for social changes to take effect,
the increased demands of modern society upon education--all
of these are pressures on subject areas in the public
school to search out and find better ways of dding the job
that is necessary. Industrial arts must meet this challenge
if it is to be a dynamic force in education.

How this challenge may be met, in the organization
of content, will be explored in the following section.

29
velo en f ndustri Arts Curriculum

In the preceding parts of Chapter II a foundation has
been laid, in terms of objectives and the selection of con-
tent, for the teaching of industrial arts in the secondary
school. The need now is to transform these ideas into a
workable framework that will increase the effectiveness of
the industrial arts teacher.

Traditionally, industrial arts instruction has been
organized around an individual project. The reliance upon
only one method of organization has led to a restriction of
activities and objectives that are taught. The selection of
the project is either done by the student in terms of some-
thing he needs, wants or could use, or else is selected and
required by the teacher. This, then, forms the basis for
the content presented until the project is completed. The
problem, and the objective, for the student is to complete
the project in a satisfactory manner. If objectives for the
course had been develOped earlier, they soon become clouded
over for both the student and the teacher, with the immedi-
ate, individual problems connected with the project. The
content of the course is then drawn from what the teacher
knows, and what the student needs to know in order to
complete his project.

In building a curriculum four main areas are important:
determining the objectives, selecting the content, organizing
the instruction, and evaluating the results. If the

3O

objectives have been determined, then the next step is to
determine what is to be taught. If industrial arts is con-
cerned with the productive enterprise of man, from this,

then, the content is derived--the present day industrial
technology. Industrial arts courses are generally named
after materials or areas of industry: woodworking, metal-
working, ceramics, graphic arts, power'mechanics, etc. The
teachers in these areas need to survey the field in which they
are teaching in order to determine its essential features,

and to organize this material into some logical and convenient

form.
Selection of_Content

Surveys may be organized in a number of different
ways. The following are some examples of outlines that have

been used to organize materials gathered for a survey.

Surge: 2f the Wood Industry
I. Organization and Operation of Wood Industries

II. Trees to Consumer Products
III. Processes in the Wood Industry
IT. Tools of the Industry

V. Materials of the Industry

VI. Occupations in the Industry

VII. Research and Problems

31

G h c t ndustrie

I. Organization
II. Occupations

III. Tools

IV. Materials
V. Processes

VI. Products

VII. Problems

A Survey of‘Maggetism and Electricity

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

A rv of heMt

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

Milestones in Electricity and Magnetism
Fbrces Met with in Electricity and Magnetism
How Electricity is Made

Electrical Measurements

Control and Transportation of Electricity
How Electricity is Used

Electrical Safety

Employment Pessibilities

ndu
History of Metals

The Kinds of Metals
Sources of Raw Materials
Mining of Raw Materials
Smelting (ferrous)
Smelting (non-ferrous)
Alloying of Metals

32

VIII. From Smelter to Semi-finished Product
IX. Manufacturing Methods and Tools
X. Metal Industries
XI. Occupations Involved
XII. Occupational Opportunities
XIII. Industrial Associations
XIV. Technical Publications

Survey of Power Mechanics

I. Air
. A. Design
B. Control

C. Propulsion
D. Socio-Economic

II. Marine
A. Design
B. Control

C. Propulsion
D. Socio-Economic

III. Land
A. Design
B. Control

C. PrOpulsion
D. Socio-Economic

IV. Space
A. Design
B. Control

C. PrOpulsion 2
D. -Socio-Economic 5

 

25These examples are taken from papers submitted by
students in a graduate curriculum class the author taught,
and from the files of Dr. Kenneth Brown, director of the
Industrial Arts Education Division, State University College
at Buffalo, New York. _

33

As teachers begin to look more closely at industrial
activities a whole new set of resources will have to be used
in order to survey an industry. Some selected sources of
information for an industrial survey are included in Appendix
I. As being a part of curriculum development, the survey
needs to be a continuous process of gathering information
and materials. Once the basic outline is set up, then new
additions may be made and incorporated into the basic
structure. One of the main contributions the survey may
make is to confront the teacher squarely with the question,
”Where do you draw your content?" The survey will actively
engage the teacher in answering this question.

More than books and magazines will have to be examined
to even partially complete a survey. Field trips will have
to be made by the teacher to industrial plants so that he
may talk to people working there. Some of the information
can be gathered by direct contact with people in industry,
and many valuable leads can be gained as to where to find
more information, or to learn about other aspects of the
industry.

Just to have a conglomerate of information and
materials included in a survey is only one part of developing
a curriculum. The instructional content should be selected

from the survey in terms of:

34

1. Objectives of the course, or of industrial arts

2. Time available for teaching

3. Maturity and ability of the learner

4. Facilities for teaching

Tyler identifies five principles in selecting learning

experiences:

1. The student must have experiences that give him
an opportunity to practice the kind of behavior
implied by the objective.

2. The learning experiences must be such that the
student obtains satisfactions from carrying on
the kind of behavior implied by the objectives.

3. The reactions desired in the experience are with-
in the range of possibility for the students
involved.

I A. There are many particular experiences that can be
used to attain the same educational objective.

5. The same learning experience will usually bring
about several outcomes.26
To select the content calls for some creative and
imaginative thinking. Patterns and trends must be recognized,
more important information must be separated from the trivia,

concepts,and generalizations must be identified, always with
the learner and the society in mind. If gathering the

26Ralph Tyler, c c e f Curric
t e on (Chicago: Universfty of Chicago Press, 1950;,

pp 0 2- e

 

35

information and materials is the job of a clerk and a
technician, then the selecting of the instructional content

is the job of a professional person. Choices that are.made
here will determine the importance of the subject matter and
the impact it will have upon the students. No amount of
showmanship can cover up archaic or trivial subject matter.
The selection of subject matter cannot be left solely to the
textbook writers or to professors in colleges and universities,
but each teacher will have to do some of this himself. It is
heped that in the future the literature in the industrial arts
field will be of more help to the teacher than it has been in
the past.

While instructional content is being selected, the
organization of this into a teachable pattern should be con-
sidered. As industrial arts is conceived there are two ways
in which this subject matter may be organized, around a pro-
ject, or around a unit. The project approach has been
briefly explained and since this is historically, and pre-
sently, the predominate pattern for organizing instruction,

no further details will be presented here.
Organization of Content

An approach that is not new, except that it has not
found widespread use by industrial arts teachers, is the

unit approach to teaching.

36

Though not the most widely followed, the most
generally approved organization of instruction today
is the unit plan. It is still in need of much re-
finement and further development, but its worth as
an instructional instrument is well founded in
practice.2
A problem of particular importance in teaching is the
organization of instruction. Traditionally, instruction has
been organized by 'lessons' or perhaps by textbook divisions
such as chapters, units, or parts. Teaching that is
organized in better conformance to principles of learning
includes related experiences in a basic division usually
called a 'unit of work,’ or 'unit of experience,‘ or 'in-
structional unit.’28
It may be necessary here to distinguish between some
different kinds of units. There are many different classifi-
cations that are proposed, but the two that run fairly con-
stant through most of the literature is the type used as a
source for many different kinds of situations and experi-
ences and the kind that is for a specific time, place, and
objective.
The :gggurce unit, or as it is sometimes called,
the source unit, is an organized plan of suggestions
centered around some problem, which serves as a source
of ideas for objectives, planning, learning experi-

ences, evaluation, activities, and materials to assist
the teacher in planning the teaching of a unit. -The

 

270thanel B. Smith, William Stanley, and J. Harlan
Shores, Fund cuts 0 Cur um D velo ment (Yonkers-on-
Hudson: World Book Co., 1950 , p. 55 .

28Saylor and Alexander, Curriculum Planning, p. 9.

37
resource unit contains far more suggestions than can
actually be used.

On the other hand, the teaching unit is the unit
as actually carried out with the children.29

The resource unit is derived from: (1) the objectives
or desired outcomes, (2) maturity of the pupils, (3) an area
of relevance to the learner, and (4) its relation to other
experiences of the learner. It must also be flexible in its
organization and development. The teaching unit is then de-
rived from the resource unit, many times with the interchange
of ideas between the teacher and the students through teacher-
pupil planning. The teaching unit may be as rigid and dog-
matic as any other type of teaching, but the organization
easily allows for other kinds of student-teacher relation-
ships.

The resource unit may be planned in different ways.
Most of the outlines are similar except for slight variations.
The steps indicated below are not rigid operations to perform,
but each step must be developed with all of the other parts
in mind.

The following general plan is taken from Anderson and
seems to be best adapted to the kinds of resource units that
would be developed in industrial arts.

 

29Anderson, P51%°1El°! and Progeduzg. 9; Cuzrigglgm
AERIQISIEBLs PD. 36 3 5.

I.

II.

38

General Plan for a Resource Unit

The Overview

This is a brief statement of the purpose and scope of
the unit. It should indicate the social significance

of the theme and its relation to pupil needs.

The Objectives
These should be put in behavioral terms of what is ex-

pected of the student. Objectives should be capable of
being evaluated and more should be listed than are
possible to be achieved in any one teaching unit.
These behavioral objectives may fall into the following
categories:
A. Attitudes
This is a mind set or a readiness to react to situ-
ations in a certain way.
B. Appreciations
This represents a feeling or awareness about the
value or significance of something.
0. Skills I
This is something a person.has learned to do with
ease and precision, either mentally or physically.
D. Understandings
Generalizations of experiences which are used as

guides to further experiences.

39

III. The pgvglgpgent Seguenge'

A sequence is necessary to provide a rich fund of re-

sources to which the teacher can refer in planning with

the group.

A. Approaches
This part of the resource unit needs to be as care-
fully planned as any of the others. This is a.means
of stimulating the interest of students in order to
expand the scape and breadth of their interests, or
of using their immediate environment asxansoppor-
tunity for beginning and introducing the theme.

B. Planning with the Class
The most helpful part here would be in how the
planning will be done, how the teacher will handle
and direct the pupil-teacher planning phase, if
there is to be one.

C. Probable Learning Experiences
There should be more learning experiences than the
teacher can possibly use. There should be some
endeavor to anticipate some of the problems that
might come up if these learning experiences are
used. These experiences should be directed toward

the accomplishment of the objectives.30

 

BoAnderson, in d P c dur ic um
W. 99- 36 ~79-

40

IV. Evaluation

Because this process comes toward the end of the unit
outline does not imply that procedures for measuring and
evaluating student progress comes at the end of the unit.
If objectives have been stated in terms of student be-
haviors, then it is much easier to incorporate the
measuring techniques and instruments as an integral part

of teaching the unit.

v. M

This should contain an extensive but well selected list
of references that may be useful to the students. There
may be a different bibliography for the teacher's use.
If the unit method of organizing instruction is used
to teach industrial arts, how will it differ from the present
practice of organizing instruction around a project? It
* would seem that the biggest difference would be that with a
unit there is a unity of experiences, or a theme, that can
be organized around an objective. Rather than have the stu-
dents design and construct a project where the teacher would
try to work in related information, an amount of time would
be set aside to concentrate on one or two particular behavior
changes desired.
To achieve an outcome such as 'the student will in-
creasingly develop original, creative designs' a unit could

be structured with this as the main theme or objective.

41

Each would know what was to be accomplished, and why it was
important to do so. Specific teaching methods could be
used, with all activities directed toward the outcome de-
sired. NOthing should be between the behaviors desired and
the suggested activities. Varied kinds of experiences are
appropriate within the unit, as opposed to the usual re-
striction that the individual project must be something use-
ful to take home. Some experimentation may be done where
the apparatus is later destroyed. Perhaps a scale model may
be made, or a group project may be appropriate.’ The ob-
jective is specifically 'to develop original creative de-
signs,‘ not 'to make a project.‘

These units are also flexible, changing from one grade
level or course to another by selecting different subject
matter and changing the techniques of teaching.

Each course will be examined with respect to ob-

jectives. The teaching guides will be developed
around major teaching units. This will provide for
flexibility as it becomes necessary in subsequent
years to shift units from one course to another or
in some way alter existing patterns in terms of
future plans . . . 1

Teachers may be as autocratic in using units as in
using projects, but the unit method of organizing instruction
can provide a framework for student-teacher planning.

. . they can encourage cooperative student-

teacher planning in identifying pertinent central
cores, ideas, or themes, in formulating objectives

 

31Micheels and Sommers, The Minnesota Plan {2:
Igdggtgigl Art! Teachg; Educatign, p. 30.

42

and in organizing and implementing suitable curricular
experiences. Another important value lies in the fact
that units of work and unit teaching may give the
learner an increasingly active and responsible role in
curriculum building and in the total learning process. 2

The unit method seems to be appropriate for industrial
arts for the following reasons:

1. Industrial arts teachers generally restrict their
activities to those that fit in with an indivi-
dual take-home project.

2. In so doing, several important objectives are
lost sight of, and are not taught.

3. By focusing attention on a few behavioral out-
comes at one time, the objectives of industrial
arts should become more meaningful in selecting
content and method.

Industrial arts, if it is oriented toward the ob-
jectives of general education, selects its content from our
dynamic industrial society and organizes this content around
a format that makes it effective for teaching and learning
and has the potential of fulfilling an important aspect of

a person's general education.

 

32Stephen Romine, Bu ld he Hi cho * i um
(New York: Ronald Press Co., 195%, p. 231.

CHAPTER III

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF MASS PRODUCTION

History of Mass Prgdugtigg

If industrial arts is to select its content from the
productive enterprise of man, then a glance at this aspect
of our society reveals some elements that stand out in bold
relief. The specialization of occupations, the bigness of
corporations, the reliance upon volume consumption, the im-
pact of governmental policies and spending, the standard-
ization of products, the rise of credit buying, and the
volume production of products are but a few industrial
themes that dominate the scene today.

In selecting content for industrial arts, rather than
for one particular course in industrial arts, a survey of
our society, rather than a survey of an industry will be
needed. In looking at the methods of producing consumer
goods one is struck with the necessity for producing pro-
ducts on a volume basis, and the techniques used in its
accomplishment. This chapter will attempt to explain the
background of mass production, how it relates to general
education and then more specifically how it may be utilized
and taught in industrial arts.

#3

#4

Mass production as a means of economically producing
similar items has an origin that undoubtedly dates far'back
before recorded history. Such a highly complex social organ-
ization as a.modern mass production industry does not suddenly
spring into existence. The techniques, understandings,
skills, and values that contribute to-a successful operation
have been built up for thousands of years. Analyzing some
of the ingredients that go into designing, producing, and
distributing a present day mass produced item points up the
sensitivity of the system. Each part is related and dependent
upon the other parts, so that the whole may function ef-
fectively. Tracing such concepts as precision, standard-
ization, interchangeability, specialization, mass communi-
cation, and distribution to their early recorded beginnings
is a rewarding task, for it lays a foundation for a better
understanding of the present day workings of modern industry.

Before 1.000 A.D.

During this time, great strides were taken in establish-
ing civilizations in many parts of the world. Our concern
here is for those inventions, developments, and concepts that
affected the lives of the people through the mechanic arts.
Some of the developments seem quite simple, in retrospect,
‘but yet a complex series of developments had to take place
before others could be completed. The Clepsydia, or water
clock, is one example. This is a device over which a heavenly

body had no direct control. It offered man an independence

45

he had not had before. This was a change from the natural
measurement of time to the arbitrary division of the day
into hours. "The instrument, in its primitive form, con-
sisted of two vessels. From one to the other water fell,
drop by drop, as the lower vessel filled, the water level not
hour marks on the inside."1 It had reached Rome in 159 8.0.
and spread throughout the Roman Empire. The later develop-
ments included weight-driven models which showed an under-
standing of gearing. People's lives became involved with
the measured time, and so a very direct relationship between
the technics and the behaviors and values of a society is
established.

Lewis Mumford summarizes a list of inventions that
existed before the Tenth Century.

Fire: its application in furnaces, ovens, kilns.
The simple machines: inclined plane, screw, etc.
Thread cord rope. Spinning and weaving. Advanced
agriculture, including irrigation, terrace-cultivation,
and soil regeneration (lapsed in Northern Europe).
Cattle breeding and the use of the horse for transport.
Glass-making, pottery-making, basket-making. Mining,
metallurgy and smithing, including the working of iron.
Power machines: water'mills, boats with sails,
probably windmills. Machine-tools: bow drills and
lathes. Handicraft tools with tempered metal cutting
edges. Paper. Water-clocks. Astronomy, mathematics,
physics, and the tradition of science. In Northern
Europe a scattered and somewhat decayed technological
tradition based on Rome; but South and East, from Spain
to China, an advanced and still active technology whose
ideas were filtering into the West and North through
traders, scholars, and soldiers.2

1Roger Burlingame, c rou d of Powe (New York:
Charles Scribners' Sons, 19igg, p. 15.

2Lewis Mumford, Tec n c d Civi i a 10 (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Co., 193 , p. 3 .

 

46

In 500 3.0., money had been produced by coining dies,
molten metal had been poured into hollowed-out stones, and
arrows were standardized to fit the same bow. Some of the
basic requirements for mass production were developed during
this time, in fact, much of what went on afterwards was only
a refinement of previous methods or putting together a differ-
ent relationship of ideas or techniques. Inventions, and
new discoveries are the combined work of much that has gone

on before, plus a small step forward.
1000 to 1865 A.D.

Our modern technology, as well as our social system,
was established during the period from 1000 to 1865 A.D.
Knowledge and information from scattered points around the
world were brought together, which made possible most of the
key inventions necessary to universalize the machine. ”This
complex reached its climax, technologically speaking, in the
17th century, with the foundation of experimental science,
laid on the basis of mathematics, accurate timing and exact
measurement."3

By the 16th century, Florence and Venice had long
established a money economy, bookkeeping, bills of exchange,
and letters of credit. This gave rise to the basis of
capitalism. Precision and standardization appeared in
military drill, in the formations and tactics of the army.

 

3M” p. m.

47

(hmtenberg's use of standardized movable type in printing in
1450 was one of the great developments of this era for not
onuy'did it provide for mass communication but the principle
involved influenced the production of other items. In Venice
in the 15th century the division of labor was perfected so
that as a new galley was launched, it went down the waterways
to be outfitted. Out of windows on both sides, men would
hand out supplies and small equipment so that by the time it
reached the end of the street, it was completely equipped.
Before 1700, gunpowder and the magnetic compass were
used by the Chinese, mechanical clocks were invented, cast
iron was developed, glass making was improved, iron drills
were used for'boring cannons, and Leonardo da Vinci made his
great contributions in such areas as centrifugal pumps,
rifled firearms, anti-friction roller bearings, universal
joints, spiral gears, and a standardized mass-produced house.
In the 18th century the rate of inventions and improve-
ments increased rapidly. The use of the scientific method
created a snowballing effect so that one invention begot many
more. Matt's steam engine would not have developed as rapidly
as it did without the assistance of James Black, a physicist
in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, who wedded science to in-
vention. A French watchmaker devised a lathe in about 1740
for cutting threads on small metal screws used in watches,
and early in the 18th century, Thomas Newcomen developed an

atmospheric steam pumping engine. The first large scale

43

demand ever made for absolutely standardized goods came in
this period when Louis XIV commissioned the textile industry
in France to outfit his army of 100,000 men in identical
uniforms. The big change in the 1700's was the Industrial
Revolution in England. Here was the start of our modern
industrialism, not technologically as much as economically
and socially. It is difficult to separate cause from effect
in the industrial revolution, for it is an interdependent
scheme. Some of the conditions of the times in England,
whether cause or effect, were: the sea trade bringing in
cotton and other raw materials, the change of peasants into
laborers by grouping small tracts of land into large holdings,
colonization which aided England to turn from agriculture to
industry, the laigggg:faizg philosophy of government which
made possible the exploitation of labor, increase in the
birth rate, great abundance of available labor, the increased
standardization in their society, capital being invested from
long distances, entrepreneur divorced from management, and
the setting up of codes that standardized industrial per-
formance. Hargreaves' "jenny” in 1770 made possible the
spinning of hundreds of threads at one time. These were
moved into the home and formed the "cottage" industry. Work
was done by the whole family at home. Richard Arkwright
first successfully applied power to the textile industry,
providing the link between artisan and engineer, between
cottage and factory, between haphazard handicraft and timed

machine fabrication.

49

The general unrest resulting from these factors
furnished a ready-made supply of cheap labor for the
mushrooming textile mills which followed the giant
growth of Watt's prodigy. From all over England,
low paid farm workers, vagabonds, paupers impelled by
the Poor Laws to rapid breeding, swarmed into the
already crowded towns. . . . It developed, however,
that by the time parents had discovered what the
factories did to their children, the rise of living
costs had made it necessgry for the whole family to
work to support itself. By 1815, when Waterloo ended
the wars, the vicious circle was complete: all but
the very youngest children working thirteen hours a
day and the parents breeding more to increase the
family subsistence.‘

In 1785, Le Blane, in France, used techniques of
interchangeability in constructing muskets. Still, in the
18th century, Henry Maudslay of Woolrich, England, converted
the lathe from being part tool to all machine by perfecting
the slide rest and incorporating the lead screw principle '
for cutting threads. Apprenticeships were decreasing because
of the rise in unskilled labor, through the factory system.
And so, in the 1700's, there were uses and abuses of some
of the refinements and techniques learned in the attempt to
produce goods efficiently.

The scene shifts in the early 19th century to America.
Sam Slater, a migrant English apprentice who had worked in an
Arkwright factory, transplanted the textile industry to the
(United States. Eli Whitney was given a contract in 1798 to
produce 10,000 muskets in two years for the United States
government. He did not fulfill the contract until-four years

 

4Roger Burlingame, B c ~ nd of P s (New York:
Charles Scribners' Sons, 19 9 , p. 52.

50

later for he had to build special machines, develop jigs,
standardize and make each part accurately, and use unskilled
workers doing simplified operations. This was the most
complicated, and most successful endeavor in mass producing;
a manufactured article up to this time. This opened the
flood gates to the tremendous production that is still rising
in America, and the rest of the world.

The flow westward of skilled Workers made necessary
their replacement by machines, the bigness of America demanded
quantity: wagons, firearms, plows, reapers, clothes, saws,
nails, hinges, everything that the people needed to conquer
the frontier. There also seemed to be unlimited wealth, ‘
freedom of thought, a growing and diversified market, and a
demand for social democracy, that could only be met by using
manufacturing methods pioneered by Eli Whitney. Standardizing
parts, making each part accurately by using special tools,
machinery, and jigs guaranteed the interchangeability which
American growth needed.

For*example, Eli Terry and Chauncey Jerome installed
Whitney's system in their clock factory in Connecticut. In
1803, they had sold four wooden clocks at $25.00 each, but
in the years 1807 to 1810 they produced 5,000 clocks at
$5.00 each. One of the catalysts of all mass production is
mass communication. By 1830 the penny press, with its speed
and distribution, became necessary to standardize thought

through advertising in order to get a mass market. Many

51

things were gained from foreign inventors and suppliers
during this period; there was almost no steel produced in
Americaeven up to 1850, Joseph Clement of England built a
machine to plane metal surfaces, the Glonet brothers of
France used this to plane the teeth of gears, and Palmer of
France produced a more accurate micrometer. What Americans
did learn they put to good use. Samuel Colt first had the
Whitney factory produce his famous pistol, then when the
job was finished the machinery became Colt's preperty. He
hired Elisha Root, who formerly had made axes, to set up a
new factory for the production of these guns, and by 1856 was
producing 24,053 pistols a year. In 1832, a Massachusetts
shoe manufacturer took another step toward making the worker
a human cog in a mass production sequence. He divided the
shoemaking operations into such simple operations that one
man could hardly know what went on before or after his own
operation. In the 1850's, the yard and inch were standardized.
The first successful process leading to the inexpensive, large-
scale production of steel was invented in Kentucky in 1847
by William Kelly, but it was not until 1870 that the Bessemer
process, imported from England, was utilized to any extent.
Cyrus McCormick, in 1850, knew how to produce his
reaper by the new system which automatically conveyed parts
through successive operations, and to distribute it in a
manner which was to become standard procedure for the 20th

century industrial system. He gave the reaper to farmers for

52

a token payment before the harvest, and waited for the rest
of his money until the farmer had sold his grain. He used
agents to get the sales and collect the money.

We have seen that, as techniques advanced, industry
demanded more and more consolidation. With the group-
ing of machines into sequences about a single power
source, the application of the interchanbeable parts
system, the division and subdivision of labor and the
wider acceptance of standards we have noted the chang-
ing pattern of production . . . we observed the dis-
appearance of small, scattered local units in favor of
large concentrated ones.

In 1860, the production of the sewing machine embodied
all the elements of mass production up to that time. It went
into quantity production by means of the interchangeable
parts system, it was distributed by agents and sold on the
installment plan. It was sold as a luxury item to the mass
of the people. And so by 1865, all of the elements needed
for modern mass production were there. More refinements
would take place, but there was a solid base of skills, know-

ledge, and values upon which to build.
1865 to the Present Time

The basic pattern that was set with the reaper and the
sewing machine is still evidenced today. Many refinements
and details have been filled in to make the system more
efficient than before 1865.

In 1887, Oliver Evans designed a flour milling sequence
that was wholly automatic from grain sack to flour sack, which

 

5mg” p. 191.

53

cut labor time in half and started the first "untouched by
human hands" production. The Blanchard profile lathe which
turned out irregular shapes, the development of the turret
lathe and the expansion of railroads to distribute the goods
all helped to move this concept forward. The organization of
the American Federation of Labor in 1886 to preserve craft
status and provide some social compensation for workers in
mass production industries, Carl Johansson, the Swedish
engineer, who produced gauge blocks in 1895 that were accu-
rate within four millionths of an inch, Frederick Taylor and
Frank Gilbreth who worked with stopwatch and motion picture
camera to make effective the human tools they had to work
with and so pioneer the "scientific management" movement, all
contributed to the flowering of mass production in the auto-
mobile industry during the early part of the 20th century.
R. E. Olds established the Olds Motor Vehicle Company
in Lansing, Michigan, in 1896. In 1899, it was moved to
Detroit where the first factory to be built in the United
States for the sole purpose of manufacturing automobiles was
built. The Olds curved-dash-one-cylinder runabout sold for
$650.00 in 1901, and 4,000 of them were produced that year.
The dramatic focal point of modern mass production falls,
however, on another automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford.
Here was a man, and his company, who profited from the past,
added a bit to the techniques and came up with a revolution.

The Ford carv had been purchased and assembled} for several

54

years using more conventional methods. It was not until 1913
that they started putting the whole car together, using new
and more efficient principles.

In the fall of 1913, they pulled a chassis along
the street beside the factory. Along the 250 foot
route, they had piles of parts stationed at intervals.
Six men walking beside the moving chassis picking up
parts at the stations and bolting them to the chassis.
Formerly, this process had taken fourteen hours but
this first experiment reduced the time to less than
six hours. Their next experiment was to mount the
wheels on the chassis and roll it down a channeled
track from one assembly station to the next. The next
logical step quickly followed--a mechanically driven
conveyor chain was installed to eliminate the hand
pushing, and the assembly time was reduced again from
6 hours to one hour and thirty minutes. From then on
the conveyors and overhead carriers multiplied, feed-
ing in the right material at the right time to each
station. The carrying and pushing were minimized and
"Model T's" came off the lines by the hundreds of
thousands.6

Many other things have to be taken into account to
see this operation as a revolution. Examples of these are

the production and cost figures of the Model T Ford.

Yeyr Pricg P u on
1909 - 10 #950 18,664 cars
1910 - 11 780 34.528 cars
1911~é 12 690 78,440 cars
1912 - 13 600 168,220 cars
1913 - 14 550 248,307 cars
1914 - 15 490 308,213 cars
1915 - 16 440 533.921 cars
1916 - 17 360 785,432 cars
1917 - 18 450 706,584 cars
1918 - 19 525 533,706 cars

(The above two years were war years and the factory
was in war work)

 

50harles F. Kettering and Allen Orth, An c Ba t
{ergrgrgyrgg (Detroit: General Motors, 1955), p. 7.

55

Year Price Proggctign
1919 - 20 3575 - 8440 996,660 cars
1920 - 21 .440 - ~355 1,250,000 cars7

By 1924, the price had dropped to 8290.00.

The great revolution of modern times, the only one i
that has essentially changed the forms of society, was
carried out, not by Russia, but by America, without
fanfare, quietly, patiently, and laboriously, as a
field is plowed furrow by furrow. I consider 1914 a
momentous year in history, but not because it evokes
the tocsin and the war. For me, 1914 will always be
the year in which Henry Ford, by establishing the
eight-hour day and more than doubling wages at one
stroke, finally freed the worker from "proletarian"
servitude and lifted him above the "minimum subsistenc
wage" in which Capitalism had thought to imprison him.

And so Henry Ford had used his workers as customers,

had raised their wages, and reduced the price of his car so
that everyone could buy. The more he reduced the price, the
more people could afford to buy one and so, the more he would
sell. All of the time he was attempting to cut corners, re-
duce inefficiency, buy up new plants for production, and
plow profits back into the expansion of the company. He made
his product, the automobile, not a toy for the rich but a
workhorse of the masses. As such, he set sputtern that
people have tried to emulate ever since.

There are other people, other events in this era that

have improved on Ford's processes. When the second World War

demanded supplies and equipment not only to feed, cloths, and

 

7Henry Ford, Lif an W k (Garden City: Doubleday,
Page and Co., 1923), p. 1 5.

8R. L. Bruckberger, Imggg o; Amgr;ca (New YOrk: Viking
Press, 1959); PP. 196-7.

56

are our Armies but the rest of the free world, America had

the "know how" of engineers, designers, production men,
managers, and workers to accomplish the job. Men like
William Knudsen, Donald Nelson, Henry Krueger, and Charles
Sorenson, were examples of men who could get things done.

The reason was that America was "tooled up” for production;

it was geared to go. It had the mass communications, the
mass distribution and transportation, the skills of millions
of people, the production techniques, and the trained managers
to do the job.

But World War II caused a dramatic change. The
ending of wartime restrictions on raw materials, the
redirection of an expanded industrial complex, the
yearning of a product-starved public, fat with en-
forced savings, unleashed a tremendous buying spree
which exhausted inventories faster than they could
be amassed. The process of beating swords into plowb
shares produced an economic explosion fanned by the
burgeoning plastics industry, the maturity of
ehectronics, the growth of rocketry and a.host of
other factors. Coupled with this and arising perhaps
from somewhat different causes, the cost of labor
roared up out of the 30-cents- -hour bracket that
seems fantastic by comparison.

Looking at the production techniques since the end of
world War II, one is always drawn to the word "automation."
Because of conditions described by Hawley above, the next
step for manufacturing industries was to become more auto-
matic. In order to reduce direct labor costs, and meet the
increased demands for goods, the simple repetitive operations,

the material handling, and inspection were areas that seemed

9George Hawley, A to a i M u tn 1
(New York: Reinhold Publishing Co., 1959 . p. 2.

 

57

to most easily convert from people to machines.

Automation has been described in several ways:
". . . the latest type of assembly-line techniques,"1o
". . . both automatic operation and the process of making
things automatic,"11 and ". . . rather an executive function,
an administrative attitude, than any particular'characteristic
or machines."12

The history of automation goes back to Oliver Evans'
continuous process flour mill in 1784, Watts' invention of
the flyball governor for a steam engine in 1788, Joseph
Jacquartds' punch card automatic loom in 1801, and automatic
biscuit making by the British Navy in 1833. So, automation
is not something entirely new and different. Many people
have been living with it for years: for instance, the thermo-
static control of furnaces. However, industry has dramatized
it and developed it to a more complex form than before. The
use of computers and memory machines, programmed tapes for
repetitive machine operations, the continuous, integrated
automatic completion of a series of operations, the electronic
relays and transistors, and the use of the concept of feedback,
are some of the technological advances necessary for industries

to automate.

 

1oCarl Dreher, Automgymg (New York: W. W. Norton Co.,
1957). p. 18.

11George Hawley, Autgma§;rg tre Manrgggygrigg grgcegg,

p. 3.
12Ibid., p. 3.

58

There will continue to be improvements in the effici-
ent use of human beings, and so the efficient production of
goods. These improvements, as in the past, will be slow and
irregular, developing spurts and leveling off, but the
general direction will be toward more efficiency and a
higher standard of living. Because of the increased rate of
change, the psychological, moral, and social problems created
by increased technological advances are magnified.

Mass production, then, combines mechanical techniques:
precision, standardization, interchangeability, synchron-
ization, and continuity with a social organization of workers
headed by professional managers. Through specialization and
integration all contribute a share toward the finished pro-
duct, that, through mass communications and mass distribution
can be brought and sold, to the public that is convinced it

needs it.

Re 0 shi s M s P u tion to G ner Educa 10

General education may be described as an effort to
substitute a new unity for the fragments of knowledge into
which the curriculum has disintegrated. It is that part of
education which prepares youth to deal with the personal and
social problems with which all men are confronted in a demo-
cratic society. It also develops each individual to his
maximum, consistent with the general good, and prepares the
~student for a full and satisfying life as a person, as a

member of a family, as a worker, and as a citizen.

59

Certainly there are many relationships and points of
contact here between this definition and the concept of mass
production develOped in the previous section. Three approaches
will be used to show different ways of looking at this re-
lationship. The first will be based upon the Educational
Policies Commission's Egucagior 229 Econgmic Wg;;-Beirg in
Ame an o c .

The next will be taken from Will French's W
W222; and th. 1481? will
be a breakdown of subjects and the implications for develop-

ing the concept of mass production.
Educational Policies Commission

The Educational Policies Commission, appointed by the
National Education Association, brought out a book in 1940
that attempted to link more closely the educational endeavors
with the society that supported it. Two forces were at work
that influenced this study. One was that education in
America was feeling the brunt of the mass of students that
were to be educated through the high schools. If all the
children of all the people were to be educated, then some-
thing other than the traditional college preparatory curriculum
would have to be devised. The other force was that this book,
coming during and immediately after the depression of the
1930's, reflected the feeling on the part of many people

that the way to prevent further economic catastrOphies was to

60

more closely link education with the economic and productive

systems Of the country. These concepts of ecOnomics and

production could not only be for those people destined for

influential postions, but it was the Commission's position

that as many members as possible in a society should under-

stand these principles. And so these two forces met and

combined into a study that is still important today.

The following statements are chapter headings and sub-

titles the Commission used tO outline its prOposals.
I. Egyggylog 3rd Prgdugtivity in American Econory

A.

D.

Intelligence and efficiency of labor vitally
affect economic production.

Educational Opportunity encourages the worker
to rise through personal effort.

General and specialized training increase the

efficiency Of labor.

.Education increases productivity by promoting

occupational mobility.

Health education has significant economic
effects.

Educated man-power is a perishable resource.
The conservation of natural resources is im-
portant to production.

Education increases the economic possibilities

of conservation.

II.

I.

K.

L.

61

Science and education significantly contri-
bute to develOpment capital.

Management is a crucial factor in modern
economy.

Education contributes to effectiveness Of
management.

Education significantly affects all factors
of production.

Statistical evidence indicates relation of
education and productivity.

The cumulative influence of education is most

important.

Kind of General Educrtign {or Economig Well-Beirg

A.

C.

F.

Education should develop broad social intelli-
gence on economic problems.

Education should aim at better understanding
of industrial relations.

Development of cOOperative attitudes tends to
increase economic well-being.

Education should further raise the level of
general mechanical competency.

Education should further encourage scientific
competency.

The schools should give greater attention to

the education of the consumer.

62

The educated consumer possesses high standards
of value and taste.

Specific training in major areas of expendi-
ture is essential.

There is need for better understanding of the
significance of public expenditures.

Education is needed for wiser savings.

The educated consumer is sensitive to his

social responsibilities.

III. Klng of Occupational Educatign for Ecgnomic Well-

Being

A.

F.

Occupational education should be based on
economic and vocational trends.

Manufacturing requires more skilled and semi-
skilled than unskilled workers.

Many industrial jobs now require little formal
vocational training.

The proportion of all workers possessing
skill and technical knowledge is increasing.
Occupational education should take account Of
important social trends.

Facilities should be provided for presenting

Occupational obsolescence.33

 

13Educational Policies Commission, Edu atio d
Economic W l-Bei in Amer c D mocrac (Washington, D.C.:
National Education Association, 19 .

63

The preceding outline is an analysis of one segment
of our lives, economic well-being, and its relationship to
education. This is not another course, or a text book, but
an attempt to coordinate the activities of the school with
problems that are facing our society, and the individuals
within it. This relationship can be achieved in almost all
Of the traditional courses that go to make up the curriculum
of the contemporary school. Each subject needs to take
steps to incorporate the appropriate content from the sug-
gested list into their course Offerings so that this area Of
concern does not get lost and neglected because there is not

a course entitled, "Economics and Production."
Will French and Associates

The next method used to show some of the relationships
between mass production and general education is within the
framework proposed in the book, Beha 1 rs O n

Egggayigg in High Sghool, published in 1957. This book is

the result Of interest in an earlier work under similar
sponsorship, E;§r§rtary Schogl Opjegtivey, and also a need for
a comprehensive work on the high school level that could

give some direction and help to educators and laymen. This
study was undertaken under the joint sponsorship of the
Russell Sage Foundation, the National Association of Secondary
School Principals, and the Educational Testing Service. The

executive editor, Dr. Will French, organized three main

64

committees to assist in the develOpment Of this study. The
Committee of Consultants, made up Of leading educators,
developed lists of behavioral outcomes under three areas of
living; growth toward self-realization, growth toward desir-
able interpersonal relations in small groups, and growth to-
ward effective membership or leadership in large organiz-
ations. The Committee of Advisors, composed of interested
citizens, advised the consultants in light of public needs.
The Committee of Reviewers, made up of teachers, administrators,
psychologists, and curriculum specialists, examined the be-
havioral outcomes as proposed by the consultants with the
needs Of the learner constantly in mind.

The following are some of the behavioral outcomes that
these pOOple proposed as being important for educators to
consider in developing appropriate curriculum materials or in

evaluating a school.14

I. Growing toward Self-Realization
1. Roads and interprets the graphs, charts, tables,
road and other maps encountered in newspapers,
magazines, and other printed matter.
2. Takes increasing pride in his workmanship.
3. Recognizes mathematics as a way of thinking and
speaking about quantities, measures, amounts,

sizes, and quantitative relationships.

 

1"These are taken from Will French, thhviOrh; 322;!

9f nggral Edugahion in High School. These are scattered
through pp. 92-213.

10.

11.

12.

55

Achieves a considerable degree of skill in one
or in a few activities and seeks to become more
adopt in them.

Respects and uses with understanding the
scientific method for discovering solutions to
problems.

Shows at least a general understanding of con-
temporary American society, the heritage which

it carries, the historical roots of this heritage,
and the major unsolved social problems with which
it is confronted.

Understands some of the principle differences
between our economic system and the economic
systems of other nations.

Has some understanding of the materials, pro-
cesses, tools, and the principle classes of
manufactured products in our industrial world.
Visits industries and laboratories to see science
in action and to find answers to his questions.
Shows growing ability to select the things he
buys for their beauty as well as their usefulness.
Appreciates good workmanship and design in com-
mercial products.

Knows and understands the purposes of and obeys
safety laws, rules, and regulations which apply
to his everyday life at home, at work, and at

play.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

66

Utilizes many resources for gaining some first-
hand information about the vocations in which he
might be interested: observation Of workers,
visits to factories, conferences with counselors,
teachers, reading, tests, films, etc.

Has formulated some criteria for a choice of an
occupation, taking into account earnings,
prestige, intrinsic interest, service, security,
fringe benefits, promotional opportunities,
safety, health factors, etc.

Is learning to estimate details of a job, to use
the basic tools and equipment, to plan how the
work should be done, and to be responsible for
the quality Of his own work if his choice of
vocation requires these abilities.

Is growing in his appreciation of the importance
of ethical principles in vocational relation-
ships.

Accepts the idea that work is a central function
of human life.

Develops a code of business ethics which includes
a fair price, honest product, fair standards of
working conditions, and fair hours of labor.
Understands the simple economic facts of con-
sumer economics; e.g., the factor of supply and

demand, markups and discounts, charge accounts,

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

67

consumers' cOOperatives, stocks and bonds, ef-
fects on economy of installment buying.

Acquires increasing knowledge of how to purchase
and use goods and services intelligently, under-
standing both the values received by consumers
and the economic consequences of their acts.
Recognized what has happened to major economic
areas (agriculture, industry, etc.) because of
advances in technology and research.

Appreciate to some extent the relations between
population, resources, technology, stable em-
ployment, trained manpower, national peace, free
labor, and economic prosperity.

Appreciates the need for new markets abroad, new
products, new local demands, more earnings widely
distributed to increase production; and the
necessity for allowing foreign products to be
sold in this country.

Is familiar in general with the productive and
distributive system for goods and services.
Studies current problems of production, con-
sumption and distribution of natural resources
as a way of becoming more intelligently
participative in the work-life of the world.

68

II. Growing in Ability to Maintain Desirable Small (Face-To-

Face) Group Relationships

1.

10.

Works cooperatively with other members of the
groups which he belongs and strives for good
human relations in the group.

Respects the rights and decisions of others in
group work.

Uses prOperly and keeps in good order the tools
and equipment shared by a class or other group to
which he belongs.

Is prompt, cooperative, and generally compliant
in carrying out reasonable instructions on a Job.
Is reliable in doing a Job even when unsupervised.
Does not merely make a pretense of working.

Feels responsible for giving a good day's work for
a day's pay.

Has an attitude of responsibility toward his
work which others in the group can count on.

Has learned how to make a report of his work-
results with clarity and simplicity.

Is learning how to give criticism directly to
people pleasantly and in terms they understand
and accept.

Knows why labor has the right to organize and

bargain collectively and favors it.

69

III. Growing in Ability to Maintain the Relationships

Imposed by Membership in Large Organizations

1.

2.

3.

Appreciates the struggles, sacrifices, and achieve-
ments of the courageous and freedom-loving peeple
who made our nation possible and built it into

the great nation it is today.

Recognizes that differences in geographic environ-
ment and/or methods of production account for
differences in levels of living in different times
and places; e.g., in the United States today versus
the United States circa 1850, in the United States
today versus Egypt today.

Appreciates the achievements of science and tech-
nology in discovering new sources for the materials
we.are already using, in finding new and more ef-
ficient ways of extracting resources from known
deposits, in finding uses for materials known but
not usable, and in discovering and creating new
resources.

Is able to discuss some of the principal issues

of organization, management, and control of pro-
duction, distribution, and consumption of goods

and services in a technical age.

Studies the changes that the past fifty years have
shown in the nature of consumer goods and in manu-

facturing, and in the nature of employment.

7O

6. Appreciates something of the impact of unemploy-
ment and overproduction on economic conditions.

7. Recognizes the advantages to the public of big
business, such as efficiency of mass production
methods, technological progress through research,
patent laws, control of raw material supplies,
and advantages inherent in volume of purchase and
sales.

8. Has visited, or read about, and so understands
something of the operations of a large industrial
organization, and of a large labor organization.

These, then, are some of the behavioral outcomes pro-

posed for general education in the high school that would
seem to overlap objectives for understanding the development,
techniques, and implications of mass production. No one
course or unit would hope to cover'but a few of the behaviors
listed, but if these are deemed important behaviors for
citizens to manifest, then somewhere during their high school
years students should be exposed to experiences that would

help to bring about these behaviors.
Subject Areas

The third framework that will be explored will be to
take a number of separate subjects and see how each one may
contribute to an awareness on the part of the student of con-

cepts involved in mass production. The relationships

71

indicated will usually be gross and obvious ones, but will
serve to draw some lines between individual subjects that
usually are associated with general education, and knowledge,
skills and understanding that contribute to the area of mass

production.

Agriculture

Here the students can recognize what has happened to
a major employment area because of advances in technology
and research. They also work with materials and tools and

study an industry for its structure, economics, and techniques.

Art

The ability to select products for beauty as well as
usefulness and to possess high standards of value and taste
in consumer products is certainly one of the main objectives
of the area of art. This also contributes toward the stu-
dent's understanding and improvement of our modern tech-
nology. The combining of an esthetically useful product with
one that can be successfully produced and marketed is certainly
a challenge for art educators to meet, and one that involves
essential elements of both mass production and general edu-

cation.

Bugingss Egucgtion

The business and economic facets of American life are

certainly becoming more complex. Developing the simple

economic facts of supply and demand, charge accounts, stocks

72

and bonds, and installment buying all are necessary to an
understanding of our economy. Developing a code of business
ethics is much more difficult, but one that business education

cannot ignore.

English
The ability to effectively communicate, both in writ-

ing and speaking, is an important requisite for any job,
but all the more so in a beaurocratically organized indus-
trial system. The dependency of different parts of a mass
production system to all the other parts is predicated upon
the assumption that each part will know what, when, and how
the other parts Operate. This is done mostly by people
writing and reading, talking and listening. How effective
the people do this will to a great extent determine how ef-

fective the system operates.

r i L e
This is an area that has gained in importance and
papularity in the last few years. The study of a foreign
language can help students understand the varying economic
and social conditions in different parts of the world, and
so to see America in a perspective that would otherwise be

impossible.

Homemaking

This area has always concerned itself with consumer

values. The process by which a choice is made and information

73

and techniques to support this choice is an important area
of living in a land where the people are continually being
presented with conflicting claims, high pressure sales, and
’the ease of installment buying. Intelligent consumption is
one of the most important brakes on our economy, for it
weeds out unnecessary and incompetent products, to make room

for a better designed and constructed product.

Mathematics
To be able to think about quantitive relationships

and to read and interpret graphs and charts are skills that
are important for the understanding and participation in our
technological society. Because so much of our life revolves
around mathematics, the understanding of these concepts are

a vital part of an intelligent workman.

Physigg; Education
This area offers the possibility of producing experi-

ences for students to develop cooperative attitudes. This
is an attitude that is necessary for the successful inte-
gration and continuity in a work force. There is a need for
cooperation on all levels, and this can never be just left
to chance, it has to be taught somewhere, and in physical

education, there are situations where this is possible.

zhygicgl Sciences
The importance of the scientific method, broadly con-

ceived, to the rise of our technology is of inestimable value,

74

so this relationship should be known and understood. This
is true not only for the understanding of the causes of our
present position, but also to develop the techniques to keep
it moving forward.

Sogial Studies

If one is to understand and effectively live in an
industrialized society then the knowledge of their con-
temporary society, its historical roots, unsolved problems
created by industrialization, and a sensitivity to social
responsibilities are essential areas of concern. These also
happen to be important segments of content in the social

studies curricula in most American high schools.

grade and Industrial Education

There may be some difference of opinion as to the
status of trade and industrial education as a part of general
education, but as it contributes to raising the level of
general mechanical competencies of students and allows them
to achieve a degree of skill in an activity, then it is
contributing to general education and so to the concept of
mass production. The industrial materials, tools, and set-
ting that the laboratories provide cannot be discounted as
having an influence in this direction.

A complex industrialized society demands many talents,
knowledge, and understandings from its citizens. The indus-

trial aspect that produces products by what is called mass

75

production is an integral part of such a system. General
education is society's attempt to inculcate all of its mem-
bers with some common learnings as well as individual skills.
Education has the responsibility of acknowledging such an
important concept as mass production. There are many ways
this can be accomplished and some of these have been explored
in this section. How it is accomplished is not important,
but whether it is or not becomes increasingly crucial. This
is not something that can be left to chance, something that
will rub off or that students can pick up somewhere. The
implications of increased industrialization or automation are
apparent to everyone who has looked at the present situation,
so that an intelligent mass of citizens will be necessary if
Big Government, Big Business, Big Labor, or Big Something
suggests answers or alternative solutions that will need to
be acted upon.

There is ample evidence to support a very dynamic and
crucial relationship between mass production and general edu-
cation. The next section will suggest how one subject matter
area, industrial arts, can address itself and contribute to
the solution of this problem: how to create a more informed
and more intelligent citizen in one aspect of the industrial
democracy within which he lives, the implications of mass

production.

76

Mass Productian in Iadustrial Arts

Previously a connection between mass production and
general education was established. The question now is,

”What contribution can industrial arts make to this endeavor?"
Dr. George Keane,after studying this question, says:
Participation in mass production activities and the

study of their influences on our arts and social in-
stitutions is suggested as content of general education,
and it is also advocated as method for achieving goals
in citizenship, vocational adjustment, learning tools,

and ethical develOpment. Production is suggested as a

augriculum poo , helping to integrate through experience
a variety of activities and knowledge, particularly in

the secondary schools.15

It is difficult to separate content and method when
talking about mass production for it is at the same time a
method of teaching content. A teacher cannot teach mass pro-
duction techniques and concepts most effectively by using
individual projects as the method of instruction. The
individual project method does not lend itself to the content
of mass production. Then how is it to be organized? In a
previous section the unit method of teaching was deemed
appropriate to teaching industrial arts; a resource unit
follows which provides some examples of how a unit on mass

production might be taught.

 

15GeorgeKieane, Uaaerstanding Induatry Througa Pro-
daction - A Project in General Egucation New York: Columbia
195 2.

University, 9 Po

77
Resource Unit on Mass Production in Industrial Arts

I. Overview

The purpose of this unit is to provide experiences for
students to better understand the techniques, place, and pur-
pose of mass production in our society. This is increasingly
becoming important because of the highly complex nature of
our technology, the isolation of young people from the world
of work, and the necessity for intelligent citizens and
workers to participate in the maintenance and development of
our industrial democracy.

Industrial arts is uniquely equipped to handle and
carry on this kind of learning experience. The media that
are ordinarily dealt with are industrial materials, and most
of the physical facilities are adequate for the job. The
teachers generally have the basic skills and knowledge upon
which to build an understanding of the importance and
organization of this kind of a unit.

The scope of the unit is limited only by the impli-
cations of our technology. It generally includes the de-
signing and engineering of a product, tooling up to produce
it, the production of a number of items on an assembly line
basis, and the distribution of the item. This sequence pro-
vides an enormous number of learning experiences and situ-

ations where significant learning can take place.

78

II. Objecgives
The following list is merely illustrative, to give some

ideas as to the direction this unit could go. Objectives
should not be chosen because they are the easiest or most
convenient, but should fit into the general objectives of
industrial arts in the school system. These should be se-
lected because of the needs of students and of society. The
objectives that are selected will determine the direction of
the unit, as decisions will have to be made in terms of the
objectives in order to remain consistent and to continue in
the general direction that has been decided.‘ The intelligent
choice of objectives cannot be too strongly recommended.

A. Attigudes

1. works cooperatively with other members of the
group to which he belongs.

2. Seeks out new information in order to better
understand the interworkings of industry and
its relationship to our society.

3. Deve10ps a group spirit and loyalty.

4. Assumes and discharges leadership responsi-
bilities.

S. Accepts assignments and responsibilities from

leaders within the group.

B. Agazeciations
1. Appreciates good workmanship and design in

commercial products.

G.

D.

79

Appreciates the achievement of science and
technology in discovering new sources of
materials, and in finding new uses for
materials.

Appreciates the skills involved, and the occu-
pations necessary to successfully design,
produce, and distribute a product.

Appreciates the importance of each person in
an industrial organization, and the necessity

for each to do a quality job.

Skills

1.

2.

Achieves a considerable degree of skill in
one or more activities and seeks to become
more adept in them.

Is able to use the methods of science in solv-
ing problems.

Is able to design a product that could be

successfully mass produced.

Uaderstandiags

1.

2.

Shows at least a general understanding of
contemporary American industrial society,

the historical roots of this heritage, and
some problems it creates.

Has some understanding of the materials, pro-
cesses, and tools used in manufactured pro-

ducts in our industrial world.

80

3. Is able to discuss some of the principle
issues of organization, management, and con-
trol of production, distribution, and con-
sumption of goods and services in a technical
age.

4. Understands the process by which a product has
to be designed, engineered, tooled up, and pro-
duced in order to be mass produced and mass

consumed.

III. Develaamental Seguences

A.

Introduciag the Unit
Generally, the introductory phase is used to relate

the theme of the unit into the lives of the stu-
dents, so that it will have meaning for them. This
cannot be accomplished by the teacher telling the
students to "go ahead and do it, you will need this
some day." It is a difficult assignment to inte-
grate into the lives of junior-senior high school
students information, ideas, and concepts that are
meaningful to the student, yet something adults have
decided is necessary to know or understand. With-
out rapport much of what both teachers and students
do is wasted effort.. The introduction should not
be slighted or taken for granted, but must be pre-

planned and organized if any further results are to

81

be expected. The following might strive to stimulate

interest initially:

1. Speaker from industry, labor and/or management

2. Film on productivity, technology, or mass pro-
duction.

3. Field trips to an industry

A. Reference to books, magazine articles, and free
materials

5.’ Lecture, discussion by teacher and students

6. Teacher outlines why this is important

7. Student reports on implications of science, economic
system, how products are produced, etc.

Planniag

By this time some general questions should be answered

and the general direction of the unit outlined. The plan-

ning stage, as Opposed to the production phase, will

usually take somewhat longer than students normally ex-

pect, but the engineering and organization phase is part

of what they should learn about mass production. This

phase should be discussed so that they are constantly

aware of what stage they are in and why it is necessary

to perform these operations. Some of the questions might

be:

1. About how long will this unit last?

2. AWhat are the objectives for this unit?

3. What will be some of the activities involved?

C.

82

4. How will the students get started?

5. What will be the role of the teacher?

6. How is the product to be distributed?

7. How are materials to be purchased? '

Ozganiziag fog Productign D

No matter what kind of a product is made, or how it is

produced, some sort of an organization will be necessary.

The organization can take shape through one or a combi-

nation of these?

1. Teacher assign stations and responsibilities

2. Teacher chooses tOp management officials and works
with them in making other assignments.

3. Students vote on top management, then each of those
elected officials designates his choice of men to
work with.

4. Students choose job and present their qualifications
for the position to a committee, which then select
an apprOpriate student for each job.

The organizational chart that results should evolve
from the job that is to be done and the people who are
available to do it. For instance, if the product is to
be used in the school, then no sales force is needed.

If the parts need close tolerances, then more inspectors

will have to be provided. No one standard form can be

devised to accommodate the many different situations

that could develop. The degree of specialization that

D.

83

is built into the personnel organization will depend

upon the complexity of the product plus the age level and

abilities of the students. Generally, the working force
should be kept flexible because certain segments of the
production procedure demand more workers for a short
period of time. A student may be a foreman in the
engineering phase and a worker during the finishing oper-
ations.-

Creatiag the Idea

The idea or'the product may come from a number of differ-

ent sources in several different ways.

1. The teacher shows the class what they are to make.

2. Committees are formed to make recommendations as to
possible projects for a specific segment of the
pOpulation. .

3. Each individual in the class submits a plan of a
project and the group votes on one, or management
officials may choose one.

4. The teacher may suggest several alternatives, stu-
dents submit designs, prototypes are made, and one
of them picked.

5. Ideas may come from a magazine, another person, or a
commercial product.

6. The product may be something that the class can make
for the school or give away at Christmas to an

orphanage or children's home.

F.

84

Designing and ngviag ngtotype

After a product is chosen a model is made, either full
size or to scale, to look as much like the final version
as possible. Also included would be an introduction to
customer research and cost accounting. Feasibility of
production should also be taken into consideration.
Several prototypes of different ideas may be made and pre-
sented to the whole class for consideration. These may
be different versions of the same idea with judges
selecting the most appropriate. Small groups of students
could work on different models so that the time can be
shortened and more students get some experiences in model
making. These groups may be working simultaneously and
one model selected after all have been presented. The
manpower usually available in a class would not justify
tooling up for more than one product at a time. By this
time, however, there should be enough jobs to keep almost
everyone busy on the one product.

Tooling up for Production

A small group may be responsible for developing the jigs
for production or one person may be in charge and then
bring in other workers as they are needed. Whichever
way it is done, the product must be broken down into its
component pieces and each Operation analyzed as to how

it may best be done with the facilities and workers that
are available. Those responsible for tooling must work

with those responsible for materials, training programs,

85

and quality control. If changes have to be made, they
will have to consult with the designers. Tooling is one
of the most important phases, one that can contribute
heavily to the realization of many of the objectives.
Students will have to be reminded that each operation,
although small and simple by itself, must be repeated
many times, and that parts cannot be hand fitted, but
must be accurate the first time. This is a difficult
concept to understand for students will have been ac-

customed to the "one of a kind" techniques.

Matarials and Timing

The students in this area must have the right material at
the right place at the right time. They will have to
work with those responsible for costs, jigs, and fix-
tures. The materials may be purchased by the class from
money raised from the sale of stocks or the school may be
used as a credit source. The teacher may provide some
clues as to where material may be purchased or students
could make recommendations. A layout of the shop should
be made to show where tools, benches, and stations are,
as well as the flow of material from start to finish.

R r Pu c t nd Sales

About this time a record system and sales must be con-
sidered. Record forms can be designed and kept by a
business class in the school or by students within the

industrial arts class. Records may be kept of hours put

86

in by various class members on various jobs, of number of
pieces produced in an hour or a day, number of rejects,
time of certain operations, number sold, amount of money
received, amount of money paid out, probable profit, pro-
gress of individuals or groups toward their goal, as well
as employee suggestions.

As soon as the prototype is approved for production,
publicity should start. There may be two forms of pub-
licity-~that publicizing the mass production unit itself
and that promoting the sale of the product. The school
and local papers are usually a good outlet. Pictures may
be taken to add to the effectiveness of the article. If
the product is to be sold, local stores may cooperate by
buying some wholesale, or by putting posters or models
in their window. The administration, school board,
other teachers, parents, or other classes may be invited
to watch the dramatic final assembly. Complimentary
gifts may be presented to appropriate people at a school
function. If products are to be given away or are being
made for the school, some simple ceremony should be used
and perhaps recorded on film.

If there is to be a sales force, it should start
early with its customer research to determine how many
may be sold. The number produced should not solely be
determined by sales potential since it must be remembered
that this is an educational experience, profit being
secondary. When the educational application has been

J.

87

utilized, production should stop regardless of the amount
of orders. A tentative production figure should be
adapted early in the experience so that those responsible
for ordering the materials will be able to judge needed
quantities.

Training Program

Training personnel will have to work with everyone.

These are the middlemen, getting from the people who are
implementing the idea what needs to be done, and then
training the skilled workers who can do the job correctly.
Some of the jobs will be quite simple and almost self-
explanatory, but most workers will need some orientation
as to what they are to do, what has happened to the pro-
duct, and where it goes after it leaves them. To the
training peeple goes much of the responsibility for the
morale of the group, for if sloppy work continues or if
the workers fail to understand their importance, then
there will only be an aggregation of people doing different
jobs together and not a true working group. There may be
a need for a training program to train foreman and super-
visors. Drawings and directions may have to be made for
individual jobs so that if people move from one job to
another, the next person can fit in without extensive re-
training.

Dualiaatian of Parts

Parts may be made first and stockpiled for the final

assembly or they may be made up in sub-assemblies as they

88

are produced. The facilities available and the design
of the product will dictate which method is most feasible.
Sometimes it may take weeks of work to get to this point,
with everyone contributing something toward its success
or failure. If the parts are being made separately,
these will start to accumulate and provision must be
made to keep a record of the number produced as well as
a place of storage. Boxes or bags may be used so that
they are all together for the next operation. Sometimes
the operator of the machine or tool will check the
quality Of the piece after his Operation to be sent
either along the assembly line or>put in a reject or re-
claim pile. Sometimes every piece is checked and other
times only a sample of the total. If the organization
is large enough, special workers may be used to check on
the quality of the product.

Fi a semb

As has been indicated before, the final assembly may be
an extension of duplicating the parts or it may come as
a separate operation. The problem of storage and hand-
ling of parts is reduced if it is all in one sequence,
but sometimes this is not possible. The final assembly
should be broken down into as many operations as possible.
Every person should be busy during this time. If every-
one works, the pieces go together faster and come off

the line faster, which makes for a very dramatic event.

89

In one hour's time, weeks Of working and planning may be
culminated. As the workers get more adept at their Oper-
ation, a real group spirit may be manifested that would
be almost impossible to achieve in any other way. If
everyone has done a good job, then the line will run
smoothly, but preparations must be made for a few diffi-
culties by having a few trouble shooters available. A
problem sometimes arises as to how much or how many inter-
ruptions can be made during this time. Consideration must
again be given to objectives so that if one of them is to
have the students get the feel of a repetitive Operation
and develop a skill in it then there must be some un-
interrupted time when this can take place. However, at-
tention may be called to certain practices or procedures
that, because of the immediacy of the action, should be
commented on at this time.

FinisaiagI PackagiagI and Distribution

Many times the finishing cannot be integrated into the
final assembly. Care must be taken that this phase is
not delayed, for by this time the enthusiasm of the stu-
dents will usually be less than before. They may feel
that the final assembly has finished the job, but there
are always some loose ends that need to be secured. If
the packaging and distribution can be so organized and
integrated that they both can be accomplished at the
time Of the final assembly, it would be best. Packaging

IV.

90

and distribution may take as much planning and thought as

the assembly operations.

Evaluation

 

Nowhere is it more true than in this unit that the evalu-
ation should be an integral part of the instructional
program. There are many techniques which can be used,
but they must be in terms of the Objective.

It must be recognized that there will be some be-
havior, especially thought patterns, feelings, and atti-
tudes, that will either be very difficult or else im-
possible to measure at the time of the mass production
unit. Some of these may be measured after a period of
time, but for some objectives it will be beyond the
capabilities of the typical public school industrial
arts teacher. However, the difficulty of measurement
does not relieve the teacher of the responsibility of
attempting to teach for a particular objective. A
realistic attitude may be to separate the behavior changes
into those that are to be measured and those that are not
to be measured. The teacher should work toward a gradual
reduction of the latter list, not by dropping ones from
consideration, but by a more comprehensive evaluation
program.

Since the resource unit is to give some ideas of
possible alternatives, these will not be specifically

directed toward any one objective.

2.

91

The customers may rate the product as to design and
craftsmanship.

The workers may evaluate the person to whom they

were responsible as to his clarity, honesty, and
helpfulness.

The students with management functions may rate their
workers as to dependability, resourcefulness, and
accuracy.

WOrkers may rate other workers as to cOOperation,
enthusiasm and dependability. These may go all the
way up the line so that everyone, except the tap
person, is rated by people organizationally above,
below, and across from him.

Tests may be constructed for the teacher to deter-
mine what concepts and generalizations the students
have developed. A pro-test may be given or a con-
trol group may be used so as to check for improvement.
Oral or written reports may be given by individuals,
setting down their reactions to the unit, what they
learned, and how it could haye been improved.

Other teachers and administrators may be alerted to
listen for comments students in the class may make
about this unit.

Parents may be asked whether they have any reaction
to the product or the learning involved.

The teacher should have Observational data on student

behayior that he has recorded so that this can

92

contribute to the total evaluation.

10. Discussions may be held periodically, as well as at
the conclusion of the unit, so that problems can be
identified and people's evaluation made as to cer-
tain elements in the production.

Several of these techniques demand that data be col-
lected and evaluations made as the unit progresses, since it
is too late after the product is finished. Evaluation pro-
cedures must be provided for during the time of instruction,
and many of them can be determined immediately after ob-
Jectives have been selected. Only in this way can an ef-
fective program of evaluation be carried out so that the in-
formation received helps to improve the next learning situation.

Making a.mass produced project in industrial arts
should not be considered a fad, a frill, or a passing whim of
some teachers, but rather it is the realization that ob-
‘jectives commit a teacher to certain courses of action. It
is also apparent that the individual take-home project is not
comprehensive enough to provide the experiences necessary to
realize important objectives. If industrial arts is dele-
gated the responsibility of acquainting students with the
tools, materials, processes, and implications of modern indus-
try, what better way is there than to have students experi-
ence a simplified sequence Of what happens in an industrial
situation from the conception of an idea to the closing of

the books.

93

Probably the most important curriculum implication
for industrial arts is the possibility which methods
of this kind have for raising its intellectual and
aesthetic quality. Much of the emphasis in industrial
arts is in the making, not in the whys. Children
should enjoy expressing themselves with tools and
materials; knowing about them is valid in itself.
However, if the project method is closely adhered to,
students experience only a progression of things to
make with some related information thrown in. The
technical, sociological, and economic concepts of
industry cannot be taught or experienced through the
individual project to any degree.15

Here is one area where industrial arts can exploit its
uniqueness, for the students will not just talk about indus-
trial Operations, but will actually perform them; they will
not only read about the monotony of the assembly line for.
they will experience it; they will not just lOOk at materials,
but will work with them; they will not make sketches and
drawings to be handed to the teacher, for their drawings

will be for the purpose of communicating with fellow workers.

 

‘5Ibid., pp. 277-8.

CHAPTER IV

SOME EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN MASS PRODUCTION

Descriation Of Selected Mass Production Egaeriences

As explained in the Introduction, 11 teachers volun-
teered to teach a unit on mass production. The writer acted
as a resource person and observer, allowing the teachers to
decide how to organize and teach each unit. The writer
evaluated for some student behavior changes and also secured
Opinions from students and teachers who participated.

Following are descriptions of the 11 units on mass
production that were organized and taught by selected public
school teachers. This will be organized by describing each
of the 11 situations separately under the following headings:
taacgez'a gbjectives, both before and after the teaching of
the unit, orgaaiaing for agoaugtion, prgduction, and reaated
activitiaa. There will then be a summary, or a review, of
these 11 units. Information contained in the descriptive
portion of this chapter was obtained from personal obser-
vations, conversations with teachers and students, and the
teachers‘ responses to questions asked on the teacher reply

form and teacher Opinionnaire (Appendix III and Appendix VC).

9#

95

The next part of Chapter IV will be devoted to an

evaluation of each unit.

Situation 1

Teachez'a Objecaives

Before:

It could have special value in giving students a
better understanding of modern industry. Besides de-
siring the personal experience, I believe it would
enrich our program, and add variety and interest for
the student. We need more varied activities, especi-
ally those involving group cOOperation. Many of our
students will go into mass production types of work.

After:

First of all it fitted nicely with our objective
in advanced class, "to learn more about modern indus-
try." Also, from my own experience and recent obser-
vation, I decided that it was one Of the few shop
projects that can accomplish several objectives at
the same time. We concentrated on the historical and
technical aspects of mass production. I wanted them
to learn what it was, how it could be set up and
carried out, and why it should be appreciated.

0 anizin or ducti n

The teacher had indicated to the class earlier that
several new and different things were going to be tried out
during the course. As some of the other activities Of the
class were coming to a close, the teacher announced that the
next few weeks would be devoted to exploring industry and a
project using principles Of mass production. The film,
gzodactivity: Key ta Plenty, was shown to the class and
used as a basis for discussion the next day. Some reading

assignments were given from the Ford Motor Company booklet,

96

IS! Eyolutioa of Mass Producgion. The teacher outlined for

the class the general objectives of the unit and some of the
ways they could be accomplished. During the next few days
the class suggested possible projects that could be produced.
The three students who showed the most interest and aptitude
were selected by the teacher for the positions Of president,
engineer, and production manager. The teacher acted as the
stockholder, and worked with these three students most of the
time. The other students were the workers and were responsible
to one of the three officers. When the students were not
actively engaged in mass production activities they were
free to work on individual projects they had started previously.
A field trip was then taken to a local manufacturing plant
producing parts for automobiles. The next day the trip was
discussed by the class and, in light of what had been learned,
a decision was made as to the project to produce. So far,
these activities had taken about eight periods to accomplish.
. The item that was selected by the class was a wooden
box, 15 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 8 inches high, which
could be used for general storage or carrying small items.
A model was made by the engineer and some of the workers.
When this was about completed, there was a demonstration by
the teacher as to the use of jigs and fixtures. The next
day there was a class discussion on the historical background
of mass production. After this many things had to be done and

everyone was involved. Jigs and fixtures had to be made and

97

tested, flow charts were drawn of the assembly line and
drawings of individual pieces were made. The students had
reported the buying response they had received and a pro-

' duction goal of fifty boxes was set, the profits to go to a
charity fund. By this time fourteen more class periods had

elapsed.

Produgtion

Some Of the pieces were pre-cut and stockpiled. Three
trial runs were made before enough of the difficulties were
eliminated so that production could proceed smoothly. The
production of 51 boxes took three periods with several more
periods after that being used for touching up and finishing.
Workers generally stayed with one job throughout the pro-
duction run and there were few interruptions once they had
started. The distribution of the items was as follows:

18 - wholesaled through local stores
20 - sold by class members to individuals
8 - kept in industrial arts laboratory
__§_f used as complimentary gifts
51 - total production
There was a profit of about $3.00.

Related Activities
In the area of public relations, the president talked

to a reporter from the local paper and the following article
was printed in the paper about their activities:

98

The industrial arts class of the high school
age promoting a mass production project to enable them
to learn about modern industry and gain experience in
solving production problems. They have formed a company
with their teacher, Mr. , as stockholder. The name
Handy Carrier Company has been chosen by the two seniors
and nine sOphomores forming the company. Officers
elected are . . . The plan is to get first hand experi-
ence in assembly work. Tentative plans are to sell the
project to the public.

A sample box and poster was placed in a local gas
station and a hardware store for advertising purposes. One
of the boxes was given to the Superintendent of Schools, the
high school principal, the industrial arts teacher, the news-
paper reporter, and the writer. The president of the company
set up a record keeping system with the aid of the school's
Business Education teacher. The materials were purchased.
through the school and that amount paid back through money

collected from the sale Of the item.

Situation 2

Teacher'a Objectives
Before: 1. "Acquaint students with industrial

”processes."
2. "Make students consumer-wise."
‘ 3. “It would be a vocational guidance
.activity."
After: "There are lots of cogs in the mass production
wheel--the line worker is a small one. He also has a boring

job. I'm not too sure I had additional objectives in mind."

99

Organizing for Pgoduction

The teacher presented the assignment of a mass pro-
duction project to the class during their six weeks Of machine
woodworking. The project selected by the teacher was a small
drawing board and equipment. This was something the teacher
thought was necessary for the students to have, but as yet
could not get the school to purchase them. The teacher had
a commercially made model and the students used this as a
pattern. Three students volunteered to form an executive
committee to plan the activities, with one Of the three re-
signing at a later date. The remaining two students made
most of the decisions and did most of the work prior to the ,
assembly operations. The remainder of the class worked on
individual projects they had started previously. The materials
used were either available in the laboratory or else were
purchased through the school. As the completed projects
were to be left at the school, no sales or distribution was
necessary. The two students had worked on the pro-production

phase for about four weeks.

ngducaion
All of the‘parts for the drawing board were pre-cut by

the two committee members. The assembly Operation involved
everyone in the class. The entire class was called together
and the two committee members and the teacher demonstrated
the assembly Operations necessary for the completion of the

drawing board. There was a short discussion here on the role

100

Of the worker in industry. A combination of student choice
and teacher appointments was used to assign students to the
various jobs. Production was started the next day, and most
of the class was involved for about six days, putting together
and finishing the drawing boards. As the partially completed
item came to each person, he decided whether he would complete
his operation on it or put it in the reject pile to be re-
claimed and sent through the line again. Production was
stOpped at one point for the teacher to point out some of

the working conditions that were similar in their situation
and in a manufacturing industry. Most Of the 25 boards to

be produced were completed. The pieces for the T-squares were
cut out and an assembly jig was made, but they were not
assembled. About half of the triangles were cut out but not
finished. Interest in the mass production unit dropped off

so all of the students continued on their individual pro-

jects they had started previously.

Ralatea Agtiyitiaa

The two students on the executive committee gave a
report to the class after production had been completed on
some of the problems encountered in the pre-production stage
of the unit. The teacher gave a short review of the unit in
a faculty meeting. Finishing the T-squares and triangles
will be the first assignment to next year's General Shop

class.

101

Situation 3

Teacher'a Objactives

Before: "As it regards our industrial society it
should have a great deal to do with our objectives."

After: "Rudimentary economics and personnel structure
of industry. Anself association with individual manipulative

requirements of line technique production."

Oggaaiaiag fog Pgaaaction

The teacher had organized a previous class two years
ago to make a number of toy tugboats for the Marine Corps
Reserve Tbys-For-Tots program. He thought this would again
be a good project to undertake. About four weeks before
Christmas vacation, the teacher drew up the plans and made
a model of the toy tug. He explained to the class how they
were to organize and produce the item. A steel strike was
on at the time so this was discussed. Students brought in
newspaper clippings about the strike and there was a dis-
cussion on the role of unions, management, and stockholders
in an industrial organization.

The toy tug, which could be taken apart, was divided
into four parts, one for each of the 7th grade classes. One
class had the round parts, finishing, and packaging; another
made the hull; another’made the bow; and the third class made
the cabin and pilot house. A foreman was appointed by the

teacher for each class. The teacher acted as the general

102

superintendent and "hired" the students to produce this item,
and then "paid" them on their report cards. Much of the
responsibility for organization was left to the class fore-

man.

Productign

The processes were broken down into small operations,
since there were quite a few students available. The wooden
stock started at one end of the laboratory, where the wood
was kept, and worked its way to the other end. Few provisions
were made for accurate duplication of parts. The teacher
tried to work through the foreman in getting difficulties
straightened out, and then have the foreman work with the
workers. The pieces were inspected in the middle and at the
end of the production line. The class responsible for pack-
aging cut up cardboard boxes from a template and made an
individual box for each toy. FOrty-seven toys'were finally
completed and presented to a representative of the Marine
Corps Reserve. Materials were generally already ayailable
at the school, but others that were needed were ordered
through the school. No accurate accounting was kept as to
the per cost unit. After about two weeks of intermittent
production, the foremen took over, "fired" most of the
workers and finished up the production themselves on an
individual basis. The other students then went back to
finishing up individual projects to be used for Christmas

presents.

103

Relaaag Acyiviflea

The school newspaper carried an article about the
project, which included the following cOpy under a picture
of several Of the students working:

Mass production methods are being taught in Mr.
wood shop. Each day is divided into four

shIfts, and there are four departments, each hav-
ing a foreman as if it were a department in a regu-
lar factory. Each shift has a plant superintendent
and the rest of the boys are responsible to him.
Separate parts are manufactured on a line with each
person doing a single Operation. There is a super-
intendent for the tool and the stock rooms. There
is a department for each part, for finishing, pack-
aging, and for shipping. Delivery was made of an
order recently to the Marine Corps Reserve Toys-
For-Tots campaign.

The boys are also learning about the business end
of a factory or a corporation. They have sold shares
of stock to imaginary buyers.
Just before production started, there was a Parent-
Teacher Association Open house. The industrial arts teacher
talked to several of the parents explaining what was going

to happen.

Situation 4

Te 's ti s

Before: Were not stated.

After: "To put more meaning into industrial arts. To
add variety of activities. For students to learn 'advantages

I"

of mass production and appreciation of problems of industry.

grgaagaiag g9; ngducgion

The student teacher who was assigned to the teacher

101;

was given the main responsibility for teaching this unit.

The first day was devoted to a discussion on the importance
of knowing about industry and production and some of the
historical developments that have led up to modern processes
and organizations. The class was then divided into four
groups, each group to consider a project for different
people: children, adults, students, and teachers. Each
group then picked the best idea that was presented and made

a model of it. These were explained to the whole class and
voted on. The one that received the most votes was deemed
too difficult by the teacher and student teacher so it was
recommended that the second choice, a drawing board, be con-
sidered. A drawing board 24 inches by 15 inches with optional
legs was then decided upon. Some of the material used in the
item was surplus wood the teacher had collected from local
sources. Other material was bought through the school and
then refunded from money collected from the sale of the
boards. A superintendent and three foremen were selected by
the class, one each in charge of engineering, production,

and sales. Jigs and templates, the flow of material, and the
shOp layout was decided upon and completed. The students
worked on their own individual projects when they were not

busy at their mass production responsibilities.

P c n

A trial run pointed up the condition that the assembly

was much faster than the parts production, so the assembly

105

was stOpped until at least half of the parts were produced.
The whole class participated in the assembly Operation, but
the lack of facilities reduced the smooth flow of production.
One student was an inspector. He did not stay in one place,
but floated around checking the accuracy of the parts at
different places along the line. Most of the sales went to
students and teachers in the school. Thirty completed draw-

ing boards were produced.

Relatag Agtivities

A small advertisement was put in the school newspaper
telling of the price and description of the article. The
student teacher held a critique on the last day, discussing
what had happened during the mass production unit.

Situation 5

Or 1 i or du tion

One of the responsibilities of the industrial arts
teacher in this school was to make the laboratory facilities
available three times a week to a special education class
for mentally retarded students. In talking with the indus-
trial arts and special education teachers, they expressed
the difficulty of finding suitable projects or things to do
for this class of retarded children. It was evident that
neither teacher had both the time and ability to organize and
Garry out a mass production unit, so the writer volunteered to
organize something on an assembly line basis for the students

to do.

106

The writer adapted a stool from an existing design to
fit the requirements of the situation. Because of the dis-
tance from the school all of the preliminary work was done
by the writer in the industrial arts laboratories at Michigan
State University. Assembly jigs were made and templates used
to reproduce parts. A trial run was made, using some of the
members of a class the writer was teaching at the time. Ar-
rangements were made as to when the writer would present
this to the special education class.

At the start of the class period the writer introduced
the coming activities, trying to tie this method of production
to articles with which they were familiar. The work situation
in an assembly plant, with simple repetitive operations being
dominant, was explained and illustrated with the jigs and
templates that had been develOped to produce the stool. Ade-
quate materials were available in the school for the number
of projects to be produced. The writer then demonstrated
each operation and completed a stool, using the methods the
students were to use. As they were looking the tools and
materials over, the special education teacher and the writer
tried to assign students to jobs they would be best suited
for. By this time the period was over and the announcement

was made that they would start production tomorrow.

:gaguctian
The flow of materials through the different Operations

went quite quickly as the operations were broken down in small

107

enough units so that no student had to do very much with any
one piece. Fifteen small pieces of paper were glued to each
template that was used to cut out material so that a mark
could be made on each one when a piece was completed. Even
though some of the students could not count, there was still
a check as to how many pieces were needed and how many com-
pleted. Since their manipulative skills were not highly
developed, jigs and templates had to be used at almost every
station so that the project would be assembled correctly.
Nails and glue were used to hold the pieces together. It
took about two periods to get the pieces cut out and assembled,
and about five more periods to get the stools sanded and a
coat of shellac on them. At first each student was to sand
off all the rough edges of a stool and then take it to a
girl who was applying the finish. It was found that their
interest span was too short to go over the whole stool so an-
other production line was organized so that each student only
sanded one part; as a result the stools were sanded better
and faster. Fifteen stools were produced, one each for the
12 members of the class and one to the school principal, the

special education teacher, and the writer.

RSLEI2Q Aggivitiea
At the conclusion of production, the author talked to

the class, briefly reviewing what they had done and thanking
them for their cooperation. The special education teacher ex-
plained to the high school principal how the stool had been

produced.

108

Situation 6

Ieacheg's Objecaives

Before: ”I feel a mass production unit fits in per-
fectly with the Objectives of industrial arts."
After: "To introduce this phase of industry to my

students in a practical manner."

0 ani 1 f0 d ction

The teacher presented the general outline of the unit
to the class and they discussed some of the possibilities.
It was decided that each class member was to present one
idea as to a possible project that could be produced. The
teacher presented a toy tractor, one that had been made in
the unit he had participated in as'a student teacher, as an
illustration of what could be done. Some of the other class
members also had ideas and a list was made of possibilities.
The class voted on the one to produce and the highest number
of votes was received by the toy tractor. This unit was
introduced before Christmas, and many of the students indi-
cated they could use or sell these as gifts. A plant manager
was elected by the class. The teacher and plant manager then
selected students to be responsible for engineering, pro-
duction, and research. These, in turn, selected the remain-
ing members of the class to work with them when they needed
more help. 7

A prototype was constructed, the jigs made by the
engineering group to duplicate parts and assemble it. Some

109

materials needed to be purchased, and these were secured
through the school, being paid back by money received from
their sales. Film strips were shown 03.5.92£_I£_22£Ea from

the Ford MOtor Company, and there was a discussion on the

contents of the booklets, Americaa Battle :2: apaadaaae from

General Motors and The Evolugion of Haas Pagduction from the
Ford Motor Company.

Praauggioa

A continuous flow production line was organized, so
that parts were cut out, assembled and finished on one
continuous line. ~The facilities did not always lend them-
selves tO this arrangement as some machines could not be
moved so that the line sometimes became confused. There
were also bottlenecks at various points because of the lack
of available parts or a machine was not capable of more pro-
ducticn. Finishing the tractor with enamel was a problem
because of the lack of adequate facilities to paint or store
the finished product.

a d v t e
There was a short article in the local newspaper
telling of the activities of the class in carrying out this

'unit.

110

Situation 7

W

Before: "Teaches about industry and industrial
processes - and group cooperation."

After: "Something about industry and how it Oper-

ates, cOOperation and distribution."

Organizing for Pgaductioa
The teacher, two years before, had organized a limited

fOrm of an assembly line in producing a similar item and so
the general framework was explained to the students on
November 18th. Most of the students had read the booklets
from Ferd Motor Company and General Motors about mass pro-
duction and these were discussed in class. The teacher had
decided to duplicate the previous project: to have the
classes make and sell Christmas wreaths. The students sug-
gested possible alternatives for the design and production
of the object. A production committee, selected by the
teacher and the group, decided on the final design and ar-
rangements. The production committee charted the work
stations, made job assignments, and develOped techniques e
to produce the wreaths. Materials needed were purchased from
the Future Farmers of America treasury. Money from the sale

of the wreaths was deposited to their account.

Pradactioa
Trees were cut down in the school wood lot and hauled

111

to the school by the students in the school's pickpup

truck. Students took turns or volunteered to cut the trees
down. The branches were cut off and the greens were wired
to bent coat hangers. Decorations were applied and they
were then taken to an outside shed for storage until students
picked them up to sell them. This was all done in one con-
tinuous process, except for dipping the pine cones in paint.
The two classes produced wreaths until December 11th and
completed 170 of them. Both the industrial arts students
and the Future Farmers of America members sold the wreaths.
The money was to be used to buy needed tools and materials
for the two departments. NO accurate financial records

were kept, but the industrial arts teacher spent $18.00 from
the profits for materials that were needed in the industrial
arts department.

Re ate A iv es
An article in a local newspaper had a picture of the
industrial arts teacher looking at completed wreaths, with

the following text:

Recently, the industrial arts classes made
a study of Mass Production. First, they looked at
the History Of the Industrial Revolution and saw
movies about how things are made in mass production
plants.

- The industrial arts classes decided to mass pro-
duce Christmas wreaths. The class formed a company
and called themselves Christmas Wreaths, Ltd. Com-
mittees were formed to work on the many prOduction
problems and soon the company went into production.
Many problems were encountered that lead to a good
learning experience for all.

112

The greens were furnished from the Pine Forest,
owned by the chapter of the F.F.A. Wreaths
are on sale from any of Mr. shop students and
from members of the F.F.A. The price is one dollar
and the profits will be used by the F.F.A., and the
industrial arts department to Obtain materials and
supplies that they otherwise wouldn't be able to
purchase.

Situation 8

Teachaz'a OQjectives

Before: "A mass production unit would fit in well
with understanding industry better and attitudes Of cOOper-
ation for'my students."

After: "Some of the problems concerned with jigs and
fixtures in a.mass production job, and the feel of production

terminology."

O 1 f0 u tio

' The teacher selected a project, a small steam engine,
and presented it to the 12th grade mechanhs class for their
consideration. He had a commercial model to go by and had
broken it down into its component parts. These parts he
listed on the blackboard. Each student was to be responsible
for making a number of these parts, with several students
working on most of them. Each group was to develop its own
jigs and produce them as best it could. Since these were 90-
minute periods, students were to work on mass production
about half of the period and their own projects the other

half. Some of the groups produced some parts and there were

113

enough to assemble a prototype that ran on compressed air.
However, interest lagged and so this unit was drOpped by

this class. The teacher then shifted it to a class of 11th
grade metalworking and, using the same organization as before,
called for volunteers to work on the production Of the steam
engine. Fifteen Of the 27 students requested to help work

on it. Materials were either available at the school or

else purchased through the school and money credited to the

industrial arts account from the sales.

Pgaauggion
The original goal was 20 engines, but after the 11th

grade class took it over only five students wanted one, so
only five were completed. The individual parts were gener-
ally made on a mass production basis. Some of the groups
working on the individual pieces became very interested in
the production and develOped efficient jigs and procedures
for accurately duplicating parts. Others were made on an
individual piece work basis. This went on for several weeks
before all the groups had produced their allotted pieces.
After all the individual parts were completed, they were put
into separate boxes and an assembly line was organized to
put them together. Most of the parts fitted accurately
enough so that there were few rejects. The model steam

engines were then tested and the new owners took them home.

114

Situation 9

Teaaheg'a ogjactivas

Before: "One of my objectives is to give experiences
that a student might use after he gets out of school. I be-
lieve a.mass production project would do just that." A

After: "I expected them to learn about some problems
of industry and to get some idea of the tremendous amount of
work and planning that goes into setting up a production

line."

i f Prod o

The teacher announced at the beginning of the eight-
week period in metalworking that the next weeks would be
taken up with a.mass production experience. Ideas were
gathered from the group as to how they could proceed and what
some Of the possibilities were of projects they could pro-
duce. Three students were elected to the Board of Directors,
who had the responsibility of making policy decisions, pickp
ing a name for the company, and collecting ideas of possible
projects. A.metal-box 12 inches long, 6 inches wide and 2
inches high was the choice of the group. VOlunteers were
called for to work on drawings, jigs, and design of the pro-
ject. Orders for the boxes were taken by the students be-
fore production started and only enough boxes were produced
to fill the existing orders. All of the students acted as
salesmen. The booklets from FOrd Motor Company and General

115

motors Corporation were also read by some. Much of the
metal stock used was secured from government surplus materials,
but the price was computed at the regular retail price for

the material.

nggugaion
Some of the pieces of material had to be cut out be-

fore the assembly started. All workers stayed at their
original jobs except the spot welders. There seemed to be a
necessity to change workers at this position because the
production was slower there and pressure was being put on
them to hurry. Two inspectors at different parts Of the
assembly line checked each part and rejects had to be done
over'again. Forty boxes were produced during this eight-week
session. After they were produced, some Of the customers
wanted the boxes painted so this was done individually. As
problems came up the teacher would stOp the class and discuss
the implications or possible solutions. In connection with
the spot welders, they discussed that running a machine was
not always glamorous, but got tiresome too. There was an
attempt to impress upon them the need to says materials when

quantities are involved.

Ra;atea Acaivggies
The teacher discussed this unit with the principal

and guidance counselor before starting it.

116

Situation 10

Teacheg's Objectives

Before: None stated.
After: "I wanted the students to achieve an under-
standing of industry, its operation, and problems as well as

learning how to work together and accept responsibility."

Oaganizing for Prodagtion
The teacher presented the project to the class. The

ones who were interested in it could work on it, the others
could remain with their individual projects. Seven of the

18 students in the class volunteered to work on the mass pro-
duction project. They elected a foreman and he then ap-
pointed students tO be in charge of machines, inspection,

and assembly. The project was a religious cross of wood, with
a.metal overlay, 7 inches high and 4 inches wide. The stu-
dents developed templates and jigs for production. It
required five to eight days for the planning and a trial run.
The teacher had a model Of the cross so there was no engineer-
ing or designing to do. .A small company in the town regularly
donates scrap materials to the industrial arts department, so

these materials were used to make the item.

Paggucaiga

Individual pieces were cut out, then were sanded and
assembled and, finally, they were finished and stored. The

number Of operations on this project were few and the

117

tolerances were not small, so it was not a complicated oper-
ation. Production continued for about eight days, getting
about ten completed each day. Fifty-two were completed to
be sold. They were sold for 35¢ each, with the money
realized being donated to the COmmunity Swimming Pool Fund.
Two local stores had the project on display with a poster

telling where the money was to be used.

Situation 11

Teaaaez'a oajectiyea

Before: ”I'm trying to have the students explore

industry, etc.”

After:

The involvement of mass production; social relation-
ships, importance Of leadership, and followership, the
organization of an industrial plant, value in working
accurately, simplicity of the task when each person

does just one part Of the total process, and the value
Of standardization of parts and thorough planning.

Oagaaiziag fog Pzgdagtiga
The school had just changed to an I.B.M. card system

for collecting‘and reporting data and each teacher had a

card for each student in his class with which they took

roll and marked absences. The cards were usually kept in
envelopes, but the principal, in consultation with the
industrial arts teacher, decided that something more per-
manent should be provided. The teacher presented the problem

to this class and asked each one to present a design that

118

whuld hold the cards and also could be produced by the class.
One was selected from the best three voted on by the class.
There were class discussions as to the design of the container,
methods of production, and appropriate materials to be used.
During this time, the students had to write a report on some
aspect of modern industry. The teacher also showed the film
Boga Beautiful from General Motors.

There was a three-man Board Of Directors with other
students being responsible for designing, making jigs, in-
specting, layout, rough cutting, bending, notching, and
assembly. Students, when not involved with their'mass pro-
duction activity, worked on individual projects. Two sizes
of boxes were produced, one four-compartment box was 8 inches
long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches high; the other was slightly
larger and had six compartments.

zroaagtion
This was a straight line production job with the

sheet metal coming out of the storage area to be cut, notched,
bent, partitions put in, spot welded, inspected, and stored.
The students who made the jigs also acted as inspectors, but
all others only had one job. It took about six weeks to
fully complete the production.. Since these were made for

the school and all the material was available in the labor-

atory, no money or credit was needed. The final inspector

took a completed box to each teacher in the building.

 

119

Related Agtivitlaa
The teacher'made up a bulletin board display in the

hall of the school showing pictures, the personnel organiz-
ation, and a description of the project. This unit was also

explained at a Parent-Teachers Association meeting.
Review

To review the description of these 11 mass production
units, it may be advantageous to draw them together into a
statistical review.

Tha Satliag
The size of the towns varied from 300 to about 100,000,

with a median of 2,000. The total school pOpulation ranged
from 550 to 2#,OOO, with a median of 1,810 students per school
system. The number of teachers in the school system with a
low of 21 and a high of 916 had a.median of 70. The years
of teaching experience was spread from 1% to 18 years with
an average Of 4%. FOur of the teachers had no previous ex-
perience with teaching mass production, two had read about
it, and the remaining five had been involved in such a unit,
either in college or had taught it themselves. The grade
level consisted Of a special education class, one 7th grade,
two 8th grades, four 9th grades, two 10th grades, and one
11th grade. The number in each class varied from 12 to 29

with an average Of 18.8.

120

 

 

Q0mm Hegemec econ o N on. 00n.n 000.«m Pp modaesaam
coo: anaemoa econ w— P we 000.. 00m.r 0. medamaaam
Hess: essence one: s n am een.m oom.n a senseseem
Haves Homemeo econ m n 00 0m¢.N 00m.n w mOdHOSadm
deem Heaenew once u a pm 0p¢.. 00b 5 modaesaam
menu Homemew ehouen as can m m. 50 00m.m 00m.¢ m modumsadm
nomm assemem enouen ad odd 0 — he mmm.. 000.m m moaaemaam
doom assemew eaouen as can 0. a mm 0—».— com o modasspam
90mm Homemow enouen ad vac m mm 0.0 mm..¢m 000.00. M nowadspam
acne Heseaee assess e _ on o.mwa. ooo.~ m sensesesm
done Heaesem esoe m _ .m com cos . scavesudm

comm soaueseoam meanness seesaw ma seesaw ma seesaw an area

go gnaw use: mad: ease» naemeeea eaemoeea assessam no exam

someaaemum no .oz easwo.m”% no .02 no .02

monsdbhnm ho MMdzsz AdoHHMHadsm

 

121

O zi o 0 us n

The project was selected by the teacher in seven of
“the schools and the remaining four were determined by the
students. The designing of the project was done by the stu-
dents in fiveaof the units, taken from a commercial model in
three, and previously designed by the teacher in the other
three. In six of the cases the students worked on individual
projects when not busy with their mass production responsi-
bilities; in three all of the class worked full time on the
:production project; whereas, in the remaining two only part
of the class worked on the mass production unit while the

rest continued with their individual interest projects.

graduating

The number of items produced ranged from five to 170,
with an average of 46. In three of the situations, all of
the parts were duplicated before assembly started, in one Of
them some of the parts were pre-cut, while in seven of the
projects there was a continuous progression from cutting out
the parts through assembly Operations. In six of the cases,
the item was sold to the public, two were used by the school
system, two were produced only for individuals in the class,

and one was donated to charity.

R d t vities
Only one of the 11 teachers took a field trip in con-
nection with this unit, five showed a film and gave reading

122

assignments, while the other six did neither. There were
articles in three local papers and one school paper concern-
ing the mass production activities, while the remaining seven

had no publicity of this sort.

Ezglugtiog of Selected Mass Production gaperiences

The measurement and evaluation of the mass production
units, described in the previous part of the present chapter,
was carried on at several different times with both students
and teachers. The writer visited each class several times,
observing the students working during the planning, tooling,
and assembly stages. Information from these visits is re-
corded in the previous part of this chapter with the evalu-
ation of what the writer observed in the following part.

The test given to students was divided into two
parts: the informational test and the judgment test. The
informational test1 was composed of 22 questions, numbers
16 to 37. These were objective test items used to measure
the extent of the knowledge and concepts the students had of
mass production.. These questions were mostly of the multiple
choice type. The judgment portion of the test,2 numbers 11
to 15, was composed of five questions. Each question des-

cribed a situation where a decision had to be made in an

 

1See Appendix IVB.

2See Appendix IVG.

123

industrial plant. The five choices were on a continum with
the number one choice indicating a direct, "autocratic”
handling of the problem; number three choice tending to show
a ”passing of the buck" or a rejection of an immediate solu-
tion; and the number five choice indicating that more of the
people involved in the solution would be considered in a
more "democratic" manner.

' Pro-tests of both the information and judgment portion
were given where there was not a comparable class in the
school to be used as a control group.

At the conclusion of the unit the students who partici-
pated were given an Opinionnaire3 to get a reaction to their
experiences. The teachers involved were given an Opinionnaire4
after the unit was completed, to get their reactions at this
time and also to see how they would change the unit if they
were to teach it again.

More complete data will be found in Appendix V con-

cerning the data collected from the tests and opinionnaires.
Situation 15

The students through the questionnaire generally indi-
cated an acceptance of this unit as something they liked to

 

3See Appendix IVB.

‘Soo Appendix Ivc.

58cc page 96 for a description of this situation and
Appendix VA for additional information.

124

do and learned something from. The teacher, in his opinion-
naire, was able to see where improvements could be made and
indicated a desire to include this as a regular part of the
industrial arts curriculum. In the judgmental part of the
student's test, the post-test scores indicated more middle
responses than the students had checked on the pro-test.
The means of the pre-test and post-test of the informational
part of the test were not significantly different.

This teacher set the stage for this unit very well.
He had included different kinds of learning experiences in
their other assignments, so this was not something completely
different. He had a very good rapport with this class, so
they had a good working relationship to begin with. He
showed the class a film, had a field trip, discussed common
reading assignment, and allowed for a large amount of stu-
dent participation. He took an active role in the pro-
duction, for when they were shorthanded he worked on the
assembly line with the others. They worked out and knew in
advance what their objectives were and why these were im-
portant. The teacher showed evidence that quite a lot of
pro-planning was done before the unit started. The teacher
relied upon observation and informal devices plus an ob-
jective test for the evaluation; however, these were not
always coordinated with the stated objectives.

There were many commendable features in this unit, by

both teacher and students, not withstanding the fact that

125

this was the first experience for either of them in produc-
ing an item in a school setting using mass production

techniques.
Situation 25

The students, in their Opinionnaire, show a different
attitude depending upon how the question is asked. Most of
then expressed a liking for mass producing a project and for
their particular job, but after that the-negative votes begin
to show; for example, the ten to one vote to work on their
own individual projects. This was detected throughout the
unit. The teacher, in his questionnaire, recognized this and
would teach mass production as a separate unit next time.
There was no difference in the judgmental portion of the
test between the control group and the mass production group.
The means of the informational tests were not significantly
different between the two groups. This is not surprising as
there was little time taken with student planning or related
instruction.

This unit lacked unity and participation. The stu-
dents worked on mass production as well as their regular
work on their own individual projects. As a result two
things happened: only two or three students were really in-
volved in any part of the unit except the one-day assembly

 

6See page 98 for a description of this situation and
Appendix VB for additional information.

126

and the other students felt they were being pulled off their
own projects to work on something they did not see the need
for. As such it suffered from the lack of teacher attention
and planning and student interest and participation.

The methods the class used for production followed
some of the mass production techniques and the assembly line
was organized with some thought and planning. The unit had
to be terminated before its completion because students were
reluctant to put their time and energy in this direction, so
the T-squares and niangles remain unfinished to be completed
by another class at the start of the next school year.

Was this unit successful? If what the teacher says
in the opinionnaire is true then it has had a kind of long
range success that is hard to evaluate. This is what he
said, ”It jogged my thinking towards putting my objectives
squarely before me as to prerequisite to any given unit of
instruction. I have talked about my objectives, but hadn't
really planned my program to this." Maybe,in the long run
this is the most important kind of learning that can result
from this kind of experimentation.

Situation 37

Although 50 students expressed a desire in favor of

mass producing another product, with 19 against it,.#6 would

 

7See page 101 for a description of this situation and
Appendix V6 for additional infonmation.

127

rather work on individual projects rather than a mass pro-
duction unit. The students indicated they would like to
have better organization if they would participate in this
again. The teacher seemed to have a realistic view as to
the success of the unit, for his comments on the question-
naire did not claim any great changes in student behavior.
He believed it had done some good, if nothing more than
giving the teacher a chance to look at teaching mass pro-
duction and improving on it the next time he teaches it.

There were very few differences in the judgmental
test between the control and mass production groups. The
difference between the means of the control groups and the
mass production group was significant at the .10 level of
confidence on the informational part of the student test.
This was in favor of the control group which had a mean of
9.5 as compared to a mean of 9.1 for the mass production
groups.

The teacher had made this project before, a take-
apart toy tug, in his classes and so should have been aware
of the difficulties. He either underestimated the toler-
ances necessary for the interchangeability of parts or over-
estimated the skills of the students. This resulted in a
number of individual parts, hardly any of which would fit
together. Part of this was brought about because of the
lack of planning for any accurate duplication of parts.

As the production started, each student was prepared to

128

measure and out each piece as if there was only one piece
to do. As they were going to produce about 100 of these
that were to be taken apart and held together with dowels,
with 7th grade students in their first semester of woodwork—
ing, this was quite an undertaking. Adhering to my "hands
off" policy except when asked, the writer observed what
happened. The teacher left many of the decisions and super-
vision up to the foreman. Most of these were willing
enough, but could not keep up with all the problems that
developed. As a result, after most of the pieces were pro-
duced the workers were "laid off" and the foremen and a

few selected students completed them. Each tug had to be
re-drilled or re-fitted so that the pieces fit together.
This was done on an individual basis. Meanwhile, the other
students, since this was just before Christmas, were work-
ing on their individual projects that were going to be used
as Christmas presents. Here again the individual project
had been assigned previously and work interrupted to do the
mass production.

It seems to the writer that the students exhibited an
amount of interest at the beginning that, had the unit been
better organized, would have carried it through to a good
conclusion. Lack of pre-planning by the teacher seemed to
doom this unit to relative failure as far as student learn-

ing was concerned.

129
Situation 48

The students, on the Opinionnaire, generally expressed
a dislike for the mass production experience. Most of them,
14 to 2, would have rather worked on their individual pro-
jects and felt that the unit was rather confused and not
planned well. The students, in the post-test, indicated an
autocratic leaning on the judgmental portion, as opposed to
their reaction on the pre-test. This may have been a result
of the dissatisfaction expressed in the Opinionnaire about
the lack of organization. There was little change in the
pro-test and post-test scores on the infonmation test. The
teacher felt that some good had resulted and that the unit
would be improved if he taught it again next year.

This unit was organized and taught mainly by the stu-
dent teacher. The choice of the project was dictated by the
kinds of materials available in the laboratory at the time
as the teacher was reluctant to secure more material for this
project. The changing of the project by the teacher probably
lessened the interest by the students for they seemed to be
disappointed when they were not able to follow through on
their first choice. The physical facilities were not ar-
ranged so that material could be conveniently moved from one
place to another, and the different operations had to be per-

formed in a sequence that demanded a lot of moving.

 

88cc page 103 for a description of this situation and
Appendix VD for additional information.

130

The students were not responsive to the student tea-
cher and the teacher was reluctant to step in, so there never
was real cooperation developed among the students. The pro-
ject was constructed quite well, probably due to the

teachers’ insistence upon a high standard of craftsmanship.
Situation 59

There was no teacher or student evaluation for this
situation because of the nature of the group and the arrange-
ments made for organizing the unit. The group was a special
education class of mentally retarded students. The indus-
trial arts teacher had tentatively agreed to cooperate with
the writer on a mass production unit, but because of the de-
mands of coaching athletics and his already heavy load of
teaching, the teacher felt that he did not have the time to
devote to developing a unit of this kind. He told about
the difficulties the special education teacher and he had
in finding projects for these special education students to
do while in the industrial arts shop. The writer volunteered
to help develop a project that could be mass produced by the
students. Both of the teachers agreed to this arrangement.
The writer then developed a project, templates, and jigs as
described in a previous section.

The reaction of the students was good as long as they

had a job that they could do. Even though each student was

 

93cc page 105 for a description of this situation.

131

to get one of the stools, the seven or eight class periods
it took to complete the project was too long a period to
sustain interest in the work. The facilities for applying a
finish to the stools was not adequate and so this phase
caused some confusion. Most of the students would lose
interest in a job if it took too long for them. For example,
one person was to sand off all the corners of one stool at a
time, but this just did not work. When it was changed to
two students on the legs, one on the top, and one for the
sides, it went much faster and a better job resulted.

Both of the teachers, in discussion, seemed pleased
with the results and hoped that they would have time in the
future to do more of this kind of teaching.

This situation was developed in order to see the
possibilities and difficulties of using this technique with
mentally retarded students. Nb attempt was made, other than
observation and talking with students, to measure what the
students learned, as this would involve different instruments

than had been developed for the other groups.
Situation 6‘0

The students were generally in agreement that they
liked to mass produce an item, but yet 10 out of 15 said
they would rather have worked on their own individual pro-

jects. The teacher seemed to be interested in trying the

 

10See page 108 for a description of this situation
and Appendix VE for additional information.

132

unit again and improving on it. The difference between the
means on the informational test was significantly different
at the .02 level of confidence, in favor of the mass pro-
duction group. The amount of related informationlthat was
presented clearly shows up on the results of the teat.

The planning and related information stages of this
unit were handled quite well. Once production started, how-
ever, the limitation of physical facilities and teacher
organization created some confusion that worked to a dis-
advantage as far as contributing to the success of the unit.
The number of students who commented on the disagreeableness
of the painting operation points out the importance of ade-
quate facilities to mass produce an item. There was not a
clear-cut pattern or flow of materials and job assignments
were sometimes fuzzy. As with many of the others, the teacher
did little to bring the unit to a conclusion, in trying to
tie it all back up or evaluating for any results. The stu-
dents drifted back to making individual projects.

Situation 711

The students' response on their Opinionnaire was
generally favorable with not one "no" vote on whether a mass
produced project was appropriate for industrial arts. In the
judgmental test there was again the shift in the mass '

 

11See page 110 for a description of this situation
and Appendix VP for additional information.

133

production groups away from the number five response, which

is the one that involves the most people in decision making.

The differences in the results of the informational test

were the greatest of any situation. The difference between

the means were highly signficant at the .01 level of confidence,
in favor of the mass production group. The teacher was
enthusiastic about the unit and indicated he would teach

this again.

This teachsrprobably did as good a job of teaching
the related material as any of the 11 who participated in
this study. Using films, booklets, and personal experiences,
the teacher related what they were doing in industrial arts
to what is going on in industry. He gave assignments and
then reviewed and discussed these in class. He required
student participation, but yet kept control of the situation
so that he could direct it when needed. The competition
that developed between the two mass production groups was
unique for the 11 situations, for there was a spirit of
enthusiasm, of competing to see how many items they could
produce in an hour, that was entirely lacking in any of the
others. On one visitation, during the production of the
Christmas wreaths, after a brief period taken up by the fore-
man, the students rushed out to the shop with the cry, "Let's
break the record of 25 today." Several students, on use...
action sheets, said that the competition between the two

groups was the best part of the mass production unit. The

134

students were always looking to see how their job could be
done better and faster.

The money was not handled with the same sort of ef-
ficiency. Materials were purchased from the F.F.A. fund and
money collected from the sales was credited to the F.F.A.
account. No prior arrangements were made as to the disposition
of the profits, except a general agreement between the agri-
culture teacher and the industrial arts teacher that some
needed tools or supplies could be purchased from this money
for use in industrial arts.

The evaluation by the teacher, as with most of the
others, was still an informal, observational type of reaction.
The teacher's rapport with the students helped a great deal
in getting their cooperation and keeping their enthusiasm.
Only in getting the trees from the woodlot was there much
dissatisfaction expressed by the students on the way the unit
was taught and organized.

The sales force was active enough so that almost all
of the wreaths were sold and distributed before school let

out for the Christmas vacation.
Situation 812

The teacher started with a 12th grade class of advanced
metalworking and when this did not work out, switched to an

 

‘ZSee page 112 for a description of this situation and
Appendix VG for additional information.

135

11th grade class. The teacher had proposed a.mass production
project several months before to the advanced class and
wanted them to suggest ideas of projects to make. They never
came up with anything practical enough so the teacher brought
in a model steam engine. The basketball season, starting too
late in the school year, the coming of spring, and the number
of jobs the students wanted to do for themselves on motors,
cars, lawnmowers, etc. all contributed to a lack of interest
in the mass production project. This again demonstrates that
it is very difficult to carry on a mass production unit while
the students are also committed to completing individual,
personal interest projects.

The writer feels that if this had been a recognized
and independent unit, the student's skills and the teacher's
ability could have resulted in a very fine learning experi-
ence. As it was, there were too many things working against
it.

A pro-test was given the advanced class, but since
many of them did not work on the project and not much was
accomplished, a post-test was not considered appropriate.

In the 11th grade class that finished the project up, this
still was a part-time, hit-or—miss arrangement with students
being involved to a different degree so that a test would
have had little validity for the class.

The teacher still feels that this is an appropriate
experience, and indicates that he will attempt it again with
a simpler project.

136
Situation 913

In the Opinionnaire the students generally expressed a
high regard for producing a project in the manner they did.
However, there was one element that kept coming up in their
comments, that of the monotony of their jobs. Typical is
this comment by a student:
I would not like to produce another project because
there would be no chance to show individual talent.
If we made individual projects, there would be a chance
to do more things and work on more machines where in
mass producing you do the same thing the whole time.
Evidently, for those who complained of monotony, it
was not sufficiently impressed upon them that this was one
of the things they would probably learn from mass producing
an item. When a student comments that "It was all right, ex-
cept I got stuck on one job," one might wonder about how
well the students understands how people and machines are
organized to produce items in quantity. The mass production
group again moved away from the number five item in the
judgmental portion of the test, compared with the control
group. This again would indicate that those people who had
experienced the mass production unit feel that decisions
should be made without always involving the peeple who will
be affected. The difference between the means of the two

groups on the informational part of the test were not quite

significant at the .05 level of confidence.

 

13See page 114 for a description of this situation and
Appendix VH for additional information.

13?

The teacher indicated that this was a refreshing ex-
perience for him, as well as for the students and he was
going to continue this as a regular feature of the eighth
grade metalworking curriculum.

At the start of the eight-week metalworking course,
the teacher told the group it was going to devote full time,.
for eight weeks, to this unit. There was nothing else compet-
ing for their interest. The pro-planning with the students
was good as they were not hurried by a pressing time limit
or the necessity to get back to something else. Many things
were considered in this pro-planning period and the teacher
allowed a heavy involvement of students in making decisions
on many questions that would arise. No more boxes were made
than they had advanced orders for, so this set their pro-
duction goal and reduced the let-down at the end of the unit
if it is then necessary for the students to get rid of all
their production. The personnel organization was good in
that someone was designated to make decisions or carry them
out for most of the areas that were of concern. If something
came up during the production, the class was stopped and
some discussion followed as to the implications of this
person's behavior, why this happened this way, or>how could
this be changed. It is important to call some of these situ-
ations to their attention, but yet it is also important that
they get the feel of an uninterrupted, repetitive, continuous

operation.

138

After the writer's test had been given to the group,
a class period was spent going over the test, discussing it,
and referring to their experiences for support of the cor-

rect answers.
Situation 1014

The seven students involved in the mass production,
although they were volunteers, still voted seven to nothing
that they would have rather made an individual project. The
differences between the means of the mass production group
and the control group were highly significant at the .001
level of confidence. In the judgmental portion the mass
production group tended to select answers toward the middle
of the scale which would indicate a passing-of—the-buck kind
_ of attitude.

The teacher indicated that if he taught this unit
again, "I would guide the students more in setting up the
project." Since the teacher selected and designed the pro-
ject there would be some doubt as to where he might guide
it more.

Since the selection of the project and its design
was already decided upon, both the teacher and the students
seemed to want to go right into production. The organiz-

ational phase was not well thought out and some of the

 

14See page 116 for a description of this situation
and Appendix VI for additional information.

139

planning and changes that should have proceeded the start of
production had to come after the assembly Operations had
started. The operations to complete the religious cross
were quite simple as no fine tolerances had to be held to.
The simplicity of the project may not have offered the
challenge necessary to stimulate the students to a high
interest level. The distribution of the project, although
for a worthy cause, did not increase the personal involve-
ment of the student into feeling that something tangible
resulted from his efforts and time. This seemed to be a
personal project of the teacheris and he really never in-
volved the students in it other than to have them do the

work.
Situation 1115

The students seemed to be fairly evenly divided, by
their responses on the opinionnaire, as to whether they
thought this was worthwhile. Several of then thought that
‘once was enough and would not care to do it again. The
differences between the two groups in the judgmental portion
of the test did not seem to be significant. The informational
test scores showed that the differences between the means

were significant at the .02 level of confidence.

 

153cc page 117 for a description of this situation
and Appendix VJ for additional information.

1A0

The teacher, in his response, diagnosed some of the
difficulties, such as slowness of the process and simplicity
of some of the tasks, and will try to remedy them in a
similar unit next year. The informational test scores were
significantly different at the .01 level of confidence.

This would be suspected by the use of a film, student reports,
and discussions to tie together the student experience and
how it is done in manufacturing industries. The unit was
organized and pre-planned by the teacher so that no serious
difficulties areas, but yet students were able to make many
of the decisions affecting their operations. Here again the
importance of an appropriate selection of a project is re-
affirmed. The metal box that was produced did not have the
operations necessary to keep the whole class busy, plus the
limited amount of some equipment so that there seemed to be
too many people and not enough work at times, a condition
that usually leads to more confusion. This was a class that
had lots of interest and abilities and could have been
challenged to really produce a high quality product. The
simplicity of the project did not stimulate them to use their

imagination and so to create an interest in this unit.
Summary Evaluation‘é

If these 11 teachers and the way they taught this unit

in mass production is some indication of what industrial arts

 

16See pages 118-122 for a.summary description of the
11 mass production units.

141

teachers do, then what has been learned from describing and
evaluating these 11 situations? The generalizations and
patterns that emerge from these situations are only true for
these 11 teaching situations, but as these may be repre-
sentative of the larger group of industrial arts teachers
and if there is evidence found that these patterns also hold
for the larger group, then there will be some validity for
predicting what other teachers in similar situations might
do.

Weaknesses

The biggest difficulty that the writer observed was
one of the most basic ones. The teachers generally did not
define specific objectives for this experience, structure
experiences that would lead to the desired behavior changes,
and then evaluate to see to what extent the objectives were
realized. Without this or a similar kind of organization,
successful teaching and/or learning is difficult. The
evaluation of the students was usually left up to an in-
formal observational and discussion type of feedback, many
times with no relationship to stated objectives.

Once the mass production unit was started several
themes seemed to repeat themselves in a number of these situ-
ations. There was a tendency to rush through the planning
stage, generally not realizing this is usually the most
fruitful part of the experience. Some of the teachers still
confuse teaching with telling and cannot seem to tell the

142

difference. For most of the teachers this was their first
attempt to teach about mass production.

There seemed to be a lack of imagination and effort
toward using a variety of learning experiences. Books,
magazines, films, film strips, field trips, speakers, panels,
reports, etc. were ignored with a regularity that would
amaze someone who realizes the wealth of materials and re-
sources available in this area. Several made the mistake of
trying to carry this on with other assignments and projects
not connected with it and finding that time and effbrt was
being diverted from this unit until any hope of success was
gone.

The students generally reflected the drive, the
interest and ambition, and the skill and ability of the
teacher. If the teacher was sincere, enthusiastic, and able
to carry forth an intelligent teaching-learning experience,
then the students usually reacted in kind. The students
generally were not sold on the idea that learning about mass
production was a significant activity. In their responses
on the opinionnaire an overwhelming majority indicated they
would rather have worked on an individual project. The re-
sults of the informational test usually corresponded quite
closely to the writer's observation of the amount and quality
of teaching involved. Where the teacher taught related
material, the mass production group scored significantly

higher than the control group and, of course, the converse

143

was true. It is difficult to generalize on the judgmental
portion of the test. The number five response was consist-
ently picked fewer times by the mass production group than
by the control groups. Some of this loss was shifted to the
other extreme, numbers one and two, and some of the middle,
number three. The number five response was the one that in-
volved the most people in the decision-making process.
Evidently there was something in the mass production experi—
ence which tended to produce an attitude for an immediate
decision, which would be number one, or else to "pass the
buck," which would be number three. The attitude of the
mass production group may be more realistic in an industrial

situation where things need to get done.

Strengths
The main strength that I find in these 11 situations

is in the fact that they did them. Most of the teachers
were aware of such a thing as a.mass produced project,
usually due to articles in industrial arts magazines or from
experience with it during their college work, but most had
never taken the step to become directly involved. The
little nudge the writer gave some of them was all that was
needed for them to plunge in and try it. Most of their pro-
grams were flexible enough so that they could accommodate
this unit on rather short notice. These teachers are to be
commended for their willingness to try something they had

not attempted previously.

149

Not overwhelmingly present, but enough to be hopeful,
were the areas of student decisions and public relations.
Most of the teachers, for not having taught such a unit be-
fore, allowed the students to make many of the decisions that
might lead to important learning. As they become more se-
cure, they will certainly allow an even more intensive
involvement on the part of the students in the area of
decision-making. There were also some good public relations.
This unit may be a really dramatic one, one that lends itself
to good publicity. This was taken advantage of in a number

of cases and should be exploited even more in the future.

CHAPTER v
RECOMMENDATIONS

A teaching unit on mass production was deemed appro-
priate for this study for several reasons. Theme is almost
a total lack of examples of such units in the literature of
industrial arts. The magazine articles that have appeared
on this topic have been incomplete with a rather simple
declaration of what was done along with some personal
Opinions as to the results that were achieved. Because of
the type of articles written about mass production, teachers
who participated in this study had not had the Opportunity,
through the literature, to read about a variety of ways in
which a unit on mass production could be planned, organized,
taught, and evaluated. There also needs to be a rather
complete teaching unit on mass production so that other
attempts will have something to be measured against.

Not all of the objectives of a course can be taught
at all times. There must be some varying emphasis during a
course so that each area gets some individual attention,
and yet all of those objectives that are deemed appropriate

by both student and teacher receive some consideration.

145

146

With the use of the unit approach several objectives can be
isolated and the instruction concentrated on these for a
specific period of time. It should be noted that the ob-
jectives stated in the forthcoming teaching unit are ones
that should be of some concern fer every potential citizen
of our society. This is a necessity if industrial arts is to
be an integral part and contribute to the general education
of the students. Some industrial arts course Objectives may
be touched upon in other courses, but the advantage that
industrial arts has in having the students actively engaged
in a mass production endeavor, rather than just reading and
discussing it, is one that should be exploited in industrial
arts.

This teaching unit will also contribute to the emerg-
ing, more modern concept of industrial arts where a wide
variety of educational experiences are offered to the stu-
dents with content that more nearly reflects our modern
industrial society. If industrial arts is to attain a
permanent and significant place in the education picture,
then teaching units such as the one preposed here should

help secure this position.

A Te 1 Unit on Mass Produc ion

This unit is designed for a class of 9th grade boys
and girls. They have had some industrial arts experiences
in the 7th and 8th grades where they explored different

147

materials in a variety of situations. This unit will take
place the second six weeks Of the school year. The first
six weeks have been devoted to sketching and designing,
providing experiences so that the class can effectively work
together in small groups, as well as being able to function
as a total group. In addition, the students will have
develOped some skills in problem solving, designing, and the

use of tools and materials.

Overview

If there is one characteristic ofmsdern America it is
the abundance of material goods. Our productive capacities
in some cases match the total for the rest of the world com-
bined. Any comparison with other countries merely highlights
the fact of our material superiority, if not always in
quality certainly in quantity and accessibility to peOple.
This ability to produce goods is not something magical nor
did it spring forth overnight. There are reasons for this
happening, and principles which make it work. This provides
the substance for the unit on mass product and the fact that
it is hgrg, with all Of its advantages and problems, provides
the reason and importance for it being included into the

industrial arts curriculum.

Objective;

1. Achieves a considerable degree Of skill in one

activity and seeks to become more adept at it.

14.8

2. Has sOme understanding of the materials, processes,
and tools that are involved in the production of
manufactured products in our industrial world.

3. Is familiar in general with the productive and
distributive system for goods and services.

4. Works cooperatively with other members of the
groups to which he belongs and strives for good
human relations in the group.

5. Shows at least a general understanding of con-
temporary American society, the heritage which
it carries, the historical roots Of this heritage,
and the major unsolved social problems with which

it is confronted.

I du n

As the unit starts, a lecture-discussion will be held
setting forth the Objectives of the unit and putting these
into a context that is meaningful to the students. This
can be done by being aware of student activities and their
interests and drawing out from the students where the area
of our industrial democracy touches their present and future
lives. Each objective can be related to some significant
aspect of an American citizen's life and to the present day
Obligations and interests of the students. Two booklets
will be handed out to each student: The Evolution 91 Mgsg
Prodgction from the Ford Motor Company and American Battle
for Abundance from General Motors Corporation. The students

1A9

will be requested to read these within the next few days.
The teacher will point out special points and emphasize
parts that will come up again in a discussion period in a
few days.

An assignment will be made for each student to in-
vestigate the production and distribution Of one contemporary
American made consumer product. The material gathered’and
information gained will be put into a written report form
to be handed in following the field trip to be taken. At
the time when they are handed in, some short oral reports
and discussion will be held comparing the production and
distribution of various products.

A bulletin board display with a theme Of modern in-
dustry will be prepared by the teacher and a group Of inter-
ested students. Advertisements, articles, bulletins, and
examples of new induStrial materials or techniques would be
appropriate to focus attention upon some of the objectives
Of this unit. The film, Productivity, Key to Plenty, will
be shown to make clearer some of the implications Of mass
production and how America has been able to achieve the
material wealth that it has in relation to most other
countries of the world. After the students have some idea
of what mass production is, the teacher and students can
begin to explore ideas and activities that they can do in
order to fulfill the objectives prOposed earlier. This will
‘be a "brainstorming" session with more definite decisions

coming later.

150

Qgggnizing for WOrk
This phase will be a direct continuation of the previ-

ous part, only focused upon how people get organized to do a
job. The two booklets handed out previously will help indi-
cats to students some of the personnel problems that need to
be solved if there is to be a successful mass production
experience. This method of organizing peOple should be con-
trasted with the older handicraft method where each worker
completed the object. The necessity for unions or the condi-
tions which brought unionism about will be explored here.
Later the role of unions in industry today will make a good
topic for a report and a discussion. Some of the duties

and responsibilities that will be necessary to produce a
project should be suggested by the group and some form Of
organization built around this. Care must be taken by the
teacher that the wide variety of responsibilities are taken
into consideration when an organizational chart is evolved.
There will need to be a gOverning body, one to make policy
and long range plans, also a group to act as a final
arbitrator in case a decision cannot be reached on a lower
level. This group will be composed of the teacher, the
president, the department heads, and two other students.
This board of directors will be the management group plus
two other members who may be viewed as representing the
workers. The president and department heads will be elected

by the entire class, with the rest of the responsibilities

151

appointed by the department heads. Three departments will
accommodate the jobs that need to be done: engineering and
design, production and inspection, and sales and materials.

The formal operational chart will be as follows:

Board Of Directors

 

President
Superintendent of Superintendent Of Superintendent of
Engineering & Design Production & Ingpection Sales & Materials
. Foreman FOreman Foreman Foreman Foreman Eczeman
Workers Workers Wgrkgrs

The engineering and design department will have the
responsibilities of the design of the product, the jigs, fix-
tures and templates, the tolerance specifications, the
materials to be used, the job procedures, and the layout.
These decisions will all have to be coordinated with other
departments, showing the need for communicating between dif-
ferent departments and the importance of going through
channels. The production and inspection department will be
responsible for the job training program, quality control,
production and assembly, production schedule, records of
number produced, time involved, and rejects of material and
pieces. The sales and material department should secure the
material and supplies, launch a sales campaign if the product

is to be sold, keep records of money expended and received,

152

and be responsible for publicity and public relations.

The Board Of Directors also has some decisions to
make. They will be responsible for deciding the final design
of the product, how it is to be distributed, and number to
produce, the price to charge and what to do with the pro-
fits, if any. The need for cooperation is evident here as
these decisions cannot be made by one person. The teacher
will be keeping an anecdotal record of the students' be-
havior to use in evaluating them for objective number four:
works cooperatively with other members of the groups to
which he belongs and strives for good human relations in the

group.

Selecting the Product
The whole class, led by the president, will discuss

criteria for selecting a product to be produced. The heads
Of departments will have to keep their areas in mind when
arriving at a selection. Some of the things to keep in mind
will be the adequacy of the facilities, tools, space, and
equipment, the ability of the students, the distribution Of
the product, the time available to complete the production,
and the job breakdown in relation to the number of workers
available. The class will be divided into several mmaller
groups with each group responsible for exploring the possi-
bilities and selecting one product to recommend to the Board
of Directors. Each group will take a different age group

or class of people to select a suitable product for. These

153

groups will be: (1) children from ages two to six, (2) the
students own age level, (3) parents, and (4) the local school
district.

The film, P of t Thr ndus Des , will be
shown here since this gives a good illustration of how to
design a product for a specific market. Each group will go
as far as it can in designing a product, getting customer
reaction, computing cost Of materials, predicting possible
sales and production figures, building a scale model or
prototype, making a job analysis, etc. As each small group
is working, the Board Of Directors will be observing and
working with all of the groups. As the several suggested
products take shape, the Board will make a decision as to
which one to produce. The heads of the departments will
selects the foremen and workers needed to get started with
the product and the others not needed at this time will con-
tinue to work on their selection Of a product, getting skills
that may be necessary later on to produce the one that was

picked.

Pro-Production

Other than choosing a product, this is the most crucial
phase of the unit. Here many Of the most important concepts
may be learned for this phase demands more thinking, more
creativity, and more skills than at any other part Of the
unit. Once a product is decided upon, then literally
hundreds of decisions have to be made. The product has to

be designed and engineered, then taken apart and each piece

154

analyzed as to the operations necessary, the tools, machines,
and setups that will be required to accurately duplicate the
parts. The amount of materials for each piece will be com-
puted and then the total amount of material secured and made
ready. Flow charts, work stations, training programs, sales
campaigns, promotional and public relation affairs, quality
control, record keeping forms, etc. will keep everyone busy.
Because of the inexperience of the students, this phase may
be confusing, for they are usually not prepared to spend this
much time tooling up for production. When about all of the
necessary work and planning for production has been ac-
complished, a field trip to a local manufacturing plant will
be taken to break up the routine and provide some experi-
ences that will help them with the rest of the production.

By now the students should be aware of much of the organization
and procedure of industry so a visit should provide some
worthwhile experiences. After the field trip will be a good
time to step for an evaluation session, to sum up what has
been done, and what needs to be accomplished yet.

The papers the students were to prepare on the distri-
bution and production of a product will be due now and some
of the discussion can center around what was learned in
writing these. Through the paper the students wrote and
their participation in the discussion, the teacher can arrive
at an evaluation of two of the objectives: "Is familiar in

general with the productive and distributive-system for goods

155

and services," and "Shows at least a general understanding
of contemporary American society, the heritage which it
carries, the historical roots of this heritage, and the
major unsolved social problems with which it is confronted."
During this time the teacher will present to the class the ‘
evaluation instrument, illustrated below, that workers,
foremen, department heads, and the president will use to
evaluate the people they work for, with, and are responsible
for. .A worker will evaluate other workers he has worked with
and the foreman he has'been responsible to. The foremen will
fill these cards out for the department head, other foremen,
and workers he has been in charge of. The department heads
will rate each other, the president, and their foremen, and
the president will rate the department heads. In this way
each person will have several different ratings from indi-

viduals in different types of positions.

 

 

Name *Fosition or Job Name ‘ifiosition or Job
£93; Other Person:

Please give as accurate and honest a rating as you can to
this person so that these may be used as an indication of
how well he has done his Job.

Put a check mark on the line where you think this person
rates in comparison to what you could expect.

Excellent Good Poor

1. His directions or reports
were clear

 

2. He was reasonable in re-
quests or orders

 

156

3. He was accurate and did a
good quality Job

 

4. He was dependable and did
his Job or assignment

 

5. In general, how did you
like to work with him

 

 

The information gained from this instrument will help
to evaluate each student in terms of these two objectives:
(1) Achieves a considerable degree of skill in one activity
and seeks to become more adept at it, and (2) works cooper-
atively with other members of the groups to which he belongs
and strives for good human relations in the group.

During the pre-production period the small Jobs and
details necessary to get into production should be taken
care of so that the production can run as smoothly as possible.
It cannot be stressed too strongly that this phase is the
real heart and core of the unit where most of the real learn-
ing experiences are. If this part goes badly, then there is
not much hope for a successful product, but if this portion
does go well, then not much can prevent a successful com-

pletion of the unit.

Production and Assembly
without a specific product to analyze, it is diffi-

cult to predict procedures to follow or difficulties that
might arise. Most products of any complexity will require
some of the parts to be produced and stockpiled before the

157

final assembly starts. These can be handled on a sub-
contracting basis. These should be stored in a place where
they can be moved with ease when needed. They should be in-
spected and counted so that these parts are all in order for
the full production run. By this time the students will be
eager to see some of the fruits of their long labors so a
trial run will be made to get the final processes polished
up and to see that all of the activities are coordinated.
The trial run will be stopped at several points along the
way for the teacher to point out examples of situations they
had talked or read about before, for others of the management
group to suggest changes in routing or procedures, or for
individual workers to comment on working conditions. The
trial run should be an instructional session for everyone.
Once the bugs are ironed out full production will start.
Once this starts it will not be stopped unless something
serious develops. The production should be continued long
enough so that the workers get a real feeling for assembly
and production Jobs and the management group has had some
problems to solve. This may last for two hours or for eight
hours, depending upon the product, number to be produced,

number in the class, etc.

The students responsible for public relations will
have anticipated when the group will be in full production and
will have written invitations to some appropriate peeple to

visit during this time. The principal, superintendent,

158

supervisor, board members, other teachers, parents, etc.
would be included. A little booklet has been prepared stat-
ing the reasons for the unit, some of the experiences involved,
and some of the things that might be learned. The school and
local newspaper should have a reporter and photographer there
to record the event. This is the most dramatic portion of
the unit, but it should be emphasized by the students the
reasons for doing the unit and the tremendous amount of work
and effort that was required to get to the final assembly
Operations. A sticker, prepared by the graphic arts class,
will be affixed to each product explaining who produced it.
The products should be finished immediately and distributed
as soon as possible so that few loose ends are left when

the assembly Operations are finished.

Concluding Actizities
After production has been completed there will still

be some activities that will occupy the class until the next
unit is started. The financial records will have to be com-
pleted, all money matters straightened out, equipment put
back, the laboratory restored to its original condition, and
reports to hand in. The evaluation cards the students re-
ceived should be completed and given to the teacher. A
written test will be given the students to test for objective
number two, "Has some understanding of the materials, pro-
cesses, and tools that are involved in the production of

manufactured products in our industrial world." This will

159

be a combination essay, short answer and multiple choice
test, measuring concepts and understandings, as well as
factual information.

An assembly program, planned by the publicity com-
mittee, will be given at this time. Students will explain
their part in the production sequence and complimentary pro-
ducts given to the distinguished guests invited for the
occasion. A management or union official from a local manu-
facturing firm will be the speaker and should have the
assignment of capping this experience for the class, as well
as providing some insights for the other students in attendance
that did not participate.

After the assembly program, the next class period
will be used as an informal critique for students and
teacher. The teacher should have his evaluation completed
by this time so that he could report on some patterns that
had occurred and some of his reactions to the unit. The
students will be encouraged to give their views on the strong
and week points of the unit and how it can be improved the
next time. The objectives should be referred to to see how

well they were achieved.

160

Bibliography for a Uni} on Mnsg Productinn

Books

L~Adams, Walter.

The Snrunture of Americnn Industny. New York:
The Macmillan Co., 19 O.

; Begeman, Myron. Manufacturing Processes. New York: John
Wiley and Sons, 1952.

Bethel, Lawrence, and Others. Industrial Or anization and
Manngement. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956.

Earth, Christy. Masters of Mass P duction. New York:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1955.

Bramson, Ray. American Mass Production. Detroit: Bramson
Publishing Co., 19 5.

Bruckberger, R. L. Imnge of nneric . New York: Viking
Press, 1959.

Burlingame, Roger. Machines That Bnilt America. New Yerk:

New American Library, 1953.

Drucker, Peter. The New fincigty. New York: Harper's Pub-
lishing Co., 1950.

Ford, Henry. M: Life and Work. Garden City: Doubleday,
Page and Co., 1923.

Friedman, Georges. Industninl Society, The Emengence of the

Humnn Pnnblemg 2f Antomagion. Glencoe, Illinois: The

Free Press, 1955-

Glover, John, Cornell, William, and Collins, G. Rowland.
e ve o ment of Am an u t . New York:

Prentice-Hall, 1951.

Klemm, Friedrich. A Hignnny of Wegtenn Tgchnnlogy. New
1959.

York: Charles Scribner s,

Lerner, Max. Angrica as n Civilizntion. New York: Simon

and Schuster, 1957.

Leyson, Burr W. Ma e f I dustri Sci ce. New York:
E. P. Button and Co., 1955.

‘Mumford, Lewis. Tnchnics and Civilignnion. New York: Har-
court, Brace and Co., 193 .

161

National Association of Manufacturers. The Firnt Inngrnatinn
Confergnce g; Manufncturers. New York: National

Association of Manufacturers, 1951.
Usher, Abbott P. n gistonz o; Mechanicnl Inventioni. Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 195 .

Warner, W. Lloyd, and Abegglen, James. Big Buginggs Leadens
in America. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1955.

Bonklets
A Can in Bonn. Dearborn, Michigan: Ford Motor Company.

Civilinngion znrough Tools. Des.Plaines, Illinois: The
Wilkie Foundation, 1954.

Evolution of Mnss Production. Dearborn, Michigan: Ford
Motor Co., 195 .

Fang Today. Dearborn, Michigan: The Ford Motor Company.

Haws, Robert, and Schaefer, Carl. Mnnnfngtnning in the
Sch 01 She . Chicago: American Technical Society,
1930.

Hnw Industry Qnerntes. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Armstrong
Cork Co., 1951.

How the Unigng Work. New Yerk: Textile Workers Union of
America, 99 University Place.

Inlann Mnkeg snegl. Chicago: Inland Steel Co., 30 W.
Monroe St. .

nt u i u om c chin . New Ybrk:
National Association of Manufacturers, 2 E. 48th
St., 1957.

Keane, George R. Tgacning 1292!!!! Throngh Pngnuction.
Washington, D.C.: American Industrial Arts Associ-
ation, Department of National Education Association,

1959.

Kettering, Charles F., and Orth, Allen. Angninan Eéfillfl fnr
Abundnnng. Detroit: General Motors, 1955.

Lnnn of Plenty. Chicago: Farm Equipment Institute, 608
S. Dearborn St., 1950.

Machine Tools - Angrica's Mnsglen. Cleveland: National
Machine Tool Builder s Association, 2071 E. 102 St.

162

On: Mnnnnwgn Futunn: 1255-65. Washington, D.C.: U. S.
Government Printing Office (U. S. Department of Labor).

The Minncle of nnerica. New York: The Advertising Council,
25 W. 5th St.

A Polinz fnn fikillen Mnnnowgr. New Ybrk: National Manpower
Council, Columbia University.

Ronn Mnnn of Innustny. New York: The Conference Board, 460
Park Avenue.

Sexton, Irwin. Indugnrinl Technique! in thg thnn; Shon.
Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1955.

Shott, John. Issues in Labor Manngemen} Rglnginng.
Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Institute, 312
Pennsylvania Ave.

Starr, Mark. La 0 he c. w . New York: Oxford
Book Co., 1 5th Ave.
The 532:: of Tgcnnglogy. Wilmington, Delaware: E. I. DuPont

de Nemours and Co., 1958.

Tyler, Gus. A an ED112!%22! {or Lenor. New Yerk: Fund
for the Republic, 0 E. 2nd St.

YQEE QEROPE2£1&1:! in Indngnny n; a Skillgn Cnngtgnnn. New
Yerk: National Association of Manufacturers, 2 E.
48th St., 1959.

Wilkie, Leighton. an; Life in the Mnnhtgg Wnrlg. Des
Plaines, Illinois: Do All Co., 19 .

Th W r St e1. New York: United States Steel Corp.,
Room 1 00, 71 Broadway.

Magngine Articles

Bernstein, Bernard. "Magazine Rack for Mass Production
Experience," Industri Art d Vo a 0 Ed ,
XLIX, #:38-39.ISeptember, 1935i.

Bick, Alexander. "General Education in Industrial Arts,”

Igdusénial 4:3! nnn Vngagional Egucagion, XLVII, 5:

. "The Industrial Arts Shep Potential," Ingnnnnin;

Art Voca io cati n, XLVI, 8:269-221
(October, 1957;.

163

bCuthbert, Allen, and Werthington, Robert. "Industrial Arts
Mass Production,” ndustrial Arts and sea 1 nal
Educaiion, XLV, 4:141-135 (April, 1956;.
Dean, Cortland. "A Student Publishing Company," Indusirial

Arts d Vocational Education, XLV, 7:219-221
(September, 1956).

Li Gerber, H. P., and Gerber H. J. "Production Molding Patterns,"
School She , XVIII, 6:10-12 (February, 1959).

ZfGerber, H. J. "Production Planning a Project (Part One:
Figtures)," School snon, XX, 1:14-16, 35 (September,
19 0 . .

v/Hilliard, C. H. "Ninth Grade Mass Production Activity,"
School She , XVI, 9:10-11 (May, 1957).

; Hobson, Rod. "Putting Industry in Industrial Arts,"

Industrial Ants and Zogaiional Edunntion, XL, 9:369-
372 November, 1951 .

VJohnson, Conrad. "The Production Line in Industrial Arts,"
School She , X, 10-8-9 (June, 1951).

Johnson, Ira. "Temporary Die Fabrication," Schoni Shon,

Kinnaman, D. "Making Gift Toys,” finnnni_§nnn, XIV, 4:8-9
(December, 1954). -

l/Lento, Robert. "The Place of a Production Job in Industrial

Arts," Iggugtniai Arin and Vbcatinnni Educntion, XLIII,
9:307-30 November, 195 .

Petersen, Arthur. "File Trays," sghgol Shon, XIX, 5:16-17
(January, 1960). .

Peters, Donald, and Peters, Helen. "Industrial Art for
Slog)Learners," thool snon, XVI, 4:9-10 (December,
195 . ~

Phares, Gail. "Christmas Candelabra," hoo o , XIX, 3:
9 (November, 1959).,

Rachelle, William. "The Yo-Yo on the Assembly Line,"
du s and vs a io u ti n, XIII, 4:
1 -1 5 April. 1953 .

[/Rbynolds, William. "Mass Production in the Small Shep,"

Industriai AIL! nnd Vocntinnni Enucatinn, XLIV, 2:
31:33 February, 1955 .

164

[,Ruthiser, Walter. "Fruit Bowl - A Good Mass Production
Project," Industrial Artn nnd Vbcationai Enucation,
XLVIII, 9:27 275 November, 1959 .

[ Schaffer, Harvey. ”The Mass Production Technique of Teach-
ing Industry," Indugtniai Arts and Vocaiinnai Education,
XLVI, 10:309-310 December, 1957 .

L, . ”The Mass Production Technique of Teaching .
Industry - Part II," Ind st 1 l A ts and V 0 tion
Educaiion, XLVII, 7:201-204 (September, 1958).

Schmitt, Marshall. "Setting Up a Production Job." Schnoi
Shon, XV, 5:7, 30, 31 (January, 1956). '

Soeteber, Lyle. ”Bringing Production Techniques Into the
Shop," Industrial Art and ional u ation, XLII
4:135-137 (April, 1953).

Q.Spencer, Thomas. ”Mass Production in Industrial Arts,"

In u ria s and Vbc t onal Educ t o , XLVIII, 8:
229-230 (October, 1959).

Taylor, James. "Group Experience Unit in Mass Production
Technique," Indinna Ingngtnial Edunation Agenciaiinn
Valentino, G. "A Production Job for Korea," us r ts

nnd ¥ocaiinnni Educntion, XL, 10:408-409 December,
1951 . -

x Walker, John R- "Adapting a Project to Mass Production,"
5” . I u ts d Voc ion E use on, XLIX, 1:
- 1 January, 19 0 .

. Wolf, Lloyd, and Roby, Wallace. "The Line Production Job
in Industrial Arts Teaching," The ndu ri t
Tgaghen, XVI, 2:9-10 (November-December, 1956).

Film;

"Another Man's Business." Pittsburgh 33, Pa.: Miller Print-
ing Machine Co., 117 Reedsdale St., 25 minutes.

”Automation Comes of Age." Chicago 38, Illinois: Clearing
Division of U. S. Industries, 6201 W. 63rd St., 16
minutes. '

"Automatic Stamping for Mass Production." Chicago 19.
Illinois: Verson Allsteel Press Co., 1355 E. 93rd
St., 15 minutes.

165

"Body Bountiful.” Detroit 2, Michigan: General Motors Corp.,
File Library, General Motors Building, 25 minutes.

"Evolution of Broaching." Detroit 13, Michigan: Colonial
Breach and Machine Co., P. 0. Box 37. Harper Station,
30 minutes.

"Five Thousand Years of Forging." Utica 2, New York: Ralph
Coe Co., 209 Foster Building, 20 minutes.

"Highway to Production." Cincinnati 9, Ohio: Cincinnati
, Milling Machines 00., 4701 Merburg Ave., 30 minutes.

"The Human Bridge.“ Dearborn, Michigan: Ford Motor Co.,
*The American Road, 30 minutes.

"Improved Methods." Pittsburgh 21, Pa.: Amansco, H. B.
Maynard Co., 718 Wallace Ave., 16 minutes.

"Iron Ore to Motive Power." Dearborn, Michigan: Ford Meter
Co., The American Read, 28 minutes.

"Journey of a Tree." New York 16, New York: Baumritter
Corp., 145 E. 32nd St., 26 minutes.

"Learning the Principles of MTM." Pittsburgh 21, Pa.:
Amansce, H. B. Maynard Co., 718 Wallace Ave., 18
minutes.

”Manufacturing with Milwaukee - Matic." Milwaukee 14,
Wisconsin: Kearney and Trecker Corp., 6800 W. National
Aye., 17 minutes.

"The Meaning of the Industrial Revolution." Chicago 1,
Illinois: Coronet Motion Pictures, 64 East-South
Water Street, 11 minutes.

"Modular Automation.” Chicago 38, Illinois: Clearing Division
of U. S. Industries, 6201 W. 63 St., 14 minutes.

"Our American Crossroads." Detroit 2, Michigan: General
Motors Corp., Film Library, General Motors Building,
23 minutes.

"Production Pioneering." Dearborn, Michigan: Ferd Mbter
Co., The American Road, 15 minutes. ‘

"Profit Through Industrial Design." .Pittsburgh 21, Pa.:
Amansce, H. B. Maynard Co., 718 Wallace Ave., 17

minutes.

166

"Progress in Precision." Detroit 38, Michigan: Micrematic
Hone Corp., 8100 Scheelcraft Ave., 30 minutes.

"Six Thousand Partners." Dearborn, Michigan: Ford Motor
Co., The American Read, 20 minutes.

"A Thing of Beauty." Detroit 2, Michigan: General Motors
Corp., Film Library, General Motors Building, 16
minutes.

"Tools of Abundance." Detroit 20, Michigan: Wesson Co.,
1220 Woodward Heights Blvd., 28 minutes.

"Up From Clay." Detroit 2, Michigan: General Motors Corp.,
Film Library, General Motors Building, 25 minutes.

SUMMARY

This study was concerned mainly with develeping a
rationale for the inclusion of a unit on mass production in
the industrial arts curriculum in the public school. The
feasibility of teaching it without special equipment or
specially trained teachers was also considered. A more
definitive study remains to explore what really happens when
such units are taught.

General education not only has the responsibility of
providing common experiences for everyone, but of allowing
students to delve into special interest areas that will also
create peeple who are different. There have been many
national commissions, groups, and individuals that have made
statements regarding general education. The Educational
Policies Commission report, in 1938, published a book called
Inn Pngnnggg of Enncation in Amenican ngncracy in which are
proposed four objectives of general education. These are:
(1) The Objectives of Self-Realization, (2) The Objectives
of Human Relationship, (3) The Objectives of Economic Ef-
ficiency, and (4) The Objectives of Civic Responsibility.
These are inclusive enough to cover all the activities with-

in a school curriculum, yet distinct enough so that subject

167

168

areas can identify parts or all of their courses with one or
several of these objectives.

There seems to be ample evidence that industrial arts
is general education. A.contemporary, liberal view of indus-
trial arts fits nicely into a theoretical framework of
general education. As one becomes acquainted with the writ-
ings and thinking of peeple who represent general education
and of those who represent industrial arts, it is amazing that
in practice this relationship is not recognized more ade-
quately.

The selection of content and the organization of the
subject will have to be approached in a more intelligent
manner than in the past if industrial arts is to play a
dynamic role in modern education. The content will have to
be upgraded chronologically and technologically so that some
of the obsolete matter is discarded and some of the more
significant technological advances are recognized. The
"individual interest take-heme project" to a great extent
describes how industrial arts teachers organize instruction
at the present time. Using the unit method the project can
be put into a context that will increase its effectiveness.
This will allow the teacher a greater flexibility of appro-
priate teaching techniques as well as granting the content a
unity that has been generally lacking before. By identifying
a specific segment of time with a unifying theme, unique

objectives, teaching techniques, and evaluation, there is an

159

organizational pattern that will provide a structure upon
which to build a successful curriculum and course of study.

In developing the concept of mass production, the
history of modern industry and inventions should be considered.
The student should be aware of some of the previous attempts
to duplicate parts and to produce goods in quantity. To
recognize some of the men, machines, tools, processes, and
products that have made important contributions to our pre-
sent industrial democracy is te put our present industrial
democracy into a historical perspective that will be invalu-
able.

The relationship of mass production and general edu-
cation is not a difficult one to see. If only one source is
used, Will French's Beha ior Go Is 0 (General u a 10 in
High Schonl, there are relationships that are seldom ex-
plored. These include such diverse areas as understanding
the scientific method, achieving a considerable degree of
skill in one or a few activities, showing a general understand-
ing of contemporary American society, appreciating good work-
manship, understanding the simple economic facts of consumer
economics, and working cooperatively with other members of a
group. Each of these areas has points of contact in general
education and in understanding the concept of mass production.
It is a challenge to the teacher to exploit this relation-
ship.

With a resource unit on mass production in industrial

170

arts there are so many facets that can and should be learned
that it should be quite unwieldy to try and include all of the
possibilities for instruction. Some teachers may want to put
more emphasis on industrial organizations or on industrial
design. Still others will be more concerned with the manu-
facturing processes or materials. For some the historical or
economic aspects will be more important, while others may
teach primarily for consumer values. No matter what is em-
phasized, each of these areas and more will have to be given
some consideration if an adequate coverage is to be done for
developing the concept of mass production. As yet, there is
not a large amount of resource material that is organized

and available to a teacher attempting such a unit, so each
teacher will generally have to gather and organize the
materials without a great deal of additional help.

The mass production units as taught by 11 industrial
arts teachers showed some commonality. The classes chosen
by the teachers to participate were generally in the seventh
through tenth grade, rather than in the eleventh or twelfth
grades. The projects were generally made of wood with a few
metal ones included. The project idea was usually chosen
by the teacher with more freedom given to the students to de-
sign the final product. Generally, many of the parts were
produced and stockpiled, then all assembled at one time.
There was no clear pattern as to distribution for some were

given away er’made for the school, while others were sold

171

to class members or to the general public. Some teachers
set aside.a specific time for all of the class to partici-
pate, other used only part of the class for mass production
while the others worked on individual projects when not com-
mitted to their mass production activity. None of them
carried on an extensive evaluation program, but without ex-
ception all of them indicated they would try this unit again
next year.

The evaluation of the selected mass production experi-
ences took on several forms. The teachers expressed their
personal epinion and generally thought they had learned
quite a bit about teaching a unit on mass production. The
students, via an opinionnaire, generally thought a mass pro-
duction project was all right for industrial arts, but most
of them would rather have made an individual interest take-
home project. The test scores showed some interesting
patterns. The first five items were designed to show who
the person would involve in making a decision. These were
set on a continuum with number one involving only one person
and number five involving more people affected by the decision.
In every case the mass production group or the post-test re-
sults showed fewer choices of number five. The informational
test scores showed a higher mean for the mass production group
in every case except one, and some of these were highly
significant differences. The writer's evaluation of the

teacher's organization and teaching of the unit showed one

172

obvious weakness in almost every situation. This was the
failure of the teacher to define specific objectives, make
these known to the students, pick appropriate techniques to
accomplish these, and then evaluate in terms of their ob-
jectives. Without doing some of these, many other weaknesses
followed.

A teaching unit on mass production was recommended as
an attempt to incorporate many of the principles and pro-
cedures expressed previously. Such a unit incorporated the
social and economic implications of mass production, the
distribution and sales, the design and research phases of
production, and the technical processes needed for an exact
duplication of quantity parts and assembly procedures. There
was also some attempt to put this into a.historical and con-
temporary reference so as to interrelate other areas and
make the learning more significant. Other units can be made
that would have a different emphasis in terms of time and
depth of penetration, but it is the writer's belief that the
one presented provides a good balance of the many facets of
mass production.

Changes in curriculum are as dependent upon changes
in values as upon the addition of concepts and information.
Changes proposed by the writer are no exception. If public
school industrial arts teachers begin to value the behavior
changes that may be brought about by participation in a unit
on mass production, than this unit will be important, and be

included in industrial arts.

1.

173
Conclusions

The criteria for the selection of content in industrial

arts courses should be the following:

a. Contribute to the objectives of general education

b. Be related to modern technology

c. Be appropriate for students working with concrete
materials in a laboratory setting. .

Learning about mass production is appropriate content for

the general education of all American youth. Social and

technological elements of mass production go back as far

as man has produced goods in quantity.

Industrial arts, being concerned with the productive

enterprise of man, must include mass production as a

dominant theme in its curriculum. Almost all of America's

goods are mass produced and its economy is geared to mass

production and mass consumption.

A unit on mass production is feasible, using the average

teacher, students, and laboratory facilities available.

No drastic or special changes will need to be made to

accommodate this addition to the industrial arts cur-

riculum. I

By using the unit method of organizing instruction, in-

dustrial arts teachers can secure a unity in their teach-

ing that has not been possible before. The unit provides

a framework that demands pro-planning and an organization

that may lead to better teaching and learning.

7.

10.

174

The industrial arts teachers who participated in teaching
a unit on mass production generally conceived of mass
production as the technical aspects of the production

and assembly of a product in volume.

The industrial arts teachers who participated in teaching
a unit on mass production generally failed to adequately
pro-plan the unit. There generally was not a definite
relationship between objectives of the unit, activities
planned for the students, and the evaluation.

The image of industrial arts, as expressed by the
majority of students participating in a mass production
unit, is still one of "a place to go to make things to
take home."

According to the results of the judgment portion of the
mass production test, these students who participated in
a mass production unit would, to a greater extent, involve
fewer people in making decisions and also would "pass the
buck" more for someone else to handle. I
Students generally will score significantly better on an
informational test over mass production after having
participated in a mass production unit than those not
having this experience. The differences in the scores
of the mass production groups can usually be accounted

for by the varied attention paid to the related instruc-

tion by the teacher.

1.

2.

175

Imniinations

What "success" the 11 participating teachers had in
achieving the objectives of a unit on mass production was
probably due to several factors: (a) they volunteered for
the assignment and believed that mass production is an
important area of industrial arts, (b) they were provided
information and inspiration by the writer, and (c) they
were a part of a research study. If similar "successes"
would be expected in another situation, the above three.
factors should be examined to see whether they are pre-
sent. If they are not then the writer doubts that simi-
lar results could be expected.

Industrial arts teachers are generally willing to improve
their teaching and try new techniques if some additional
help and stimulation is offered. This should provide a
clue to colleges preparing teachers as to an expanding
role they can play as a change agent.

In many cases it seems that the main concern of the
teacher is to keep the students happy and that he might
be able to do this by letting them make almost anything
they want to make. This "neurotic addiction" to the
individual interest project creates an image of indus-
trial arts in the minds of the students and the public
that is difficult to combat. They begin to think that
industrial arts is a place to make things for themselves,

rather than a place to learn. Unless both teacher and

176

student gives up this tenacious held on the individual
interest project, other things will continue to take a
second place.

The professional literature of industrial arts needs to
reflect more of the environment of today and tomorrow
rather than dwelling upon the apparent "successes" of
yesterday. Without an improvement in this area, the up-
grading of industrial arts so that it realizes more of
its potential will be difficult, if not impossible. For
example, of all of the magazine articles listed in the
bibliography for the unit on mass production, only one
devoted any space to 131 this unit was being taught.
Industrial arts has the potential of being a dynamic
force in general education. In order to do this the
industrial arts teachers will have to exhibit leadership
and professional activity that heretofore has been sadly
lacking. Industrial arts teachers will have to play a
greater role in education-wide organizations and activi-
ties, not only so as to be more understanding of other
areas of education, but also so that other educators
will better understand industrial arts.

There is a need for industrial arts teacher education to
concern itself more with curriculum construction. Al-
though graduate work is being increasingly sought by
industrial arts teachers, the need for every industrial

arts teacher to be competent in the area of curriculum

177

construction is so vital that it cannot be deferred and
restricted to graduate work.

If industrial arts is to change the image which many

students, educators, and lay people have of it, then some

demonstrable results will have to be achieved. A good
public relations program can only be built upon a good
product. A unit on mass production may be one means of
creating this new image.

The concept of mass production as narrowly conceived by
the teachers who participated in teaching a unit on mass
production is not so serious that it could not be remedied
through the professional literature, in-service education,

and observation of exemplary practices.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albert» Harold. Reor anizin the Hi h-School Curriculum.
New York: Macmillan Co., 1947. ,

American Council on Industrial Arts Teacher Education.

Pyoblems and Issues in Industriai Arts Teacher

Education. Bloomington, Illinois: McKnight and
McKnight, 1956.

. Readings in Education. Bloomington, Illinois:
McKnight and McKnight, 1957.

 

. Superior Prnctices. Bloomington, Illinois:
McKnight and McKnight, 1955.

American Industrial Arts Association. The Unii Method.

Washington, D.C.: National Education Association,
1960.

Anderson, Vernon. Pnincinles nnd Progenungs of Curniculum
innroyement. New York: Ronald Press Co., 195 .
Association for SuperVision and Curriculum Development.

Whai Shnll ihe High thooln Teach? Washington, D.C.:
National Education Association, 1956.

Bonser, Frederick, and Mossman, Lois. industriai Arts {or
W- “3913111811 00-. 192 -

Bruckberger, R. L. Imnge oi Amgricn. New York: Viking
Press, 1959. .

Burlingame, Roger. Bacggnfiundn 01 inen. New Yerk: Charles
Scribners' Sons, 19 9.

. Mnnhines That Built America. New York: New
American Library, 1953.

Conant, James B. 23° Amnricnn High Sghool Today. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1959.

Corey, Stephen (ed). General Education in the AE°P1°£B High
School. New York: Scott, Foresman and Co., 19 2.

179

180

Diebold, John. Auiomatinn. Princeton, N. J: D. Van Nostrand,
1952.

Department of Public Instruction. Industriai Ants for
' Secondnry thools. Des Moines: State of Iowa, 1948.

Dreher, Carl. Automation. New York: W. W. Norton Co., 1957.
Drucker, Peter. The New Society. New York: Harpers, 1950.

Educational Policies Commission. Edunaiion and Enonomic
Well-Being. Washington, D.C.: National Education
Association, 1940.

. Educntion for ail American Youth. Washington,
D.C.: National Education Association, 1952.

. The Punnoses of Education in Amerinan ngocrncy.
Washington, D.C.: NationalrEducation Association,

1938.
Ericson, Emanuel. Teanhing thn Indnstrial Antn. Peoria,
Illinois: Manual Arts Press, 19 .

Ferd, Henry. My Liie nnd Werk. Garden City: Doubleday,
Page and Co., 1923.

, Ford Motor Company. The Evelutinn o; Mas! Produntion.
Dearborn, Michigan: Ford Motor Co., 195 .
French, Will, and Associates. Behavionni Goain of General
Enucaiinn in High Sghool. New Yerk: Russel Sage
Foundation, 1957.

Friedman, George. Innnstriai Snnieiy. Glencoe, Illinois:
The Free Press, 1955.

Fuzak, John. "Analysis of Developments to Determine Impli-
cations for Industrial Arts," The Indugtrini Anig
Tgachgr, XVII, 2:12-13, 20 (November-December, 1957).

Hawley, George. Autnmaiing thg Manufnntuning Progenn. New
York: Reinhold Publishing Co., 1959.

Herrmann, Henry. nyt and induginy. Washington, D.C.:
American Industrial Arts Association, 1956.

Hillway, Tyrus. ininndngtinn io Rengnngh. Boston: Houghton
Mifflln Co., 195 .
Hornbake, R. Lee. "Professional Growth in Industrial Arts

Education," The Indnstnini Arts Tganhen, XIX, 2:13-
15 (November-December, 1959 .

181

Karnes, M. Ray. "Improving Industrial Arts Education," The
Induninini Ania Tgacher, XIX, 5:5-7 (May-June, 1960).

Keane, George. "Understanding Industry Through Production -
A Project in General Education;" Unpublished Ph.D.
dissertation, Columbia University, 1956.

Kettering; Charles F., and Orth, Allen. inerican nnitie fen
nnundange. Detroit: General Motors, 1955.

Klemm, Frederick. A Higtony nf Westeyn Tgchnoingy. New
York: Charles Scribners , 1959.

Lahti, Aarre K. "Design for Industrial Arts," e In u r
nntn Teacher, XIX, 4:6-7 (March-April, 19%0).

Latimer, John F. Whnt'g Hannenen to Our High Schooln?
Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 195 .

Lerner, Max. e ica a C v za . New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1957.

Michaela, William, and Sommers, Wesley. ing Minnesota Plnn

for I d ts eacher uca io . Bloomington,
Illinois: McKnight and McKnight, 195 .

Mumford, Lewis. Tnghnics ann Civilinatign. New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Co., 193 .

. Napoleone, Vincent. "Time for Awakening," l2§2£l§lfil.%£l§
fnd vocntiennl Enunation, XLVIII, 6:17 -17 ; 19
June, 1959 .

National Association of Manufacturers. Ins Firgt Inner-
naiienal Cnnienence nf Mnnnznctnnnrg. New York:
National Association of Manufacturers, 1951.

National Society for the Study of Education. Genera
Educntinn. Fifty-first Yearbook, Part I. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1952.

L/Olson, Delmar. "A Call to Industrial Arts," Schooi Shnn,

. Tenhnology ann Indusiyiai nyts. Columbus, Ohio:
Epsilon Pi Tan, 1957.

Risk, Thomas M. P inc les d Prac ce f To ch n in

Seconnany §ghools. New York: American Book Co.,
19 7.

182

Romine, Stephen. Building the High Schooi Cunrinulum. New
Yerk: Ronald Press Co., 195 .

Saylor, J. Galen, and Alexander, William M. Curriculum
Pinnning, New York: Rineheart and Co., 1954.

Smith, B. Othanel, Stanley, William, and Shore, J. Harlan.

Fundamentals of Curriculum Deveionment. Yonkers-on-
Hudson: World Book Co., 1950.

Spears, Harold. The High School for Today. New York:
American Book Co., 1950.

Tate, Merle. Statistics in Education. New York: Macmillan
COe ’ 19550 '

The Harvard Committee. General Edu ation in a Free Sooiet .
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948.

Tyler, Ralph. Basin Princinles of Curriculum and Inntruciion.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1950.

U. S. Department of the Interior. indusiriai int: - Its

Intennretation in American Schools. Washington, D.C.:
U. S. Government Printing Office, Bulletin 1937; No.

34. 1937.
Wilber, Gordon. Industrial Arts in Gnneral Education.

Scranton, Pa.: International Bextbook Co., 1954.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

Bibliography for an Industrial Survey

C Adams, Walter. The Structurg of Amerinan Industny. New
York: Macmillan, 1950.

c/Bethel, Laurence, and others. Industrial Organization and
Management.

Brady, Geogge. Materials Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill,
195 .

aninesn Wnek. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Consumers Reports. Mt. Vernon, N. Y.: Consumer Union of the
U. S.

Dewhurst, Frederic, and Associates. America's Needs and
Renournes. New York: 20th Century Fund, 1955.

Diderot Pictorial Enc clo edia of T ades and Indu t . New
York: Dover Publications, 1959. (Originally published

in 1763.)

' Dun's Review and Modern Industny. Chicago: Dun and Brad-
street Publication.

Fortune. Chicago: Time, Inc.
Glover, John, and Cornell, William. The Development of

Amenican Industries. Englewoed Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice Hall, 1951.

L Hawley, George. Antnmaiing thg Mannfacturing Process. New
York: Reinhold Publishing Co., 1959.

ngndusiriai Denign. New York: Whitney Publications.
ingustnini Mnrketing. Chicago: Advertising Publishing Co.
LwAreson, William, and Grant, Eugene. Hnndbook of Industrial

Engineering nnd Mannggnent. Englewoed Cliffs, N. J.:
Prentice-Hall, 1955.

LKlemm, Friedrick. A Histogy 0; Western Technology. New
York: 1959.

Scribners Sons,

184

185

Materials in gegign Enginegring. New York: Reinhold
Publishing Co.

Mumford, Lewis. Technips gnd Civilizaiipn. New York:
Harcourt, Brace, 19 .

National Industrial Conference Board. The Economic Almanac.
New York: National Industrial Conference Board, 1960.

Thnmns' Register of American Manugacturers. New York:
Thomas Publishing Co., 19 O.

U. S. Budget Office, Department of Commerce. Classification
of Industries. Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of
Documents, 1957.

U. S. Department of Commerce. Materinis Sunyey. Washington,
D. C.: Superintendent of Documents.

. Stapisticnl Abgtract of thg U.S, Washington, D.C.:
Superintendent of Documents, 19 O.

Weytinsky, W. S., and Associates. Empioymeni nnd aneg in
thg U. . New York: 20th Century Fund, 1953.

APPENDIX II

Lntter to Industriai nyts Teachers

August 24, 1959

Dear

I am trying to explore different techniques or ways of teach-
ing industrial arts. One of the ways is through a mass pro-
duction project in the school shop, where the students may de-
sign, engineer, produce, and distribute projects that they
made by mass production methods.

Quite a few people have done this kind of thing, and some
have written up their experiences in our magazines, but I
know of none who have really tried to measure to see just
what this experience did, or didn't do. I am working with
Dr. Fuzak on a degree here at Michigan State University and

I hope to do just that. What I would like to do is select
about 10 teachers around East Lansing who would like to try

a mass production project in one of their classes this year.
If you would be willing and able to do this, I would help
you get started. I would plan to consult with you during the
operation and help you evaluate the results, in exchange for
your ideas and the information we get. I anticipate that you
will have a good deal of freedom in deciding just how this is
to be taught. The organization, the project, how many, re-
lated information, etc., are all flexible enough to accommo-
date almost any situation. It can be 2 weeks or 2 months
long, you can make 20 or 200, as there is really only 1

‘basic requirement and that is the mass production or assembly
line basis for constructing the object. I realize that this
is a very short summary of what I am proposing to do, so
please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have.

If you will fill out the enclosed sheet and mail it back to
1.05 I will then get in touch with you if you express an inter-
est in this project.

I feel that this technique, the mass production project, along
with some others, can add some real vitality to our programs,
but only if we know more about them.

Sincerely,

Lee H. Smalley
LHS/ccl

Enclosure
186

 

 

APPENDIX III

Teacher Reply Form

 

NAME ADDRESS PHONE NOJ"'"

7 8 9 1O 11 12

 

YEARS TAUGHT CIRCLE GRADE LEVEL YOU TEACH
NAME OF SCHOOL ADDRESS OF SCHOOL GRADES INCL.

Check materials you usually work with:
Drawing __ Metals __ Plastics __ Electricity __
Weed .__ Mechanics __ Graphic Arts __ Crafts

Which would your shop generally be classified as:
General Shop ___ Unit Shep __

What do you know about doing a mass production project in
industrial arts?

What do you think this has to do with your objectives?
Have you ever done this before?

WOuld you try it this year if additional help was provided
to get you started?

WOuld you like to state your reasons for your position on
the previous question?

187

APPENDIX IV A

Test Over Mass Production

Do not write on this booklet - put all of your
answers on the special answer sheet, with the

special pencil supplied to you.

188

11.

12.

13.

189

Yen are a foreman in the Jones Box Company. You have
charge of 10 men in a department that makes 40 boxes a day
on an assembly line.

YOur supervisor tells you that your department must make
5 more boxes a day. Which one of the following would

you

1.

2.

5.

do?

Tell the men that either they produce 5 more boxes
a day or else they will get fired.

Put a notice on the bulletin board that 5 more
boxes will have to be produced each day.

Ask your supervisor how to get the extra boxes made
each day.

Call your men together and tell them you didn't
have anything to do with the order for more boxes.

Call a meeting and work out with the men some ways
of doing the extra work.

of your workers has been "goofing off" for the last
days. Which one of the following would you do?

Recommend to your supervisor that either the man be
fired or transferred out of your department.

Tell him he had better "get on the ball”!

Don't pay any attention to it, and hope that he
quits soon.

Ask some of the other men to see if they know what
is wrong.

Talk with the man to see if there is something you
could help him with.

Within the next month you are to pick an assistant to
help you on your job. One of the eligible men asks you
to spend a week-end at his cabin to hunt and fish.
Which one of the following would you do?

Just tell him yes or no.

Tell him you don't like to hunt or fish, even though
you really do.

Ask your supervisor and see what he would advise
you to do.

14.

15,

16.

190

Talk to the other workers who applied for the new
job and tell them what you have decided to do for
that week-end.

Tell him you can't go be cause this wouldn't be fair
to the rest of the men who also want the job of
assistant.

The inspector has been rejecting many of the pieces
that are coming from one man's bench. Which one of the
following would you do?

1.

2.

Take the pieces back to him and make him do them
over.

Recommend to your supervisor that the man be trans-
ferred out of your department.

Change the work assignments around so that he has a
different job.

Talk to him and ask him to be more careful.

Try to find out what is wrong and then work out a
program with the training officer to correct it.

One of your men comes to you and tells you that because
they have just had twins he will have to have a pay
raise. Which of the following would you do?

Tell him no, that pay raises go to those people
that work the hardest, not have the most children.

Mention it to your supervisor, but give him no
definite answer.

Tell him you will take this into consideration when
there is another pay raise.

Talk to him and see if there isn't some other way
he can make more money.

Werk out a program so that he learns a higher pay-
ing skill.

Which of these is always necessary for mass production:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

highly skilled workers on the assembly line
standardization of parts

multiple purpose machines

all of these

vnone of these

17.

18.

19.

20.

191

Today, an accurately machined metal piece could be mea-
sured within:

1. 1/64 of an inch

2. as close as you wanted
3. 1/1000 of an inch

4. 1/10,000 of an inch

5. 1/425 of an inch

Which statement is n21 true of mass production:

1. the first completed object will be finished sooner
than if they were made individually

2. each part can be made by a separate machine

3. it requires less overall skill by the workers

4. they can be produced cheaper

Which one of the following is a device for holding work
and guiding a tool so that duplicate pieces can be
made:

1. holder
2. form
3. vise
4. clamp
5. 118

A company produced 1,000 clamps last year and 10,000
this year. The price:

1. may go down

2. would prObably go up

3. may go either way

4. would probably stay the same

Following is a list of five operations that are neces-
sary for mass production. Put these in proper order by
placing a mark in the 1st column across from your choice
of the 1st operation, place a mark in the 2nd column
across from the operation that comes next, and so forth
for all 5 Operations.

21. tooling up for production

22. research creates an idea

23. a model is designed

24. the operations are timed and materials are ready
25. the model is tested

192

26. Making identical objects by a form of mass production
has been done:

1. since the Middle Ages

2. since recorded history

3. only in the last few years
4. since Henry Ford

27. To work on most assembly lines you would probably be:

1. skilled

2. semi-skilled
3. unskilled

4. any of these

28. To make the tools and dies you would probably be:

1. professionally trained
2. skilled

3. semi-skilled

4.’ any of these

29. To design the product you would probably be:

1. professionally trained
2. skilled '
3. semi-skilled
4. any of these

30. To maintain the machines, you would probably be:

1. skilled

2. semi-skilled
3. unskilled

4. any of these

31. To be a foreman, you probably:

1. would be skilled

2. would be semi-skilled

3. would be professionally trained
4. could be any of these

YOu are going to buy a bicycle. Yen have your choice of one
that has been mass produced or one that has been individually
made. ‘

32. Which one would probably be the cheapest?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

193

Which one would probably be the most decorative?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

Which one would probably be the best made and so last
the longest?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

Which one would be the easiest to get spare parts for?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

Which one would probably go out of style first?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

Which one would probably be like someone else's?

1. mass produced
2. individually made

7.

APPENDIX IV B

Wain

What do you think of mass producing a project in Indus-
trial Arts?

What was your job or responsibility in the mass production
project?

How did you like your particular job?

WOuld you like to mass produce another perect?
Yes No Don't care

Why?, or why not?

 

 

 

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

194

10.

11.

195

What was the best part of the mass production experience?

What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?

How would you suggest it be changed if this was to be
done again next year?

Additional comments:

APPENDIX IV C

W

 

1. Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year? ~

2. Ynun Sindgnin:
A. What was their reaction to this technique?

1. At the beginning?

2. At the conclusion?

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

C. What did the students learn?

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?

196

197

3- 1522:1211:
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why not?

B. What will you do differently?

C. What did you like best about this technique this
year?

D. What did you like least about this technique this
. year? .

4. Additional comments:

APPENDIX V A

§itnatinn 1

R su f S ude ie re: (9 responding)

1.

What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

 

liked it __2_
2. How did you like your particular job?
liked it A '
3. WOuld you like to mass produce another project?
yes __5__ donft'care‘__5__ A
4. Why? Why not:
it was fun __5__ very tiresome, boring __g_
interesting doing it
this way __g_
learned something __2__,
5. What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?
nothing else._;5__l work on individual project __5_
6.‘ What did you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?
how things are produced.__5__
7. What was the best part of the mass production experi-
ence?
the assembly operation __5__
working together __g__
1These items that had less than two responses were
omitted.

198

199

8. What was the part you like least about the mass pro-
duction? n

a particular job 5 getting started 2
people not doing their job 5

9. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?

better jigs 2
R ult e To c e o i :

I. Why did you decide to do a mass production project
this year?

”First of all, it fit innicely with our objective
in advanced class 'to learn more about modern indus-
try.‘ Also from my own experience and recent obser-
vation, I decided that it was one of the few shop
projects that can accomplish several objectives at
the same time."

II. YOur Students:
A. What was their reaction to this technique?

1. At the beginning?

"It was something entirely different than
most of them had ever had experience with.
There was a mild interest or curiosity at
first. The interest climax came during the
production run and after the publicity.”

2. At the conclusion?

"Meat of the class felt that they had ex-
perienced a valuable technique that possessed
many complications. Their appreciation of what
mass production has done for us was somewhat
higher."

B. What did you expect the students to learn?
“We concentrated on the historical and technical
aspects of mass production. I wanted them to learn

what it was, how it could be set up and carried out,
and why it should be appreciated."

C. What did the students learn?

"A mediocre understanding of the background, a

III.

200

good appreciation for its value and complexity and
a good understanding of jigs, fixtures, production,
and business management. Weak as how to organize
and set it up."

D. What evidence to you have of what they learned?
"Group discussion and evaluation (verbal)
Written opinion-type evaluation sheet
Objective test.“
Yourself: A
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why

C.

D.

not?

"Yes, more extensively. It accomplishes so many
objectives and it has the possibility of being a
rather unique break in the routine type of activity.
It has good student interest, student cost can be
eliminated, and it can add value and general inter-
est to our program."

What will you do differently?

"Involve more students in preliminary activities
- plan a longer session for the unit - use this
technique with other industrial arts classes, that
is, besides the advanced class only. We would like
to make a unit next year involving the general
business class."

What did you like best about this technique this
year?

”The fact that it added interest and challenge
for me and the students while accomplishing a valu-
able part of one of our main objectives."

What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"The initial work and planning was weak and the
company executives were not too well coordinated.
There were areas where I felt I was doing their
problem-solving and other areas where it was
difficult to interfere when I hhould have."

201'.

Resuitp of Studeni Tgnin:(judgment items)

Answer 1 2 3 4 5
Pre-test (number of responses) 92 6 3 4 23
Percentage 20% 13% 6% 9% 51%
Post-test (number of responses) 6 11 8 3 17
Percentage 13% 24% 18% 6% 38%
Difference -07% +11% +12% -O3% -13%

Results of Student Tests: (information items)

 

 

Pro-Test Post-Test
Student number correct number correct Difference

1 18 18 O
2 14 17 +3
3 13 10 -3
4 10 18 +8
5 9 13 +4
6 7 7 ‘ o
7 6 9 +3
8 4 7 +3
9? 4 _5_ +1

N = 9 E = 9

2,2 9.4 X2 = 11.6

Using the t test of differences between the means of two
correlated samples,3 t = 2.04 so that .107P7}.05, which
would not be significantly different at the 5 per cent level
of confidence.

 

2This should be interpreted as: out of 45 possible re-
sponses, the students chose answer number ass as being ap-
propriate nine times.

3Merle w. Tate, s i t i u (New Yerk:
Macmillan Co., 1955). P. .

APPENDIX V B

Sipnaiinn 2

Results of Student Opinionnaire: (14 responding)

1.

2.

5.

7.

What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts? ‘

liked it _1_ didn't like it __:__
How did you like your particular job?
liked it ___1_o_ didn't like it _;_
WOuld you like to mass produce another project?
yes 4 no __1__, don't care._;1__ A
Why? ‘Why not?

' just don't like it __2_

 

very tiresome, boring 2
work on own project 5

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

work on individual project 19

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced.__5__

What was the best part of the mass production experience?
the assembly operation.__g__ when we were finished ;_5_
individual jobs __5__

What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?

a particular job __5__
people not doing their'job" g
202

203

 

doing it 4
9. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
don't do it 5
WW:
I. Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?
”It's something I've always wanted to do and your
request prompted me.”
II. Y Stu : '
1A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning:
”Lack of enthusiasm - just as well it's over
- now I can devote full time to 'my' project."
B. What did you expect the students to learn? 1
”There are lots of cogs in the mass production
wheel - the line worker is a small one. He also
has a boring job. I'm not too sure I had addi-
tional objectives in mind."
0. What did the students learn?
”I believe they learned what I expected them
to learn." ,
D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?
"Students indicated this feeling of un-
importance and a small part the 'line man' plays
during two discussion periods we had.“
:11. massif: '

A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why not?

"Yes - I feel this year's experience was a fail-
ure and I want to do better. I also see this as a
unit of instruction that fills one of our major ob-
jectives. I have plans of incorporating this as a
permanent part of my program."

204

B. What will you do differently?

1. "Teach this as a unit without anything else

going."

2. Planning will involve everyone."

0. What did you like best about this technique this
year?

1. "It gave us an item we will use in the shep.'

2. "It jogged my thinking towards putting my ob-
jectives squarely before me as a prerequisite
to any given unit of instruction. I have talked
about my objectives but hadn't really planned
my program to this.”

D. What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"I had revised my units at instruction and wanted
to see them develop. The mass production got in the
way. I tried to teach MP along with my other units
instead of treating it as a separate unit."

t of e t : (judgment items)
Answer _ 1 2 3 4 5
Control group (15 responses) 1 12 1O 6 46
Percentage 01% 16% 13% 08% 61%
Mass Production group (14 responses) 4 11 5 A 9 41
Percentage 5% 16% 7% 13% 58%
Difference 5% -- -5% 5% ‘3%
e u t : (information items)
ContrOl group (Mass production group
number correct number correct
15 -14 13 -3
‘14 12 -2
13 -2 11 '3

 

4This should be interpreted as one student getting 15
answers correct on the informational portion of the mass
production test.

205

 

Control group Mass production group
number correct number correct
12 1O -3
11 -2 9
10 8
-3 7 -2
-3 5
7 -2 5 -1
3: 1K
1: 15

12 = 9.6

This test was given to the mass production group upon
the closing of the unit. The control group that was used
was another 9th grade section of industrial arts that had
completed the same kind of work, except they had not mass
produced an item. The mean for the mass production group
was 10.4 answers correct and the control mean was 9.6. This
produced a t score of 1.7, which was significant only at the

.10 level of_confidence.

APPENDIX V C

§itunti5n 5

Results of Student Opinionnaire: (9O responding)

1.

2.

3.

7.

What do you think of mass producing a project in
industrial arts?

liked it 58 undecided 5 didn't like it 11
How do you like your particular job?
liked it 65 undecided 5 didn't like it 15

WOuld you like to mass produce another project?

yes 50 no 12 don't care 29
Why? Why not?
it was fun 25 very tiresome, boring 5

interesting doing it: __1_, work on own project I
this way

didn't learn anything _5___
learned something 14
too confusing .55__

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

nothing else 55 work on individual project 55

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced 15 work with other peeple 12

individual job skills 55 difficulties involved 6
in M.P.

nothing 1

What was the best part of the mass production experience?

the assembly Operation 16 when we were finished 11

206

207

 

working together‘__5__ individual jobs __gg_
8. What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction? '
a particular job _25__ getting started‘_12__
Eggple not doing their _15__ wasted time 8
9. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
no change _25_,' different project __1_
better organized ‘_21_
WW3
I. Why did you decide to do a.mass production project this
year?
"Request by Mr. Smalley was the principle factor.”
n. W:

A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

"Some apprehension - some anxiety and antici-
pation.?

2. At the conclusion?

”Some disgust and antagonism - some
elation.”

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

”Rudamentary economics and permonnel structure
of industry. A self-association with individual
manipulative requirement of live technique pro-
duction.”

C. What did the students learn?

"Some learned a great deal and wish to pursue
the subject farther. Some may not have learned a
great measurable number of facts, but certainly
have had an additional experience."

208

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?

”A few requests for reading material on the sub-
ject. General observation only - no additional
testing as yet."

11:. Eastman:
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? . -

”Yes, I believe it has a place in industrial
arts pregrams. Our director has given it his
tentative support."

B. What will you do differently?

”Different project - more stress on jigs and
fixtures - machine set-ups.”

C. What did you like best about this technique this
year?

(no comment by teacher)

D. What did you like least about this technique this
. year? -

”Misunderstandings with Principal and Director.
Necessity to use machines in another shep."

Rpsulip 5; Spunnni T555: (judgment items)

Answer 1 2 3 4
Centrol Groups (53 responses) 13 4O 36 27
Percentage ' A 5% 15% 131$ 10%
Mass production groups (87 responses) 30 65 55 64
Percentage 6.8% 14.7% 12% 15%
Differences 1.8% -- -1.6% -5%
W (information items)
Control groups Mass production.groups
‘ number correct number correct
15 -3 ‘ 15 -3
14 -2 14 -3

13 -8 13 '5

209

Control groups Mass production groups
number correct number correct

12 -6 12 -8

11 -6 11 -7

1O -2 1O -13

9 -4 9 --11

8 -8 8 -1O

7 -3 7 -12

6 -4 6 -7

5 4 s -5

4 4 -1

3

1

ii

x2

The teacher had four sections of 7th grade woodworking

3
9.5

and there were two sections of 7th grade metalworking taught,
by another teacher. The two metalworking sections were used
as the control groups. The individual class means for the
mass production groups were 10.3, 8.5, 8, and 7.7 for a

mean of 9.1 correct answers. The control groups had means
of 9.9 and 9.3 for a mean of 9.5 for all the scores of the
two control groups. This yielded a t score of 1.6,

significant only at the .10 level of confidence.

APPENDIX V D

Situntinn 4
Resnltn 5: Student Qpinipnnnipn: (17 responding)

1. What did you think of mass producing a project in
industrial arts?

liked it‘_;1_ didn't like it __5__
2. How did you like your particular job?
liked it __5__ didn't like it ___5_,
4. WOuld you like to mass produce another project?
yes __5__ no _52___ don't care‘__2___ '
5. Why? Why not?
learned something 2 very tiresome, boring __5__

 

work on own project 2

didn't learn anything 2
too confusing 2

6. What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

nothing else 2 work on individual project 14

7. What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced 5 work with other peeple 2

individual job skills 4 difficulties involved
in M.P.

—4
nothing 5

8. What was the best part of the mass production experi-
ence?

the assembly Operation 2 when we were finished 6
210

211

pianning and organizing learned things 2
individual jobs 2

 

9. What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?
a particular job 1 getting started 5
people not doing wasted time 4
their job 2
10. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
better organized I better project‘__5_
don't do it __5_
.BS£2lES.22.:2§§922_92lnl2235l213
I. Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?
”To put more meaning into industrial arts. To add
variety of activities.
II. Your fiiudents: '

A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

“Not very enthusiastic at beginning, but
this improved as momentum was gained."

2. At the conclusion?

"I think they were fairly well impressed as
to the value of knowing about this method of
making a project.”

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

"Advantages of mass production. Appreciation of
problems of industry.“

C. What did the students learn?

”Some of each, I hope."

D.

212

What evidence to you have of what they learned?

”A 15-minute summary discussion was held fol-
lowed by two questions asked and answered in
writing."

11:. W

C.

Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? . .

"I believe so.”
What will you do differently?
”Certainly will improve the flow of work."

What did you like best about this technique this
year?

”The cooperation of the students in the planning."

What did you like least about this technique-
this year?

"The disruption caused by a couple of bottle-
necks.”

e ult o S . e - (judgment items)
Answer ‘1 2 3 4 5
Pre-test (17 responses) 2 8 7 6 62
Percentage 2% 9% 8% 7% 73%
Post-test (17 responses) 11 8 9 5 51
Percentage 13% 9% 10% 6% 61%
Difference 11% -- 2% -1% -12%

fiennlis of Stndent gent: (information items)

Number correct Number correct
Student Pro-test Post-test
1 18 13
2 17 18

3 16 15

213

Number correct Number correct
Student .Pre-test Pest-test
4 16 V 15
5 16 ‘ 12
6 15 13
7 14 10
8 12 16
9 12 15
1O 12 10
11 12 14
12 11 15
13 11 12
14 1o 6
15 8 10
16 7 7
17 H 1 . “,”_2__.
_§;= 17 _§;= 17
X1 = 12.6 X2 = 12.4

Because of a mix-up in schedules, the pro-test was
given to the group the day after there had been a discussion
on mass production. The pro-test mean was 12.6 correct and
12.4 for the post-test mean. The range was from 7 to 18
correct on the pre-test and from 6 to 18 on the post-test.
With the means only .2 different, a t score of .34 was de-
rived which would be .80:7P3?.7O and so not significantly

different.

APPENDIX V E

W

Bfllfllil 5f Siudgni Opinionnningg (17 responding)

1.

3.

5.

What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

liked it 15 didn't like it 2
How did you like your particular job?
liked it 11 didn't like it 6

Would you like to mass product another project?

yes __2__, no __2__’ don't care 5

Why? Why not?

it was fun __5__ very tiresome, boring __5__
interesting doing it

this way __2__

learned something 4

 

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

nothing else 5 WOrk on individual
project 15

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced 8 work with other peeple 2

individual job skills 5 difficulties involved
1n M.P. __J—

What was the best part of the mass production experi-
ence?

the assembly Operation 5 when we were finished 2
planning a organizing it 2 individual jobs 4

214

215

9. What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?
a particular job 1 getting started 2
peeple not doing their wasted time 2
job 2
10. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
more cooperation from 5 better organization I
the students (especially in
painting)
Rpsniig 5; inanner Qpinipnnning:
I. Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?
"To introduce this phase of industry to my students
in a practical manner.
II- Masts: .

A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

”Enthusiastic - most wanted to work in the
mass production unit."

2. At the conclusion?

"Up to the very end when starting the
finishing touches, the enthusiasm dropped off."

B. What did you expect the students to learn?
”How many of our products are made in industry.”
0. What did the students learn? '

"I feel they do understand the basics of mass
production.”

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?
"A short quiz, other than the one given by Mr.

Smalley. Also the pattern used in construction of
projects since the mass production terminated."

216

11:. mm:

D.

Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? . -

"I hope to, but it has to wait until we finish
setting up our new program.”

What will you do differently?

"Better arrangements:
1. machines
2. finishing
3. broader background (before
actual starting).“

What did you like best about this technique this
year?

"It was new to the students and I wanted to
find their actions and reactions in this type
of learning situation. (I did.)”

What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"At the very end when finishing was in pro-
gress, the group became restless. This lay be
resedied by starting another unit before the
finish of the mass production unit.”

Result! 21 Student Test: (Judgment itess)

Answer 1 2 3 9 5
Control group (17 responses) 8 7 12 3 55
Percentage 9.4% 8f 14% 3% 65$
Mass Production group (17 responses) 7 8 12 8 51
Percentage 8‘ 9.45 14% 8f 60%

Difference -1.4% '1-45 -- 5% ~55

217

figgutts 2f Stugggts zegtg (infonsation items)

 

Control group Mass production group
number correct number correct
13 -2 17 -2
12 -2 16 -1
'11 -3 15 -1

1O -6 14
9 -2 13
8 -1 12 -3
7 11 -3
6 1o -2
5 9 -3
4 -1 8 -1
_§,= 17
x2 = 10.2 7
6
X1 = 11.4

The control group was another 9th grade section of
industrial arts that had the same class requireaents and
organisation except they did not participate in a.sass pro-
duction unit. The mean for the number of correct answers
for the control group was 10.2 and for the uses production
group was 11.4 correct answers. a t score of 2.5 resulted
fron these statistics which made the difference between the
seans significantly different, .0277P3§.O1 at the .02 level

of confidence.

5.

7.

APPENDIX V F

i t o

u s u e i can : (33 responding)

What do you think of sass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

liked it 11
How did you like your particular job?
liked it 2g didn't like it §

Would you like to mass produce another project?

yes __2;_ no __§__ don't care‘__§__ .

Why? Why not?

it was fun __5__ work on own project __&__
interesting doing it __1__,didn't learn anything __2__
learned something __2__,

What would you have rather done than work on the sass
production project?

nothing else 10 work on individual 11
project

What do you think you learned during the tise you were
mass producing the project?

how things are pro- 1§ work with other people §

duced
difficulties involved 1
in M.P.

What was the best part of the mass production experience?
the assembly operation 2 when we were finished 1

planning & organizing 1 individual jobs 5
it

218

219

the competition between classes 5

9. What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?
a particular job _;§_ related instructionI__§_
people not doing their 1 getting started 2
job
10. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
technical change in 1 better organization 5
production
different project 1
was okay 5
Result of Te he 0 1 10 e:
I. Why did you decide to do ahmass production project this
year?
"I felt that I could better meet some of the ob-
jectives of Industrial Arts in this experience."
:1. W:

A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning:

"They were willing to try and seeaed to feel
that they were doing something new and exciting.”

2. At the conclusion:

"They were glad the experience was over but
were generally happy they had had a chance to
work in this type of a program."

B. What did you expect the students to learn?
1. ”Something about industry and how it Operates
2. Cooperation
3. Distribution"

C. What did the students learn?

"All I expected and lots about the problems in-
volved in mass producing something."

III.

220

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?

1. "I have the completed project and I saw it
.improved from the first day to the last.

2. ”Test results too prove they learned about
the personal or line staff relationship."

xguggelf:
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why not?

"Yes--because I have faith in this method and
believe that if a purpose of Industrial Arts is to
teach about industry, this is a very good method
and one that kids like.“

B. What will you do differently?

"This year I think I will select a project that
requires more jigs and fixtures, and a project
that will look the same as the next one."

C. What did you like best about this technique this
year?

HI liked the enthusiasm of the students.”

D. What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"It takes lots of planning on the part of stu-
dents that sometimes seems to be lost time. How-
ever, I'm sure that this is a very necessary part
of this method.”

Resu;ts 9f Studgnt Tegt: (judgment items)

Answer 1 1 2 ‘3 4 5
Control group (32 responses) 10 25 12 19 94
Percentage 6% 15. 5% 7. 5x 12% 59%
.Mass Production group (33 responses) 10 23 29 2O 84
Percentage . 5% 14% 117% 12% 5 1%

Difference -- -1.5% +9.55 -- -8%

221

figggttg Q; Stgdgnt zegt: (information items)

 

 

Control groups Mass Production groups
number correct number correct
17 -3 17 -1
16 16 -2
15 -4 15 -3
14 14 -5
13 -5 13 -8
12 -S 12 -3
11 -5 11 ~41
1C -1 1O -2
9 -3 9
8 -1 8 -1
7 -1 7 -1
6 -1 6
5 -2 5 -2
_!L= 33
__11 = 32
X2 . 11s)

The closest control groups that were available were
two 10th grade drawing classes. These had had the 9th grade
industrial arts class the year before. The mean for the two
control groups was 11.} correct and for the mass production
groups was 12.#. This yielded a t score of 2.9 which made
the differences between the means highly significant being
~01T7Pj7.001. This was the greatest difference between any
or the groups in these 11 situations, being highly significant

at the .01 level of confidence.

sul

I.

II.

0

APPENDIX V G

Situgttop 8

e ch r inionna e:

Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?

I thought that there would be learning involved that

otherwise could not be presented in the normal classroom
activities of the shop.”

Ybur StuQentg:
A. What was their reaction to this technique?

B.

C.

D.

1. At the beginning?

”Skeptical.“

2. At the conclusion?

"They seemed to realise that production in
even a small way involved many interesting
problems and that modern industry has many
chalienging jobs to offer the competent per-
son.

What did you expect the students to learn?

"Some of the problems concerned with jigs and
fixtures in a mass production job, and the feel
of production terminology.”

What did the students learn?

"Some procedures of the use of jigs and fixtures,
availability of materials, and problems concerned
with correct use of materials in the foundry."
What evidence do you have of what they learned?

"They develOped a view of looking for the best

available materials to do a given job, rather than
picking the first material they came to.”

222

III.

223

122212l£3
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? . .

"Yes, in woodshop. I feel that even though we
did not carry the project as far as I wanted to,
they did absorb valuable information."

B. What will you do differently? .

"WoodshOp--simpler project--wood laminating.”

C. What did you like best about this technique this
year?

"Just the fact that the results were connected
with Michigan State University gave the students
added enthusiasm.”

D. What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"I could have done more research into a project
that would have been more suitable for metals.

#. Additional comments:

"It seems as if the students tend to pick a
production project that is too hard for them if
they were working alone on it, so teacher super~
vision has to be e.guiding factor."

APPENDIX V H

itu

figsults of §tugent Opinionnaire: (15 responding)

1.

9.

What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

liked it 19 didn't like it 4
How did you like your particular job?
liked it 10 didnit like it 1

Would you like to mass produce another project?

 

yes 11 no 4
Why? Why not?
it was fun 1 very tiresome, boring 1

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

nothing else 1 work on individual 8
project

 

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are pro- § .difficulties involved 4
duced in M.P.

individual job skills 2
What was the best part of the mass production experience?
planning a organiz- when we were finished __1__

ing it
individual jobs 1
working together 2

What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?

 

a particular job 1 getting started 2
peeple not doing 2
their job

224

225
10. How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?
more time __1_'. different project‘_1__
better organization __3__
Result ea h i :

I. Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?

”I have been planning on doing a.mass production
project in one of my classes for the past two years.

When you contacted me and gave me some information on
mass production, I made up my mind to try it."

11- 122I_§12fl£2££3
A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

"They seemed to be very interested and their
interest increased as the project pregressed.”

2. .At the conclusion?

”At the conclusion, they were more interested
and enthusiastic than at the beginning."

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

"I expected them to learn about some problems of
industry and to get some idea of the tremendous
amount of work and planning that goes into setting
up a production line."

c. What did the students learn?

”I think they learned to a certain extent what

I stated in (B) but in addition they and I, as

»well, learned about some of the personnel problems
that develop in a.mass production project."

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?
"By what they discussed in our class discussion.”

11:. W:
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why not?

226

"Yes, because it is a new and refreshing experience
to me and it teaches my students things that they are
more likely to use after school."

B. What will you do differently?

"Spend more time on quality control and working on

jigs and fixtures."

C. What did you like best about this technique this year?

”The students showed a genuine interest in this type

of.project."

D. What did you like least about this technique this year?

"The legs between different jobs for some of the
students. I am sure that this can be corrected with

better planning of work."

R o Stude Te : (judgment items)
Answer 1 2
Control group (11 responses) 3 4
Percentage 5% 5%
Mass Production group (15 responses) 7 9
Percentage 1 91 12%
Difference +4% +5%
figggttg_gt_§tgggnt_zggtt (information items)

Control group
number correct

15 -1
14

13 -1
12 -1
11 -A
10 -2

9 -2

Mass production group

3
7

11% 8%

4
5

7 62

9% 8%

-2;

number correct

15
14
13
12
11
10

9

5
45

68%
46

61%
7%

227

Control group Mass production group
number correct number correct
8 8 -1
7 -1 7
6 6 -2
_N_=15
4
3
2 -1
J21}
X2=10e1

The control group was a section of 8th grade boys that
had just previously completed the eight weeks of metalwork.
They had worked on individual projects and exercises. The
mean of the control group was 10.1 correct and was 11.3 for
the mass production group. This yielded a t score of 2.1,
which makes the difference between the means .10>P7.05,
this being significant at the .05 level of confidence.

APPENDIX V I

t o 10

Regultg o; §tudegt Qpinioggaige: (7 responding)

1.

3.

10.

What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

liked it __1__
How did you like your particular job?

liked it __1__ .

Would you like to mass produce another project?
yes __1__ don't care __1__ '
Why? Why not?

learned something 4 work on own project 2

What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

work on individual project 1

What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced __2__
individual job skills __1__
What was the best part of the mass production experience?
the assembly operation _2_ individual jobs _L '

What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-
duction?

a particular job 4

How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?

different project 2 different organization 1
228

229

Resu t 0 Te cher i ionnaire:

I.

II.

III.

Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?

”Because I felt that my students needed to be exposed
to the operations and problems of industry today as they
may have to make their living as a part of this industry."

YOur Students:
A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

"They were enthusiastic about the project
from the beginning and felt there was much to
be learned."

2. At the conclusion?

"They were happy to have worked on the pro-
ject but felt that at times industry could be
boring and discouraging. They felt that in
real industry, the problems could be handled
better than they were capable of handling them.”

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

"I wanted the students to achieve an understand-
ing of industry, its operations and problems as well
as learning how to work together and accept responsi-
bility."

C. What did the students learn?

”It is my belief that the students learned ex-
actly what I had hoped they would learn."

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?

"The evidence I have of what my students learned
is the evaluation of their project, written by each
student and the test that they took concerning the
mass production project.”

122mm:
A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? 1 '

"I'm not certain whether or not I would do the
project next year because I feel that there was a

230

great deal more work done to accomplish what the
students did accomplish."

B. What will you do differently?
"I would guide the students more in setting up
the.project."
C. What did you like best about this technique this
year?
”I felt that it developed leadership among some
students."
D. What did you like least about this technique this
year?
”I felt that it centered too much around certain
students and not enough around other students.”
4. Additional comments: 1
”I feel that in a different school system, where
I might have more school help, the project might be
more worthwhile."
W: .(judgment um)
Answer 3 2 3 4 5
Control group (10 responses) 2 6 5 4 33
Percentage 4% 12% 10% 8% 66%
Mass Production group (7 responses) 2 4 5 1 23
Percentage 5.7% 11$ 14% 1% 66$
Difference +1.71 -1% +41 -5% --
Re e T : (information items)
Control group less production group
number correct number correct
14 -1 15‘ -2
13 -1 14 -1
12 -2 13 -1

11 12 -3

231

Control group Mass production group
number correct number correct
10 -2 11
9 -1 10 -]
NI 7
___7.._:2.__
__Ifi = 10
x2 = 10.3

The control group was another 9th grade group that
was taking mechanical drawing during that semester. The
mean for the control group was 10.3 and was 13 for the mass
production group. This provided a t score of 5.1 which
indicated a highly significant difference at the .001 level
of confidence. The other 12 members of the class that did
not participate inzthe mass production item were also given
this test. Their mean was 10.7 which was very close to the
control groupts mean and so would be significantly different

from the mass production group.

APPENDIX V J

gituation 11

Rgsgltg 9f Student thgionnaizg: (15 responding)

1. What do you think of mass producing a project in indus-
trial arts?

liked it 12 didn't like it 1
3. How did you like your particular job?
liked it 11 didn't like it 4

4. Would you like to mass produce another project?

yes § no 8
5. Why? Why not?
it was fun 2 very tiresome, boring 1

learned something 1 work on own project 1

6. What would you have rather done than work on the mass
production project?

nothing else 5 work on individual project 2

7. What do you think you learned during the time you were
mass producing the project?

how things are produced 1 work with other people 4
individual job skills 1 nothing 2
8. What was the best part of the mass production experience?

the assembly Operation 2 when we were finished 2

working together 1 individual jobs 5
9. What was the part you liked least about the mass pro-

duction?

a particular job ’4 getting started 2

 

232

10.

Re
I.

II.

233

people not doing their 4 wasted time 2
job

How would you suggest it be changed if this was done
again next year?

no change 1 different organization 4
too long and boring 1

s o e her 0 n o ire:

Why did you decide to do a mass production project this
year?

"I have been thinking about doing a mass production
project for a couple of years and since the teaching
staff had a need for boxes to hold their attendance
cards, it was a natural for a class mass production
project. By starting with a project that had a ready
market, we were a little more assured of a successful
experience for our first mass production project."

X22£_£12922&23
A. What was their reaction to this technique?
1. At the beginning?

"At the beginning, they were interested but
during the planning stages some lost their inter-
est due to the slowness of the process. Hewever,
once we got started on the actual production,
they were quite enthusiastic."

2. At the conclusion?

”Near the end, a few again lost interest due
mostly to the fact that it perhaps was a little
too long and that they had been moved out of
certain jobs requiring a great deal of care and
accuracy."

B. What did you expect the students to learn?

”The involvement of mass production; social re-
lationships, importance of leadership and follower-
ship, the organization of an industrial plant,
value in working accurately, simplicity of the
task when each person does just one part of the
total process, and the value of standardization of
parts and thorough planning."

234

C. What did the students learn?

"Organization of an industrial process, need
for cooperation, the value of accurate work, and
the value of standardization of parts."

D. What evidence do you have of what they learned?

"Discussions and quiz about methods, etc."

III. Ygurgelf:

A. Will you do this again next year? Why? or why
not? . -

"Yes. I have worked through it once now, and
feel that it is a very worthwhile and effective
method of teaching the principles and problems of
mass production."

B. What will you do differently?

”I believe I will try to find a product that
will be used either by members of the class, their
classmates, or adults in the community. I would
also like to get a product that had more work
stations. 0n the product we did this past fall, I
felt we may have had too many at the same job,
e.g., three or four layout men. I got the feeling
from some of the students that all were not doing
their share, in other words, some of the slower
students were getting by on faster student's work."

C. What did you like about this technique best this
year?

"It is the best way, I feel, to illustrate in-
dustrial life to the students and it helps to
achieve some of the goals of industrial arts.”

D. What did you like least about this technique this
year?

"There is the problem of some of the equipment
being tied up by the class involved in mass pro-
duction, since they set up their jigs, etc.,
which for efficiency's sake can't be set up and
taken down every class period."

235

Regultg o; Stugent Iest: (judgment items)

Answer 1 2 3 4 5
Control group (24 responses) 6 10 13 11 80
Percentage 5% 8% 11% 9% 66%
Mass Production group (14 responses) 6 9 4 9 43
Percentage 8% 13% 6% 13% 61%
Difference +31 +51 -5% +4% -5%

Results of Students Tgst: (information items)

 

 

Control group Mass Production group
number correct number correct
14 -1 15 -2
13 -4 14 -1
12 -3 13 -2
11 -5 12 -1
10 -4 11 -3
9 -2 1O -2
8 -2 9 -1
7 -2 8 -1
6 -1 7 -1
__I! = 2? _N = 14:
X2 = 10.4 X1: 11.4

The control group for this situation was another 8th
grade section of industrial arts that had the same assignments
and organization except for the mass production unit. The
mean score for the control group was 10.4 answers correct and
for the mass production group was 11.4. A t score of 2.7 was
derived from this which makes the difference between the means
significant .02)>P;7.01. This would be significant at the

.02 level of confidence.

3.1
- 7." ""=‘
“(“37“, 111.}: 1 1- Y
“ " ‘ L‘ E:
y 1 . .~,x-

¢ - _ 4a
31.51“"

mm: M _1; at}
UPC .1 :1 0.045335
’glmAJ/1118‘:

“3 21 1b

‘4
u