Trip Reflections

As with prior experiential learning projects, the West Virginia Glass & Ceramics Project was a huge success.  The participating teachers learned the history, chemistry, physics, art, economics and mathematics of glass in an integrated way to bring projects to students.  The culminating trip brings all of the prior months’ study into focus by seeing the industry firsthand in the state.  How many teachers have created blown glass objects and can bring the experience back to their students?

We were impressed by the openness of the state’s glass manufacturers who shared their processes with our group.  We were able to see how each glass maker organizes the operation in different ways to produce the best quality product in the safest ways.  We produced lessons for our students that require them to learn about the glass industry and to think about how it fits with their everyday world.

While the teachers benefited from the experiential learning of the West Virginia Glass & Ceramics Project, it is the students of Cabell County who will be the ultimate beneficiaries.  The highly engaging lessons produced by each teacher will excite students to use all content areas in the context of a study of West Virginia’s glass industry.  In looking though the teachers’ individual blogs, everyone took a unique approach to using glass as a teaching tool but everyone required their students to think about glass in complex ways and to actively learn content from state curriculum standards.

Although the week of the culminating trip for the West Virginia Glass & Ceramics Project was a long one, it was very productive.  In the course of the week we saw glass being produced by blowing into molds and being shaped by wooden and metal tools.  We saw molten glass being pressed into shapes and being painted, carved and decorated after formation.  We saw china tableware being formed in multiple ways then glazed, fired and finished.  We had hands on experience blowing glass into molds to make water bottles, blowing free form to make a candy dish and blowing a hollow ornament.

The teachers who participated in the project this year have such a work ethic and always produced an excellent reflection on each day’s visit and prepared material for their students based on their experiences.  Even when plans went awry, the group maintained a positive attitude and worked with the program.