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The Evolution of the Welding Classroom
If you ever talk to a tradesperson with over 30 or 40 years of experience, you will often hear of the good old days when trades were back in schools, and students could learn a skill before graduating. Over time, there has been a push in academia for everyone to make the natural progression from high school to college; however, for some students, there is nothing that feels natural about it. With the leaps and bounds that technology has afforded us, the classroom and curriculum for the trades have also evolved.
At Miami Lakes Educational Center & Technical College (MLEC), Miami Lakes, Fla., I serve as the welding instructor and have been making small changes to how I run my classroom to keep students engaged. I’m also an AWS Certified Welding Educator and Certified Welding Inspector.
There comes a time when welding coupons day in and day out starts to wear students down, so I also use my classroom as a place to learn and gain experience through projects. Being part of a technical college allows the welding class to be part of the tradesman ecosystem that is blossoming at MLEC, and all programs feed off one another. I’m always open to using my classroom to solve problems for other programs or the school itself; for example, if the forklift needs welding repairs, we make a lesson out of it, so the students can see a real-life application of what they are learning. This article focuses on a few recent projects we’ve completed, as well as the importance of AWS Section meetings, and may help inspire fellow welding instructors.
Uniting through Art
Earlier this year, MLEC Principal Yaset Fernandez informed me about a statewide welding and fabrication challenge in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, I saw this as an opportunity for the students to apply what they learned to another real-life scenario. While I take pride in having the class more focused on structural welding, sometimes students need a break from welding coupons, and allowing them to experiment with what can also be done through welding is ideal.
The contest was deliberately very broad. There were no requirements for the medium used, style, weight, size, and so on; the key objective was to create something that reflects 250 years of the United States. I spent a day to show the class a list of metal artists and their works for inspiration, then they brainstormed, landed on an idea they wanted to create, and divided the work so everyone had a helping hand. The final submission, with overall dimensions of 21 x 21 x 24 in., featured a dual-rear-wheel welding rig under a palm tree, incorporating that well-known South Florida element, with their love for welding on display. And while we ultimately didn’t win an honor, the experience was very worthwhile; to see a list of placements, visit https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/winners-of-statewide-welding-fabrication-challenge-showcase-craftsmanship-in-celebration-of-americas-250th-anniversary.stml.
Classroom Upgrades
By the end of 2025, the welding classroom needed a facelift. To keep overall costs to a minimum, I worked with the school administration to draft a letter of intent outlining what they would like to modify in the classroom. After presenting this letter to several stores, I was able to secure all the painting supplies needed for the project. I was surprised by how willing the big-box corporations were to help once they knew what you wanted to do and where you were from. We were able to get everything from painter’s tape to a laser level covered in the donations; having a boost like that really makes any project more attainable. We already had the manpower in the students; we just needed to put paintbrushes in their hands. A metal MLEC logo was also fabricated for the classroom.
And even though the classroom project didn’t require welding, I explained to the students that they might be asked to do something nonwelding related at their place of employment, and they should never shy away from something new or different.
Reverse Career Fair
If the first half of a welding student’s life is learning how to weld, then the second part is gaining meaningful employment. Most technical colleges assist with those services, but I wanted to tailor that process a little more. I remember hearing about this when I attended the AWS Instructor’s Institute a while ago; the idea was a reverse career, which takes the traditional career fair format and flips it around. Instead of companies setting up tables around a gymnasium, I invited local companies in the area that are part of the welding industry on April 29, and the day was a success. The event centered on companies sending representatives to our lab, and for our students were ready, wearing personal protective equipment, showing off their skills, and having their resumes in hand. The company representatives could observe the students’ skills at different stations, and if they liked their skill set, they moved into the classroom for a more formal interview.
I made it clear to my students that the value they have is not how beautifully they can lay a bead, but rather the welding fundamentals they learned in the classroom. This knowledge alone could open doors for them in many sectors of the industry, not just a job where they have to burn to earn.
Water Tank Work
In addition, when I was approached by the commercial driving program to dismantle and scrap an old water tank on a truck, I immediately accepted the assignment. My students enjoyed using plasma arc and oxyfuel cutting processes to complete the job. I wish I had a water tank for every graduating class to break apart, but when projects like that come our way, I try to reserve them for students to have real-world experience.
AWS Section Meetings
Since I began teaching in November 2020, I’ve always made one thing clear about my classroom: AWS is always welcome. Every year, I collaborate with the AWS South Florida Section (https://sections.aws.org/southflorida/) Chair, Gilly Burrion, to host a Section meeting. I am always willing to help AWS, but in this case, I think AWS is helping us. The exposure the program gains from hosting an AWS Section meeting, along with the networking opportunities it creates with attendees, is valuable to my welding students. In March, we opened our doors to Chris Hale, a metals engineer from Florida and the artisan behind Colonial Metalworks, along with his colleague, Chris Faga. Both AWS members and students enjoyed this Saturday event that included a live “Chaos Engineered” art demonstration in the lab and raffles.
This April, David Madero (@madero_co on Instagram) also came to MLEC and served as the guest presenter at another Section meeting. “Do you understand what it would take for a local vocational college teacher to get a world-renowned metal artist like David Madero to come to class for a demonstration if I tried to do it on my own?” I said to the students. The meeting brought him to us; all I had to say was, “Yes, you can use our space.” The inspiration that one event brought to my students will live with them forever.
Parting Thoughts
The traditional classroom has changed, and we now face the challenge of keeping students engaged while preventing them from being on their phones. We can’t change what we need to teach, but we can change how we teach it by making it more engaging and giving the students a sense of pride when they complete a project. The welding classroom can’t be a never-ending rotation of welding coupons; performing outside-the-box projects, participating in occasional artwork opportunities, and having guest speakers allow the students to put their education to use. It will also expose them to unique applications of welding or metal fabrication, which they will remember the next time they encounter them.
This article was written by Oscar Guerrero (welder II with the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Maintenance Service Center, and welding instructor at Miami Lakes Educational Center & Technical College, Miami Lakes, Fla.) for the American Welding Society.