Cerritos College Hosted Integrative Chemistry and Woodworking Workshop

NORWALK, Calif. - Oct. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- These workshops were created to engage instructors, improve student learning, and increase educational effectiveness. The workshops are funded in part by the Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges Teacher Preparation Pipeline Grant.

Workshops are organized by the CTE Counselors and Teacher TRAC staff. The workshops focus on integrative teaching and learning on campus and in the classrooms. The recent event was held on Thursday, October 3, 2013 in the Social Science building with 14 attendees. Anthony Fortner, Professor from Cerritos College Woodworking Department and Jeff Bradbury, Professor from Cerritos College Chemistry Department presented the topics from their respective disciplines.

To collaborate between disciplines and combine various learning strategies, Anthony and Jeff discussed the integration between Chemistry and Woodworking. They shared their personal experiences, explained the history, discussed the different types of materials, and used everyday examples to explain complex theories. Jeff led a class experiment that used plastic plates and water to demonstrate the strength of covalent bonds. Anthony explained how Woodworking can be grouped into three categories, furniture, cabinetry and architectural millwork. He also discussed how all woodworking products can be made with three fundamental 'building blocks'; a panel, a frame, or a box.

“Woodworking Education began as a way to develop the mind through the hands. Learning by doing is the way it happens in Industry and there is no faster way to success," said Cerritos College Woodworking Professor, Anthony Fortner. "The correlation between the Chemistry and Woodworking lesson is the way glue can bond wood together - stronger than the wood itself. One may wonder how simple white school glue can bond wood together for a lifetime."

Cerritos College Woodworking Program offers classes in furniture making, cabinetmaking, and woodturning.  Cerritos College houses a 27,000 square-foot facility, where over 100 stationary and portable woodworking machines are available. Hands-on training and real-world experience is emphasized, and all classes are project-focused. The classes cover topics including faceframe and frameless cabinet construction, architectural millwork, table and casegood construction, solid surface fabrication, hand tools, and veneering.

Interested in acquiring new knowledge, starting a new hobby, or improving your skills? Enter the field of professional woodworking. Visit us online at http://cms.cerritos.edu/woodworking/ or call us at (562) 860-2451 Ext. 2986.

To learn more about Cerritos College Teacher TRAC, visit the website at http://cms.cerritos.edu/teachertrac/. To learn more about Cerritos College Counseling Department, visit the website at http://cms.cerritos.edu/counseling/