Rejuvenate Your Secondary or Post Secondary Ag Program with Instruction on Concrete (original) (raw)

The Agricultural education magazine, 2014

Abstract

Concrete has been known to exist since 3000 BC when the Egyptian Pyramids were first built with a prim- itive form of concrete, mud and straw mixed with gypsum and lime for the mortar. Although today's concrete is much better the concept remains the same. Concrete has become so popu- lar that today it is used for nearly any building product. Concrete soffit, siding, shingles, walls, countertops, tombstones and most recently con- crete furniture can be seen just about everywhere. Three weeks ago I was watching the show "Restaurant Im- possible" when a facility was given a new makeover. They used polished concrete tables to replace the old ones.Instruction in Concrete Construc- tion for Your ProgramAt the Pennsylvania College of Technology I have developed an in- structional unit in concrete for post secondary education which could and has been adapted for middle and high school students. The first unit starts with the history and development of concrete and the concrete industry. This is followed by identifying qual- ity concrete, tool identification, and Portland cement. Units five and six discuss proper sub-grade and form preparation. Unit seven deals with proper curing for adequate strength and durability. Unit eight discusses slab defects and methods and tech- niques to avoid them. Unit nine is proper reinforcement using wire mesh, reinforcement bars or "rebars," and both rod and mesh fiber. Unit ten is all about admixtures and their ben- efits. These units progress in a logical sequence so that one unit builds upon the previous one.Student Evaluation and GradingI have taught these units at the post secondary level but have also adapted components of them for seventh through ninth grade on career day as well as tenth through twelfth grade as an after school activity for a local high school.SAEs or supervised agricul- ture experiences have been a part of agriculture education since the beginning. SAEs have changed sig- nificantly since the day of the large farm has become almost a thing of the past. Many students do not have the opportunity to complete an actual agricultural experiential learning ex- perience on the farm; therefore, it is important to offer a variety of other experiences as well as introducing new ones. Concrete is a resource that could and should be used to al- low students to complete their SAE requirements. When we evaluate all of the different uses of concrete in the agriculture industry, it should make us realize the importance of knowing and understanding concrete prepa- ration, placement, finish and care. …

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