Students Get a Sweet Taste of Manufacturing with ALTEC

A group of students recently got a tasty lesson in the power of collaboration.

In celebration of October’s Manufacturing Month, Theresa Price’s class participated in a cookie manufacturing project. Thanks to a connection with ALTEC by Instructional Supervisor Tara Wooden, Price’s students transformed raw materials to create a cookie design. They’d then put the cookie through production, inspired by ALTEC’s manufacturing processes.

“Students moved from design, production, quality control, and then made mathematical connections to revenue, cost, and profit,” Price said. “Students had to collaborate on cookie design as well as plan their production process. The goal was for students to work in small groups to design and effectively produce as many cookies as possible. Students were given five minutes to design and plan their Halloween cookie and two minutes to produce as many cookies as possible.”

The key Learner Initiatives addressed by this project were Collaborative Communicators and Resilient Problem Solvers.

“Students were able to collaborate together as a team to bring their cookie design to life,” Price said. “Their communication skills were crucial to create the most cookies possible in a two-minute production time frame. Students were able to see first-hand how they could become an expert at one specific task to contribute to the overall success of a team and design phase.”

Two LaRue County graduates — Christian Rojas and Kelsey Rutledge — represented ALTEC. Price said friendly competition made manufacturing engaging to everyone involved.

“Students (and even our administration team) also were to compete for the top score on the welding simulator and learn about the motor controls on the bucket trucks that are produced at Altec,” Price said.

Price’s students said they enjoyed various parts of the hands-on project.

“I liked working on the design of the cookie and planning out how my group was going to make it actually happen.” said Jeremiah Blanton.

“I enjoyed making the cookies the most! I liked adding the frosting and the adrenaline rush of having to make the most cookies in two minutes.” said Kyleigh Selman

“I enjoyed having a rotation and getting a specific job to create the cookie,” Dustin Hathaway said. “My team worked together to come up with our cookies.”