Welding teacher Josh Padlick has had some fun creating new lesson plans for his students during remote learning.

Padlick began the first few remote lessons with challenges he had come up with and deemed difficult for his students. He says he enjoyed being creative and finding new ways to teach his students hand-eye coordination while being away from school. He has been known to have an unorthodox style when it comes to teaching his students how to have a steady hand when welding. As the days progressed, the challenges got more elaborate and he looked for new ways to test his student’s abilities.

That’s when he found “Minute to Win It” videos with some great challenges that focus on hand-eye coordination and relate perfectly to what he teaches. He started to modify and incorporate some of those challenges on a weekly basis for his students.

A recent challenge presented to his class was stacking Chapsticks on top of each other using chopsticks. Another challenge included racing to see who could balance five quarters on their side the fastest.

“It’s awesome to see the students interact with each other again, all while competing in what really are quite silly challenges,” says Padlick. “Who would have ever thought that using chopsticks to stack Chapsticks would be taught in a welding class! But what better way to have fun and engage students, all while working on your hand-eye coordination and keeping a steady hand. All of which are traits that one must possess to be a successful welder.”

Padlick says his hand-eye coordination lessons last about an hour, with students excited and engaged throughout the entirety of the challenges. He thinks students are excited to see each other and to have the opportunity to compete against one another. Siblings have even been known to join in on the challenges from time to time!

“I love the lessons! It’s a great way to keep everyone in contact through these hard times and give us something to look forward to,” says Welding student Andrew McKee. “Mr. Padlick’s enthusiasm just spreads through the class. The work he gives out online is engaging and very useful for us students who aren’t able to be taught the material in person.”