The context to apprenticeship learning as found in the second week of our e-Learning Ecologies course, Part B video¹ is fascinating to me as I’m currently educating and consulting in the green building (building industry) realm. Apprentice programs have a long history as a foundational component to the building industry and even today is primarily how the blue-collar worker is cultivated to execute building projects in the US. Therefore, I will touch on a triad of concepts for this 2nd week of the course - project-based and participatory learning and makerspaces. Can the mystique of apprenticeship be returned to fantastic heights?

Apprenticeship goes back to the 18th century BCE and the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon which, in part, was structured to ensure artisans imparted their craft for the good of society.²

Figure 1: Code of Hammurabi, Encyclopedia Britannica

America was founded on immigrants bringing their craft to a new life in America and providing a proliferation of different techniques and levels of mastery.³ From the beginning, the building was an industry where many different crafts came together to create a place or space. The disintegration of crafts work and craftspeople has continued to impact the building industry in positive and negative ways.⁴ We are much faster at building and have created spaces people can easily access but how the spaces perform, how effective they are at providing health and well-being for occupants, and if they serve the community holistically and with an environmentally sound eye is in question. Is beauty and excellent workmanship important in how people see, use, and cherish spaces?

There are many emerging trends that say beauty and attention to detail are important with craftspeople at the center of accomplishing them. A few interesting ones are the makers movement⁵, green building ratings⁶ and the demand for healthier, nurturing spaces, and the seedling resurgence of trades training (verses college) in the building industry⁷. Will these trends spill over into elevating apprenticeship and their programs across the US?

Makers movement – is the building industry left behind? Innovation-Infused curriculum could be an exciting new frontier and the question is how to translate it into trades training and infuse the prestige and allure of art and science. Is a good place to start in early education and with a “Maker Revival”⁸?

Figure 2: Tedx - Maker's Movements In Schools

The makers movement is strongly based in participatory learning¹ and apprentice programs in project based learning¹. Positive trends in the perception of crafts people have been elevated via the makers movement⁵…can we do the same in the building trades?

Resurgence in the Trades. Although the building industry is woefully behind due to reduced value in society for the trades, ineffective training both in the field (lack of building and sharing knowledge craftsman to craftsman) and with the classroom (traditional class room setting as described in eLearning Ecologies week 1)¹, and a lack of diversity with those making decisions about building projects (white collar side of building), there is hope. The Atlantic recently published an article about the emerging trend in the trades and the move from being seen as “second-class”.⁷ Further, an NPR provided a podcast discussing how trades programs carry a stigma but people are drawn to these programs out of necessity and interest.⁹

NPR Podcast: High Paying Trades Jobs Sit Empty

Green building ratings. In the green building sector of the industry we are seeing a huge shift to the occupant experience and moving away from the short-term view and gains perpetuated by developers and the resurgence of health and well-being in spaces. This takes thought and attention to detail not seen widely in modern day building and not without craftspeople. There is an entire international rating system, call WELL, that is dedicated to realizing these spaces.¹⁰

Figure 3: WELL Building Rating_example space

For me, the eLearning Ecologies class is personally pulling together threads that have been waving in the wind of big and impactful challenges in my industry and I’m more and more inspired with every class. Thinking through the eyes of my Dad, who was a true traditional but innovative and creative craftsman, I see hope through a new age of emerging technology. 3D printing anyone?

1. e-Learning Ecologies: Innovative Approaches to Teach, Dr. William Cope and Dr, Mary K, University of Illinois, Coursera offering. https://www.coursera.org/learn/elearning
2. "Apprenticeship", Encyclopedia Britannica, February 19,2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/apprenticeship
3. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_immigration_to_the_United_States
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/business/what-happened-to-the-craftsmanship-spirit-essay.html
5. ISTE post February 11, 2019 - https://www.iste.org/explore/In-the-classroom/The-maker-movement%3A-A-learning-revolution
6. The Whole Building Guide, https://www.wbdg.org/resources/green-building-standards-and-certification-systems
7. The Stigma of Choosing Trade School over College, The Atlantic, March 6, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/choosing-trade-school-over-college/584275/
8. Ted^x Toyko, Makers Movement in Schools, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpFnsCBVpH4
9. High paying jobs sit empty while high school grads line up for university, NPR podcast https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/25/605092520/high-paying-trade-jobs-sit-empty-while-high-school-grads-line-up-for-university
10. WELL Building Rating System, https://www.wellcertified.com/