School Transitions Deaf Students from the Classroom to the Real World
The welding technology program at the Texas School for the Deaf helps students gain employability skills through hands-on training By: Roline Pascal, assistant editor of the Welding Journal. Reprinted with permission: The AWS Welding Journal
One of the oldest public schools in continuous operation in Texas, the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), located in Austin, opened in 1857 in an old frame house, three log cabins, and a smokehouse. The current site, 1102 S. Congress Ave., is in the same location at which it was originally founded.
Initially, TSD struggled under inadequate funding during the American Civil War and its aftermath. Significant events included the creation of a state printing office at the school in 1876, the first ten-year study course for graduation in 1887, and the construction of a new vocational and education building in 1900. Today, the school’s printing is done on an industry-standard, state-of-the-art digital printer; curricula has expanded to include web design, digital animation, and graphics; and students print the school’s Lone Star magazine onsite.
Now, more than 550 students are enrolled at TSD, with 43% of students living on campus and commuting home on the weekends. The school also serves more than 7000 deaf and hard of hearing students, from birth to 22 years of age, across Texas to strengthen and sustain language, academic achievement, and career pathways through literacy; outreach; science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); as well as career and technical education (CTE).
Work-Based Learning
The school’s CTE department is a work-based training program for both high school and transitional students. Equipment and industry-standard software training allow students to learn with hands-on practice to prepare them for success in the workforce or college.
In addition to welding, CTE programs include child development, principles of hospitality and tourism, animations, audio and video production, robotics, engineering and 3D printing, game and app design, mill and cabinetmaking technology, digital interactive media, culinary arts, career preparation, collision repair and refinishing, and automotive technology.
Development of the Welding Technology Program
In this digital world, the demand for trained and skilled workers in the trades industry, including but not limited to manufacturing, construction, energy, technology, automation, and welding, has continued to rise. Welding is one of the hottest tickets of employment. With more welding jobs in Texas opening up, the Lone Star State is one of the best places in the world to find a welding job. Daniel Veit, supervisor of the CTE program at TSD, saw the demand for welders in Texas and advocated for the hiring of an instructor who would teach industry-standard welding to give deaf students an opportunity to learn a high-wage, employable skill.
When Welding Instructor Richard Layton was hired in the fall of 2015, the program was more of an exploratory course with a few basic welding classes.
“There was some type of welding here at TSD for a number of years, but no formal welding program; [it was] more of an exploration class to another course like manufacturing, autobody, and mechanics,” Layton explained.
In Spring 2016, the school began the process of negotiating and receiving a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission. One of the grant’s conditions required a partnership with Austin Community College (ACC). A team of representatives from ACC — Dean Brandon Whatley, Welding Chair Troy DeFrates, along with members of their support staff — and representatives from TSD — CFO Justin Wedel, Veit, and Layton — met on a regular basis to create the foundation of the dual-credit program.
The collaboration with ACC’s welding and computer science program to offer a dual-credit welding course enabled TSD students to earn high school and college credit, at the same time, with the added convenience of taking the course onsite at the TSD campus. The dual-credit course also provides students with college-level welding and coding skills that meet the current industry standards. Students have the opportunity to earn their first welding certificate from ACC while in high school, which helps them get ahead on their path to earning an associate’s degree or qualifications in code welding.
“Since the program is in its infancy, we are still working out the kinks of scheduling students into the proper course,” asserted Layton. “Currently, we’ve been experimenting with placements of students into an appropriate level welding class.”
Lesson plans have been drawn from multiple sources, including Lincoln Electric’s U/Linc® curriculum website; ACC’s welding department textbook, Welding Principles and Applications; and lesson plans developed, modified, and borrowed from agricultural mechanic teachers through the National FFA Organization website.
“Again, it comes back to being a program in its infancy. We are working on finding the right combination of hands-on lab hours and textbook classroom instruction,” said Layton.
The welding technology program at TSD currently offers Introduction to Welding (principles), Welding I, Welding II, and Dual Credit Welding. Layton said the program officially began in the fall of 2016 when the dual-credit welding classes at ACC Riverside campus were developed. The orders for equipment, booths, and materials began shortly thereafter.
The Facility
The partnership with ACC has allowed the TSD welding program to fully equip its welding technology lab, as well as the computer science lab, with the latest equipment to ensure all students are able to learn the various aspects of the welding and computer science industry.
Originally designed for a drafting, machining, and manufacturing program that eventually closed down, “The welding lab, during my first year, had two fully operational 1960s Lincoln Electric Idealarc® 250 welders, one Millermatic® MIG welder, and an older TIG welder that was used primarily by a teacher’s aide,” said Layton.
Now, the 3140-sq-ft welding technology facility boasts ten 4 × 4 ft Lincoln Electric welding booths; five dual-arm fume extraction filtration systems; ten Miller Syncrowave® 210 machines for gas metal arc welding (GMAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), and aluminum spool guns; and eight Lincoln Electric 350MP GMAW machines. The classroom also contains a Lincoln Electric plasma table, horizontal band saw, drill press, benchtop lathe, vertical mill, oxyacetylene track torch, plasma torch, Whisper Daddy forge, sandblaster, and two shears. The work benches substitute as desks for classroom lectures and presentations.
Students perform GMAW, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), SMAW, and flux cored arc welding (FCAW), as well as oxyfuel processes and plasma arc cutting.
Overcoming Challenges
Being deaf and understanding the challenges that deaf students face, primarily because the general population deems them “disabled,” is difficult to understand. English is not their first language. The main mode of communication for the majority of the deaf population is American Sign Language (ASL), a complex language in and of itself. The classroom instruction at TSD is delivered using ASL as the primary mode of communication between teacher and students, along with visual aids and demonstrations of techniques. Layton said, the reality is deaf people, for the most part, are pretty much on the same plane as their counterparts with the exception of being able to hear. He acknowledged the challenges, but stated that like most things in the world, there are ways to overcome these challenges.
“One of the biggest challenges I face as a welding teacher is while a student is welding, I cannot verbally instruct them on the proper technique, which requires that I pat them on the shoulder to stop and look at me to receive critiques and corrections,” he said.
Textbook instruction is often a challenge for deaf students, so accommodations are made by helping them comprehend what they’re reading through translation into ASL.
“It’s been a challenge learning the welding terminology. It’s easy to sign what I am doing, but to read and write it has been a challenge,” related Chayton Graves, welding student at TSD.
In the dual-credit welding course, ACC Professor Graham Howison has communicated that the students do extremely well on their hands-on welding coupon projects (Fig. 4), but struggle with the reading portion of textbook exams and tests. Howison communicates with the students using ASL and the support of a sign language interpreter when he gives lectures.
“We’ve been fortunate to have an ASL interpreter, Shawn Whitley, that is well-versed in welding terminology, techniques, and as a CODA (child of deaf adults), he understands the challenges deaf students face when working with English format textbooks. We’ve decided to make some changes to how we do the course by adding an additional class beyond the dual-credit laboratory class,” said Layton.
This new course, welding mastery, will allow Layton to do textbook instruction with the students to enhance their reading comprehension and testing strategies. The concept will be similar to English as a Second Language (ESL) as a supplemental support course for students that reinforces what they learn in a regular classroom setting by enhancing their comprehension through a combination of vocabulary definitions, terminology applications, and reading comprehension.
“Large numbers of able-bodied deaf individuals are stuck in a rut of not being able to find employment due to discrimination and/or a lack of having the proper skill set to enter the workforce. This is my drive to start a new generation of skilled welders, and in order to do so, it is necessary to find the methodology that works best to ensure these students have skills higher than just entry level in order to compete with their hearing counterparts,” Layton affirmed.
A Community Affair
Another challenge faced by Layton, as well as the welding program, is finding patrons to donate materials.
“As most welding instructors know, it becomes a big part of our job to seek donations of materials. We do have some good relations with a number of businesses who offer us discounts on consumables,” said Layton.
Some of their principal suppliers who offer breaks when possible are Alamo Iron Works, Round Rock Welding Supply, Alamo Welding Supply, and Lincoln Electric.
“Donations made through our Texas School for the Deaf Foundation are tax deductible and always greatly appreciated,” Layton continued.
Due to the program’s limited budget, there is a restriction in the number of projects. However, one of the most popular projects welding students get to do is refurbish old BBQ fireboxes and create new smokers out of old, discarded BBQ grills using mainly scrap pipe and plates.
“The last two years, we provided a fire pit to our fundraising event hosted by our TSD Foundation during May each year. This project nets our program several hundred dollars. After seeing the interest in our latest fire pit, we will be looking for donations of 48 × 48 × 1⁄8-in. steel plates to make multiple fire pits to sell directly to the community,” Layton said.
Additionally, the welding program is working to establish a partnership with local businesses to offer students apprenticeships or internships.
“We do have one company that has taken in some postgraduates, but we have yet to establish a student intership or apprenticeship opportunity,” said Layton. “We serve students from the entire state of Texas, which becomes a challenge in finding potential employers interested in offering summer apprenticeship or internship opportunities in or near the student’s home outside of Austin, Tex.”
That said, to offer TSD students an opportunity, Layton hopes the program can generate a supply line to employers who have a demand.
“We hope to find some type of community program or event where we can put our kids face to face with the local community, as well as the business community, something that the students can showcase their skills in metal fabrication,” said Layton.
Work to Succeed
As the welding program develops and flourishes, Layton continues to work hard to expose deaf students to proper welding techniques and terminology.
“In a setting like we have here at TSD, students do not generally encounter communication barriers, so that’s something I remind them of on a regular basis,” he said. “When they leave the confines of TSD, they’ll enter a society where spoken English is the norm and the importance of proper terminology becomes essential. They can communicate through writing on any metal surface with their coworkers, but for this to be successful they need to be able to properly use the correct terminology that applies to the task at hand.”
One of the biggest motivational aspects for students is the potential to earn wages that exceed what their parents and/or peers may be making and the opportunity to find employment in virtually any trades industry in any town in, or outside of, Texas or becoming a business owner.
“I have always taken automotive technology, and it’s next door to welding and that drew me to the program. Mr. Layton is always willing to tell anyone about how welding applies to many of the trades and that made me sign up,” said Graves. “When I was in sixth grade, I became fascinated with the welding videos on YouTube. Now, I’m a welder.”
Graves has dreams of starting his own welding rig as well as travelling and seeing the country “on my journeys between jobs”.
Knowledge of the welding industry includes more than learning terminology. Layton wants his students to also learn “you have to earn your merits.” He continued, “Nothing is given in exchange for nothing, and if you fail, you need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and try again. Success comes to those who work for it. They also need to prepare for the fact they’ll one day leave the sheltered confines of a school that is 100% accessible to them and enter a world where they’ll be the minority working to earn the respect of their hearing counterparts.”
Layton’s hard-hitting words have never deterred his students from entering this path. Welding Student Bates Richard Cannon confirmed, “You have to work hard and be dedicated to welding to become a welder. I was drawn to the welding program because it’s hard work, a challenge.”
Graves has also taken his instructor’s words to heart. “Success is earned, not given. As long as I continue to try as hard as I can, I’ll get somewhere,” he added.
Layton speaks from experience. He has earned multiple qualifications in a variety of food safety, pest management, and construction technology fields. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture technology, management, and education, and became a certified diesel and heavy equipment mechanic/operator through L.H. Bates Technical College, Tacoma, Wash.
“I spent most of my life working in and around the food service, automotive, manufacturing, and agriculture industries,” he said. “With this [diesel and heavy equipment mechanic/operator] certification, I started a career that took me to a wide range of jobs. The majority of my jobs always required some type of mechanical skills, and welding was one of those skills that became an asset in my career.”
Layton demonstrates the basic skills of welding are similar across industries. Welders can easily shift from one industry to another, depending on where they are needed most, which opens different opportunities.
“Welding schools don’t talk about the sound of welding, but rather what you see. If these deaf kids can be accepted into the industry, it’s more receptive to the idea of deaf welders,” he concluded.
To learn more about the welding program, contact Richard Layton, CTE teacher, welding technology, Texas School for the Deaf, at richard.layton@tsd.state.tx.us.
Fig 1 Welding Instructor Richard Layton (right), Texas School for the Deaf, gives a demonstration of an aluminum gas tungsten arc welding technique on a skiff repair. (Photo by Michael Singleton Jr.) 
