Scott Calahan

Scott Calahan is the program coordinator for Technology Education at CWU. He has taught over 20 courses in the ETSC department. Prior to teaching at CWU, Scott taught in the public school system for 8+ years and worked in several manufacturing-related fields.

Certification and Awards:

• Lean Bronze (SME, AME, Shingo Institue)
• Tom Staly Service Award (WITEA)

Research and Areas of Interest:

• Areas of interest:
  • Lean Manufacturing, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), Manufacturing, and Technology Education
• One of Scott's favorite experiences includes being a member and contributor to the SNOCAMP (Snohomish County Advanced Manufacturing Project) NSF Grant. This project provided a five-year collaborative effort between Technology, math, and Science teachers to develop a manufacturing curriculum that was developed, tested, and distributed nationwide.

Publications:

• Recent Conference Presentations
  • “What in the World is GD&T and Why Should You Be Teaching It?” Calahan S., Pringle C., Presented at the Washington Industrial Technology Education Association’s Annual Spring Conference, March 2024
  • “Visual Management: Connecting Classrooms to the Workforce” Calahan S., Pringle C., Presented at the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association’s Annual Conference (virtual) 2022.
  • “Kaizen in the Classroom” Calahan S., Johnson, M., Presented at the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education’s Annual Summer Conference (virtual), August 2020

Courses Taught:

• MET 345 - Lean Manufacturing
  • In 2015, Scott completely overhauled and modernized a course originally called Mass-Production to what we now call Lean Manufacturing. The course is lecture/lab. In the lecture portion, students learn about Lean Manufacturing. In the lab, students are expected to implement concepts learned in the classroom while manufacturing electronic guitar kits. The kits are distributed to schools all across the US as part of the NSF grant’s National STEM Guitar Project.
  • CWU partners with Sinclair CC, which acts as a manufacturing center. This partnership allows our students to apply the skills learned in the lecture to a “real” manufacturing experience in our woods lab while learning highly desirable Lean Manufacturing skills. Students are encouraged to obtain Lean Certification, though it is optional.

Faculty from other universities have visited our campus to observe this course and used it as a model for their programs.

Professional Memberships:

• Washington Industrial Technology Education Association (WITEA)
• Washington Traffic Safety Education Association (WTSEA)
• Washington Association for Career and Technical Education (WA-ACTE)
• International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA)
• SME (the Society of Manufacturing Engineers)