Erica Gunnison, an operational research systems analyst for Fort Hood’s Operational Test Command, presented math lessons Wednesday steeped in the practicality of her own career.

Fourth-graders in Angela Bernier’s class at Timber Ridge Elementary School in Killeen followed Gunnison’s instruction to build simple seven-layered missiles out of Lego building blocks.

Students used the engineering practices Gunnison employs, first taking inventory of their material and self-checking their work.

Fourth-graders learned to build a missile to specifications and then worked against the clock to complete the project in 1 minute.

Next, Gunnison introduced students to spreadsheets as she recorded their times and showed them how to figure averages and analyze results based on various demographics.

The math lessons based on engineering were part of a curriculum called Math Around Town that Bernier is using to demonstrate the practicality of addition, division, fractions and other concepts to real careers.

Students have learned to use Garage Band software to compose music and have explored the use of math in archeology.

“I use statistics as an engineer everyday just like you are learning now,” Gunnison told the students during her presentation. “You see math like this everyday.”

She explained how logistics and recordkeeping are part of careers ranging from long-haul truck driving to determining how to feed a bunch of elementary school students in a cafeteria.

At the end of the class, Gunnison, who has a fourth-grader and first-grader at Timber Ridge, said she wanted to help demystify the fear of engineering.

“I want them to not have the impression I had as a kid,” she said, explaining that she remembered a teacher who discouraged her from pursuing high-level math as a career.

“I’m showing them that anyone can do it. It just takes basic skills.”

Working in statistical quality control for the military’s test laboratory, Gunnison helps ensure soldiers are properly trained for tasks like assembling a new weapon or configuring a redesigned backpack.

“Those are the same (math) skills they learn in fourth grade,” she said, “the same principles we use.”

Bernier said Wednesday’s lessons were her fourth-graders’ first exposure to spreadsheets and that they would use the skills to build charts and graphs.

The teacher said she was excited about the math lessons that connect to careers. “It’s a unit where they can touch and feel and solve problems,” she said.