Enhancing the Resource Center Role of the National Center for Manufacturing Education

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The National Center for Manufacturing Education at Sinclair Community College (Dayton, OH) and its academic and industry partners are expanding upon their Resource Center and Technical Assistance roles. The goals of the Resource Center are:(1) To be a clearinghouse of readily accessible resources for improving manufacturing education. The steps that are being undertaken to satisfy this goal include:(a) Establishing a process and the criteria for determining center-approvedresources to be included in the database.(b) Classifying center-approved resources to facilitate efficient access.(c) Developing and maintaining a website as the primary means of user access.(d) Developing links to other organizations and entities that provide information or materials relevant to manufacturing education.(e) Developing and implementing a clearinghouse dissemination strategy that includes the use of brochures, abstracts, how-to-find flyers, and conferences.(f) Obtaining periodic feedback from existing and potential users as to the scope of materials and the features of the clearinghouse, for continuous improvement.(2) To provide support services for stakeholders on the effective use of the Resource Center and the implementation of its products by:(a) Developing and offering services that provide professional development opportunities on manufacturing related subject topics.(b) Developing and offering services that provide assistance to institutions and their faculty that wish to start or improve manufacturing technology programs.(c) Assessing the services related to manufacturing education on a periodic basis for the purpose of continuous improvement.Intellectual Merit: The project is developing a national clearinghouse of manufacturing education instructional materials. The Center uses its web site as a primary national clearinghouse for exemplary manufacturing education materials. Materials are being selected by peer review, categorized, and incorporated into a searchable database. The site has other information and links to other Internet sites. Center staff continue to provide professional development/consulting in faculty professional development; adapting and adopting new manufacturing curricula and course materials; and starting and improving manufacturing technology programs.Broader Impacts: The project is disseminating effective models and pedagogical approaches in technical science, technical mathematics, and manufacturing education. The peer reviewed instructional materials focus on integrating research activities into classroom teaching of manufacturing at the undergraduate level. Faculty are using the materials resulting in improved student learning. This project involves collaboration between disciplines (technical mathematics, technical science, and manufacturing technology) and several types of institutions including colleges, universities, industry, and professional associations to improve manufacturing education. The project is disseminating exemplary learning materials and providing technical assistance to community college faculty and administrators.