Hands-On Ability: Why It Matters and How to Improve It

本工程教育研究项目有以下目标：确定机械和电气工程师在工作场所的动手能力的价值；开发动手能力的动机和情感模型；开发动手能力的绩效模型；确定单独的实验室活动作为提高动手能力的方法的有效性。该项目将利用现有的几种工具，并将开发新的工具：动手能力重要性调查(将为该项目开发)；以前的经验清单(在俄亥俄大学开发)；工程态度调查(在匹兹堡大学开发)；机械能力倾向测试(可商业化)；简单和困难的实践技能测试(将为该项目开发)；简短的压力状态问卷(已由共同开发的Pi Helton开发)；有声思考解决问题和协议分析该项目的智力优势在于它将为实践能力在工程师培养中的作用提供新的见解。该项目将确定动手能力与工程工作的相关性，以及哪些先前的经验预测了动手能力。此外，该项目将确定动手能力在学生的动机、信心和态度中所起的作用。最后，该项目将测试一种干预策略--单独实验室活动--对提高动手能力的有效性。更广泛的影响是最终的课程改革(在大学和大学前)，这将导致学生拥有更好的动手实践技能，并导致机械和电气工程专业的女性比例大大提高。

This engineering education research project has the following objectives: Determine the value of hands-on ability in the workplace for mechanical and electrical engineers; Develop a motivation and emotion model for hands-on ability; Develop a performance model for hands-on ability; Determine the effectiveness of solitary lab activity as a way to improve hands-on ability. The project will make use of several existing instruments and will develop new ones: Survey on the importance of hands-on ability (to be developed for this project); Previous experience inventory (developed at Ohio U.); Engineering attitudes survey (developed at U. Pittsburgh); Mechanical aptitude test (commercially available); Easy and hard hands-on skills tests (to be developed for this project); Short stress-state questionnaire (already developed by co-PI Helton); Think-aloud problem-solving and protocol analysis The intellectual merit of the project is in the new insights it will provide about the role of hands-on ability in the preparation of engineers. The project will determine the relevance of hands-on ability for engineering work and which previous experiences predict hands-on ability. Furthermore, the project will determine the role that hands-on ability plays in student motivation, confidence, and attitude. Finally, the project will test the effectiveness of one intervention strategy?solitary lab activity--for improving hands-on ability. The broader impacts are eventual curricular reforms (at both the college and pre-college levels) that lead to students with better hands-on practical skills and that lead to much higher percentages of women in mechanical and electrical engineering programs.