Understanding, Supporting, and Creating Curriculum Pathways for Industrial Automation Careers

该项目正在支持和创建课程路径，以增加自动化制造系统(工业自动化)操作、故障排除、设计和集成领域的合格技术人员数量。课程途径包括一系列课程和学习经验，为学生在自动化系统和工业自动化领域的成功职业生涯做好准备。该项目正在开发从高中到劳动力的职业道路，利用网络技术使工业自动化教育更容易获得。智力优势：许多课程衔接的努力都集中在为一般学术科目或特定类型的技术，如机电一体化和机器人技术建立双重学分计划。对自动化系统教育或建立从高中开始的工业自动化双重学分项目的重视相对较少。为了克服这一缺点，该项目是：1)评估工业自动化领域的行业劳动力需求和技能集合，2)确定影响学生从高中顺利过渡到两年或四年制大学到工业工作的能力的差距和低效，3)开发课程路径和衔接协议，以有效地为学生进入劳动力市场做准备，4)开发工具(例如，可访问网络的自动化系统和虚拟学习环境)，以使具有有限教学资源的学习者更容易获得实践学习体验，以及5)在由(至少)一所高中组成的三个集群内对工具进行试点测试，一所两年制大学和一所四年制大学。广泛影响：该项目正在为美国公司提供技术人员和工程师，他们对工业自动化概念有更深的理解，并更好地准备适应生产目标、自动化流程和组织结构调整的变化。伙伴关系机构正在与大量代表不足的少数族裔学生合作，宣传计划为所有背景的学生提供了进一步学习与系统集成有关的概念的机会。该项目通过邀请来自德克萨斯州西部的两年制大学参与者在风能和太阳能行业工作，进一步促进了农村技术员教育。由于对自动化系统劳动力培养的重视相对较少，该项目正在创建从高中到劳动力的模范职业道路，并利用网络技术使工业自动化教育更容易为所有人所接受。该项目专注于自动化制造，使能源行业受益，这有助于解决全球优先考虑的问题，即高素质工人的严重短缺，以对国家及其相关经济产生积极影响。

This project is supporting and creating curriculum pathways to increase the number of qualified technicians in the areas of operation, troubleshooting, design and integration of automated manufacturing systems (industrial automation). The curriculum pathways include a series of courses and learning experiences that equip students for a successful career in automated systems and industrial automation. The project is developing career pathways that lead from high school to the workforce, using web technologies to make industrial automation education more accessible. Intellectual Merit:Many curriculum articulation efforts have focused on establishing dual credit programs for general academic subjects or on particular types of technology, such as mechatronics and robotics. There has been relatively little emphasis on automated systems education or establishing dual credit programs in industrial automation that begin at the high school level. To overcome this shortcoming the project is: 1) assessing industry workforce needs and skill sets in the area of industrial automation, 2) identifying gaps and inefficiencies that affect students' ability to smoothly transition from high school to two or four-year college to jobs in industry, 3) developing curriculum pathways and articulation agreements to efficiently prepare students to enter the workforce, 4) developing tools (e.g., web-accessible automated systems and virtual learning environments) to make hands-on learning experiences more accessible to learners with limited instructional resources, and 5) pilot-testing the tools within three clusters consisting of (at least) one high school, one two-year college, and one four-year college.Broader Impacts:The project is helping provide U.S. companies with technicians and engineers who have a deeper understanding of industrial automation concepts, and who are better prepared to adapt to changes in production goals, automation processes and organizational restructuring. The partnering institutions are working with a significant number of underrepresented minority students and the propagation plans are providing further opportunities for students from all backgrounds to learn the concepts associated with system integration. The project is further contributing to rural technician education, by engaging two-year college participants from west Texas to work in the wind and solar energy industries. Since there has been relatively little emphasis on automated systems workforce preparation, the project is creating model career pathways from high school to the workforce and using web technologies to make industrial automation education more accessible to all. The project's focus on automated manufacturing to benefit the energy industry is helping address the global priority on the critical shortage of highly qualified workers to positively impact the nation and its related economy.