Troubleshooting and Safety Simulator for Wind Turbine Technician Education

该项目将解决社区大学风能技术教育中的两个关键国家问题：1)在不断增长的风能行业中缺乏合格的入门级技术人员；2)学生将所学概念从课堂转化为实际应用的能力有限。美国能源部的Wind Vision报告详细介绍了一项计划，到2050年，美国35%的电力来自风能，这将在未来15年内每年需要3000多名新的风能技术人员。此外，许多新的风力发电技术人员缺乏安全工作的技能和有效的故障排除，因为无效的，过时的，教学材料。通过社区学院、大学和行业的合作，社区学院风能项目的教学实践将使用引人入胜的、动态的内容和逼真的模拟来转变。该项目将对500多名社区大学生产生直接的积极影响。更广泛的影响将包括：1)提供准备更充分的熟练和多样化的劳动力，以满足风能行业的需求；2)提高技术教育的有效性；3)为其他领域的劳动力发展提供模式，以及4)激励K-12学生接受STEM教育。该项目团队将开发一个基于网络的交互式3D模拟器，其中包含基于真实世界情况的许多场景和教育模块。该模拟器将设计为通过活动促进学习来满足特定的学习目标。它将用于教授故障排除和安全策略，使学生能够在安全、经济和及时的背景下解决问题。这些学习单元将包括开放式问题，供学生学习批判性思维和解决问题的技能。该模拟器将用于现有的社区大学课程。将持续评估模拟器和衍生形式对改进学习结果的有效性，这种贯穿整个项目的形成性评估将使周期性改进成为可能。该项目将促进关于基于网络的交互式3D模拟器用于技术教育的有效性、感知和态度的知识体系，还将衡量来自不同形式(基于Web的交互式3D模拟器、视频和基于文本的材料)的学习情况。该项目的一个预期结果是，未来将越来越多地使用基于计算机的模拟器将所学概念转化为实际应用。该模拟器将在四所社区大学教授和评估。项目成果可供全国各地的社区学院使用。

This project will address two critical national issues in community college wind energy technical education: 1) a lack of qualified entry-level technicians in the growing wind energy industry; and 2) the limited ability of students to transfer learned concepts from the classroom to actual applications. The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Vision report details a plan for 35% of the nation's electrical capacity to come from wind by 2050, which will require over 3,000 new wind technicians each year for the next 15 years. Moreover, many new wind turbine technicians lack the skills of working safely and effective troubleshooting due to ineffective, outdated, teaching materials. Through a partnership of community colleges, universities and industry, teaching practices in community college wind energy programs will be transformed using engaging, dynamic content and realistic simulations. This project will have direct positive impact on over 500 community college students. Broader impacts will include: 1) providing a better-prepared skilled and diverse workforce to meet the demand of the wind energy industry; 2) improving the effectiveness of technology education; 3) providing a model for workforce development in other fields, and 4) inspiring K-12 students in STEM education. The project team will develop a web-based interactive 3D simulator incorporating numerous scenarios and education modules based on real world situations. The simulator will be designed to meet specific learning objectives with activities to facilitate learning. It will be used to teach troubleshooting and safety strategies that enable students to solve problems in a safe, cost-effective and timely context. These learning modules will include open-ended questions for students to learn critical thinking and problem solving skills. The simulator will be used in existing community college courses. The effectiveness of the simulator and derivative formats for improving the learning outcomes will be continuously assessed, and such formative assessment throughout the project will enable cyclical improvements. The project will contribute to the body of knowledge on the effectiveness, perceptions, and attitudes regarding web-based interactive 3D simulators for technical education and also measure the learning that comes from the different formats (web-based interactive 3D simulator, videos, and text-based materials). An expected outcome of this project is that computer-based simulators will be increasingly used in the future for transferring learned concepts to practical applications. The simulator will be taught and assessed in four community colleges. The project outcomes can be used by community colleges all over the nation.