Professional Development to Enhance Skills of Manufacturing Instructors

对熟练制造技术人员的需求导致了社区大学质量制造技术课程的扩大。国家资助和美国劳工部贸易调整援助社区学院职业培训赠款为康涅狄格州社区学院提供了设施和设备，以扩大他们的制造项目，并服务于更多的学生。ATE下一代制造区域中心支持这一领域的课程和课程开发。此外，它还支持全州和新英格兰地区现有教职员工和教师的职业发展机会。然而，行业对熟练技术人员的需求扩张速度已经超过了社区学院寻找既有行业经验又有教育经验的合格教师的能力。许多潜在的教师有20多年的行业经验，但缺乏与课堂教学和课程管理(包括评估)中使用的不同方法相关的技能。教师需要将专业技能融入课堂和实验室的方法方面的专业知识。制造教师技能项目将满足社区学院制造技术教师的专业发展需求。该项目将吸引所有12所康涅狄格州公立社区学院及其先进制造技术中心参与。该项目将开发模块和一门新课程，为教师提供必要的技能，以提高他们的教学效率，改善课堂管理，制定高质量的学生学习评估，以及提高学生坚持不懈的策略。拟议的课程和模块将帮助新聘用的工业制造技术人员，并为现有教师提供机会，在高等教育学术环境中学习新的教学方法。此外，该项目每年将为制造业教师和教师组织两次关于基本技术技能的研讨会，并为广泛使用的技术提供认证机会。将支持的认证的例子包括国家金属加工技能研究所、SolidWorks计算机辅助设计软件和SME的添加剂制造认证。将提供额外的研讨会，提供战略，以增加制造业项目中代表性不足人群的持久性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The need for skilled manufacturing technicians has led to expansion of quality manufacturing technology programs in community colleges. State funding and a US Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training Grant provided Connecticut Community Colleges with the facilities and equipment to expand their manufacturing programs and serve more students. The ATE Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing has supported program and curriculum development in this area. In addition, it has supported professional development opportunities for current faculty and instructors across the state and New England. However, the rate of expansion industry's need for skilled technicians has exceeded the ability of the community colleges to find qualified instructors who have both industry and educational experience. Many potential instructors have over twenty years of industry experience but lack the skills associated with different methodologies used in classroom teaching and course management, including assessment. Faculty need expertise on methods that integrate professional skills into classrooms and laboratories. This Skills for Manufacturing Instructors project will address these needs for professional development for community college manufacturing technology instructors.The project will engage all twelve Connecticut public community colleges and their Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centers. The project will develop modules and a new course that will provide faculty with the skills needed to enhance their teaching effectiveness, improve classroom management, develop high quality student assessments of learning, and strategies to increase student persistence. The proposed course and modules will assist newly hired manufacturing technicians from industry as well as provide opportunities for current instructors to learn new teaching methodologies in a higher education academic environment. Additionally, the project will organize two workshops annually on essential technical skills for the manufacturing instructors and faculty, as well as provide opportunities for certification in widely used technologies. Examples of certifications that would be supported are the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, SolidWorks Computer-Aided Design software, and SME's Additive Manufacturing Certification. Additional workshops will be offered that provide strategies for increasing the persistence of underrepresented populations in the manufacturing programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.