Professional Development to Enhance Skills of Manufacturing Instructors

对熟练的制造技术人员的需求导致了社区学院质量制造技术课程的扩展。州政府的资助和美国劳工部贸易调整援助社区学院职业培训补助金为康涅狄格州社区学院提供了设施和设备，以扩大其制造业计划，并为更多的学生服务。ATE下一代制造区域中心支持该领域的计划和课程开发。 此外，它还支持整个国家和新英格兰目前的教师和教师的专业发展机会。然而，工业对熟练技术人员的需求的扩张速度已经超过了社区学院找到既有工业经验又有教育经验的合格教师的能力。许多潜在的教师拥有超过20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的专业知识。该项目将满足社区大学制造技术教师的专业发展需求。该项目将涉及所有12所康涅狄格州公立社区大学及其先进制造技术中心。该项目将开发模块和新课程，为教师提供提高教学效率所需的技能，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性的策略。拟议的课程和模块将帮助新雇用的制造业技术人员，以及为目前的教师提供机会，学习新的教学方法，在高等教育的学术环境。此外，该项目将每年为制造业教师和教职员工组织两次关于基本技术技能的讲习班，并提供广泛使用的技术认证机会。将得到支持的认证的例子是国家金属加工技能研究所，SolidWorks计算机辅助设计软件和中小企业的增材制造认证。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.