Improving Mechatronics Education by Pairing Mechatronics Courses with General Education Math and Science Courses

到2024年，在罗恩州立社区学院周边地区，商业和工业设备的电气和电子维修工作预计将增加5%。相比之下，全国经济增长率只有2%。地区雇主报告说，他们很难找到“以业务为导向”或“全面发展”的技术人员来填补他们的职位。特别是，许多候选人不具备必要的知识、技能和能力，如批判性思维、应用知识和解决复杂问题的能力。根据最近对雇主的一项调查，定义和解决问题，特别是数字问题，以及批判性思维是近期毕业生最弱的技能。为了更好地满足行业对高技能技术人才的需求，该项目将机电一体化课程与数学和科学的通识教育课程相结合。通识教育课程将增加与机电一体化有关的问题和例子，从而提供与学生的职业目标相关的背景。当地雇主将全面参与课程开发，并提供复杂机电一体化问题的例子，这些问题可以纳入课程中基于问题的学习场景。预计这些配对课程将使机电一体化毕业生在学术和技术上为机电一体化领域的工作做好更好的准备。罗恩州立社区学院旨在通过设计和实施三门必修课程来提高机电一体化学生的技术技能。每对课程将包括一门机电一体化课程和以下课程之一：(a)通识教育数学课程，(b)学习支持（发展）数学课程，或(c)通识教育科学课程。本计划期望这些课程的改变能提高学生对相关学习成果的取得，完成通识教育核心课程和专业的学生人数，以及雇主对毕业生知识、技能和能力的满意度。这些必修课程对可为其他院校加强机电一体化教育提供可复制的范例。此外，在罗恩州立社区学院和其他学院和大学中，用于开发通识教育和机电一体化教学的共同必要模型的过程可以扩展到其他职业技术领域。该项目预计将提高第一代学生的学位完成率，对这些学生来说，数学和通识教育课程往往是获得学位的主要障碍。由于教师和行业合作伙伴都将参与共同必备课程的开发，因此该计划的毕业生应该更好地准备以满足雇主对工作场所机电一体化技术人员的期望。此外，实施计划和培训材料可以适应其他中学后STEM教育项目的必要配对。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

By 2024, in the area surrounding Roane State Community College, employment in electrical and electronics repair of commercial and industrial equipment is expected to increase by five percent. In contrast, the national growth rate is only two percent. Regional employers report that they have difficulty finding "business-oriented" or "well-rounded" technicians to fill their positions. In particular, many candidates do not have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, such as critical thinking, applied knowledge, and complex problem-solving skills. Based on a recent survey of employers, defining and solving problems, particularly numerical problems, and thinking critically were among recent graduates' weakest skills. To better meet industry needs for a highly-skilled technical workforce, this project will pair mechatronics courses with general education courses in math and science. The general education courses will be enhanced with mechatronics-related problems and examples, thus providing a context that is relevant to the students' career goals. Local area employers will be integrally involved in course development and provide examples of complex mechatronics issues that can be incorporated into problem-based learning scenarios within the courses. It is expected that these paired courses will result in mechatronics graduates who are better prepared both academically and technically for work in mechatronics fields. Roane State Community College aims to improve the technical skills of mechatronics students by designing and implementing three co-requisite course pairs. Each course pair will include a mechatronics course and one of the following: (a) a general education math course, (b) a learning support (developmental) math course, or (c) a general education science course. The project expects that these curricular changes will increase students' attainment of related learning outcomes, the number of students completing the general education core courses and programs, and employer satisfaction with graduates' knowledge, skills, and abilities. The co-requisite course pairs may provide replicable examples for enhancing mechatronics education at other institutions. In addition, the process used to develop this co-requisite model for teaching general education and mechatronics may be extended to other career-technical areas at Roane State Community College and at other colleges and universities. This project is expected to increase the degree completion rate of first-generation students for whom math and general education courses often pose a major hurdle to degree attainment. Because both faculty and industry partners will be involved in the development of the co-requisite courses, graduates of the program should be better prepared to meet employer expectations for mechatronics technicians in the workplace. Furthermore, the implementation plan and training materials could be adapted to co-requisite pairings in other post-secondary STEM education programs. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.