Developing and Analyzing a Modular, Online Mechatronics Curriculum with Hands-on Laboratories to Prepare the Skilled Manufacturing Workforce

该项目将有助于满足国家对生产工程方面受过良好教育的工程师和技术人员的需求。 它将通过支持机电一体化在线课程的设计，开发和评估来实现这一目标。 项目团队包括俄勒冈州州立大学和克拉克马斯社区学院的教育工作者，以及与行业和其他组织的合作伙伴关系。 总体目标是开发一套在线课程模块，其中包括面对面的实验室。每个模块将建立在一个特定的机电一体化概念的能力。亲自动手的实验室将使用“实验室在一个盒子”的方法，这将使学生可以选择在俄勒冈州州立大学或在社区大学靠近自己的位置进行实验室。课程模块将被组织成四组，可以堆叠在机电一体化课程。这些分组将使两年制和四年制院校的学生以及工作专业人员能够获得机电一体化认证。该项目将调查模块化课程和远程实验室如何影响学生的学习和成功。该分析的结果将有助于了解提供高质量在线教育的最佳实践，以满足学生的专业目标以及机电一体化和制造业的需求。该项目将有助于使全国范围内的学生更容易获得机电一体化教育。该项目的总体目标是提高对生产工程至关重要的关键领域的现有和未来工程师和技术人员的准备。该项目将追求五个目标：1）确定和确认机电一体化的基本内容领域和学习目标; 2）开发一个模块化的在线程序，用于当前机电一体化领域的认证或再认证; 3）为社区学院和大学学生提供专业认证以外的教育机会，并提供开放式教育; 4）研究和评估模块化课程交付和远程实验室产生的学生学习成果; 5）为后续用户分发课程材料，性能分析方法和匿名数据。课程模块将结构化和垂直整合，以提供机电一体化职业途径证书或机电一体化工程证书。将收集和分析有关学生与课程组件互动的数据，包括网站导航工作流程、通过预测分析的学生进度以及学习者参与度。感兴趣的具体变量将包括：完成的时间和速度;总体成绩;学习者满意度;以及雇主满意度。将探讨人口变量，以确定拟议的混合在线方法最适合谁。学生在远程实验室中的表现将与传统实验室中的学生进行比较，以确定远程选项是否等效且可行。这项研究将为不同的学习者如何在模块化课程中取得成功提供更深入的见解。项目结果将通过教师培训，会议演示，同行评审的出版物，以及为期一天的研讨会，以扩大该计划超越俄勒冈州的状态。该项目由NSF的EHR核心研究：生产工程教育和研究（ECR：PEER）计划资助，该计划旨在改善未来和当前生产工程专业人员的教育。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。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated engineers and technicians in production engineering. It will do so by supporting the design, development, and evaluation of online courses in mechatronics. The project team includes educators at Oregon State University and Clackamas Community College, as well as partnerships with industry and other organizations. The overall goal is to develop a set of online course modules that include in-person labs. Each module will build competence in a specific mechatronics concept. The in-person, hands-on labs will use a "lab-in-a-box" approach, which will give students the option of conducting labs at Oregon State University or at community colleges close to their own location. The course modules will be organized into four groupings that can be stacked within a mechatronics curriculum. These groupings will enable students at two-year and four-year institutions, as well as working professionals, to obtain certifications in mechatronics. The project will investigate how modular courses and remote labs influence student learning and success. The results of this analysis will contribute to understanding best practices for delivering a high-quality online education that meets the professional goals of students, as well as the needs of mechatronics and manufacturing industries. The project will help make mechatronics education more accessible to a wider range of students across the country.The overall goal of this project is to improve the preparation of current and prospective engineers and technicians in key fields that are important for production engineering. The project will pursue five objectives: 1) Identify and confirm essential content areas and learning objectives in mechatronics; 2) Develop a modular online program for certification or re-certification in current areas of mechatronics; 3) Expand educational opportunities beyond professional certification for community college and university students, and for open-education delivery; 4) Research and evaluate student learning outcomes resulting from the modular course delivery and remote laboratories; and 5) Distribute course materials, performance analysis methods, and anonymized data for subsequent users. The course modules will be structured and vertically integrated to offer a Mechatronics Career Pathway Certificate or a Mechatronics Engineering Certificate. Data about students' interaction with course components will be collected and analyzed, and will include site navigation workflows, student progress via predictive analytics, and learner engagement. Specific variables of interest will include: time and rate of completion; overall achievement; learner satisfaction; and employer satisfaction. Demographic variables will be explored to identify for whom the proposed hybrid online approach works best. Student performance in remote labs will be compared to that of students in traditional labs, to determine whether the remote options are equivalent and viable alternatives. The research will provide greater insights into how different learners achieve success within the modularized curriculum. Project results will be made available through faculty training, conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and a one-day workshop to scale the program beyond the state of Oregon. This project is funded by NSF's EHR Core Research: Production Engineering Education and Research (ECR: PEER) program, which seeks to improve the education of future and current professionals in production engineering. It also aims to study the effectiveness of the innovative educational strategies adopted by these projects.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.