Developing a Flipped Classroom Approach to Enhance Access and Improve Learning in Electro-Mechanical Technology

国家对机电技术人员的需求越来越大，他们既有机械技术方面的专业知识，也有电气/电子线路方面的专业知识。这些技术人员将他们的知识和技能应用于许多领域，从发电和输电到先进制造。这项建议旨在提高机电技术人员的教育水平。为此，它将开发支持翻转课堂体验的在线教学资源。在翻转教室里，学生们在上课前会进行更多的被动学习，比如听一堂课。然后，在课堂上，他们在教师的指导下将所学知识实际应用于实践中。该项目将利用工业界和其他两年制院校的投入，开发机电技术教学资源。预计在在线翻转课堂中实施这些资源将更有效地帮助机电技术人员和教师获得技术知识和实际动手经验。哥伦比亚峡谷社区学院是一所为拉美裔服务的机构。因此，通过帮助学生为高薪、高需求的机电技术员工作做准备，该项目可以帮助缓解新冠肺炎疫情对学院服务的拉美裔社区的不成比例的影响。该项目利用了前一届成功的美国国家科学基金会ATE奖的结果，该奖项开发了免费、高质量的在线资源，以支持电气工程、工业维护和可再生能源技术人员的翻转课堂课程。该项目有三个主要目标：(1)开发高质量的在线学习模块，支持翻转课堂教学机电技术，(2)为高需求领域培养下一代教师和劳动力准备好的技术人员，以及(3)推进有关使用翻转课堂方法加强技术员教育的知识库。翻转的课堂结构和材料可以很容易地更新和改变用途，用于其他技术课程，从而增加接受技术教育的机会，并降低成本。美国的经济和国家安全依赖于有知识和技能的技术人员支持的行业。该项目旨在培养新的机电技术人员，并为希望保持在工作岗位上的实践中的机电技术人员服务。该项目由NSF高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注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 nation has an expanding need for electro-mechanical technicians, who have expertise in both mechanical technology and electrical/electronic circuits. These technicians apply their knowledge and skills in many fields, from generation and transmission of power to advanced manufacturing. This proposal aims to improve the education of electro-mechanical technicians. To do so, it will develop online teaching and learning resources that support a flipped classroom experience. In flipped classrooms, students engage in more passive learning, such as listening to a lecture, before coming to class. Then, in the classroom, they are guided by the instructor to work on hands-on applications of what they learned. This project will develop teaching resources for electro-mechanical technology with input from industry and other two-year colleges. It is expected that implementing these resources in an online flipped classroom will be more effective at helping electro-mechanical technicians and instructors gain both technical knowledge and practical hands-on experience. Columbia Gorge Community College is a Hispanic-serving institution. Thus, by preparing students for well-paying, high-demand electro-mechanical technician jobs, this project can help to mitigate the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Hispanic communities the College serves.This project leverages the results of a successful previous NSF ATE award that developed free, high-quality online resources to support flipped classroom courses for electrical engineering, industrial maintenance, and renewable energy technicians. The project has three major aims: (1) develop high-quality online learning modules that support a flipped classroom approach for teaching electro-mechanical technologies, (2) cultivate the next generation of instructors and workforce-ready technicians for high-demand fields, and (3) advance the knowledge base about use of the flipped classroom approach to enhance technician education. The flipped classroom structure and materials can be easily updated and repurposed for other technical programs, thus increasing access to technical education and decreasing cost. U.S. economic and national security depends on the industries supported by knowledgeable, skilled technicians. This project intends to train new electro-mechanical technicians and serve practicing electro-mechanical technicians who want to stay current in their jobs. This project is funded by the NSF 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.