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不断扩大，他们在机械技术和电气/电子电路方面都有专业知识。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。本建议旨在改善机电技术人员的教育。为此，它将开发支持翻转课堂体验的在线教学和学习资源。在翻转课堂中，学生在上课前会进行更被动的学习，比如听课。然后，在课堂上，他们在教师的指导下动手应用所学知识。本计划将结合业界及其他大专院校的投入，开发机电科技教学资源。期望在网上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践经验。哥伦比亚峡谷社区学院是一所为西班牙裔服务的机构。因此，通过培养学生从事高薪、高要求的机电技术员工作，该项目可以帮助减轻2019冠状病毒病大流行对学院服务的西班牙裔社区的不成比例的影响。该项目利用了之前一个成功的NSF ATE奖项的成果，该奖项开发了免费的、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，支持机电技术教学的翻转课堂方法；(2)培养高需求领域的下一代讲师和劳动力技术人员；(3)提高使用翻转课堂方法的知识基础，以加强技术人员教育。翻转课堂的结构和材料可以很容易地更新和重新用于其他技术课程，从而增加了技术教育的机会并降低了成本。美国的经济和国家安全依赖于由知识渊博、技术熟练的技术人员支持的行业。本项目旨在培养新的机电技术人员，为在职机电技术人员提供服务。该项目由美国国家科学基金会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。

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.