Developing and Implementing Hybrid Instruction to Increase the Access of Women and Adult Learners to Diesel Technology Training

阿拉巴马州劳工部已将柴油技术员确定为需求旺盛的职业，并估计未来六年将雇用3000名技术员。华莱士州立社区学院将通过修订和加强其柴油技师计划来帮助满足这一需求，以符合行业需求，并帮助学生走上快速获得就业证书的道路。该学院将利用合作伙伴关系建立新的虚拟培训机会，使需要灵活学习选择的学生更容易获得该计划。与国家贸易、技术和科学女性研究所的另一项合作将增加进入柴油技术项目的学生的多样性，最终为女性和成年学习者提供更多的机会和工作。该项目有可能为受阿拉巴马州新冠肺炎大流行影响过大的社区中的个人建立一条就业途径。此外，该项目可以减少严重依赖柴油技术运输食品杂货和农业用品对供应链物流的潜在负面影响。修订后的柴油技师计划将旨在(1)通过使课程与国家汽车技师教育基金会标准保持一致来改善学生的学习结果，(2)实施混合在线内容交付模式，使学生能够从偏远地区完成高达75%的课程作业，以及(3)增加女性毕业生和/或来自柴油技术领域尚未公平代表的人群的人数。柴油技术商业和工业领导团队将与大学教职员工合作，使课程符合雇主的需求。报名参加该项目的学生将使用虚拟现实培训，让他们获得原本在技术研讨会上进行的在职培训。虚拟培训模块中的数字教练将通过对话式人工智能提供即时反馈。从该项目收集的信息将在华莱士州立大学STEM职业和技术教育劳动力计划的十个项目中共享和复制。该项目由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 Alabama Department of Labor has identified Diesel Technicians as a high demand occupation and estimates that 3000 technicians will be hired over the next six years. Wallace State Community College will help to meet this need by revising and enhancing its Diesel Technician program to align with industrial needs and to put students on the path to quickly earn a credential that will result in employment. The college will leverage partnerships to build new virtual training opportunities that will make the program more accessible to students who need flexible learning options. An additional partnership with the National Institute of Women in Trades, Technology, and Sciences will increase the diversity of students entering the Diesel Technology program, ultimately providing more opportunities and jobs for women and adult learners. This project has the potential to establish a pathway to employment for individuals in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama. In addition, the project can decrease the potential negative impacts on supply-chain logistics that heavily rely on diesel technology for the transportation of groceries and farming supplies.The revised Diesel Technician program will be designed to (1) improve student learning outcomes by aligning the curriculum with National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation standards, (2) implement a hybrid online content delivery model that will enable students to complete up to 75% of their coursework from remote locations, and (3) increase the number of graduates who are women and/or from populations that are not yet equitably represented in diesel technology fields. A Diesel Technology Business and Industry Leadership Team will work with college faculty to align the curriculum with the needs of employers. Students enrolled in the program will use virtual reality training to give them access to on-the-job training that would otherwise take place in a technical workshop. A digital coach in the virtual training modules will provide immediate feedback through Conversational Artificial Intelligence. Information gathered from this project will be shared and replicated among ten Wallace State STEM Career and Technical Education workforce 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.