Troubleshooting and Safety Simulator for Wind Turbine Technician Education

该项目将解决社区大学风能技术教育中的两个关键国家问题：1)在不断发展的风能行业中缺乏合格的入门级技术人员；2)学生将课堂上学到的概念转化为实际应用的能力有限。美国能源部的《风能展望》（Wind Vision）报告详细介绍了一项计划，即到2050年，美国35%的发电量将来自风能，这将在未来15年里每年需要3000多名新的风能技术人员。此外，由于无效、过时的教材，许多新的风力涡轮机技术人员缺乏安全工作和有效故障排除的技能。通过社区学院、大学和工业界的合作，社区学院风能项目的教学实践将通过吸引人的、动态的内容和现实的模拟进行转变。该项目将对500多名社区大学生产生直接的积极影响。更广泛的影响将包括：1)提供准备更充分的熟练和多样化的劳动力，以满足风能行业的需求；2)提高技术教育的实效性；3)为其他领域的劳动力发展提供榜样；4)激励K-12学生接受STEM教育。项目团队将开发一个基于网络的交互式3D模拟器，其中包含基于现实世界的许多场景和教育模块。模拟器的设计将满足特定的学习目标，并提供促进学习的活动。它将用于教授故障排除和安全策略，使学生能够在安全、经济、及时的情况下解决问题。这些学习模块将包括开放式问题，让学生学习批判性思维和解决问题的能力。该模拟器将用于现有的社区大学课程。将持续评估模拟器和衍生格式改善学习成果的有效性，这种贯穿整个项目的形成性评估将使周期性改进成为可能。该项目将为技术教育中基于网络的交互式3D模拟器的有效性、认知和态度提供知识体系，并测量来自不同格式（基于网络的交互式3D模拟器、视频和基于文本的材料）的学习。该项目的预期结果是，基于计算机的模拟器将在未来越来越多地用于将所学概念转化为实际应用。该模拟器将在四所社区大学进行教学和评估。该项目的成果可以被全国各地的社区学院使用。

This project will address two critical national issues in community college wind energy technical education: 1) a lack of qualified entry-level technicians in the growing wind energy industry; and 2) the limited ability of students to transfer learned concepts from the classroom to actual applications. The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Vision report details a plan for 35% of the nation's electrical capacity to come from wind by 2050, which will require over 3,000 new wind technicians each year for the next 15 years. Moreover, many new wind turbine technicians lack the skills of working safely and effective troubleshooting due to ineffective, outdated, teaching materials. Through a partnership of community colleges, universities and industry, teaching practices in community college wind energy programs will be transformed using engaging, dynamic content and realistic simulations. This project will have direct positive impact on over 500 community college students. Broader impacts will include: 1) providing a better-prepared skilled and diverse workforce to meet the demand of the wind energy industry; 2) improving the effectiveness of technology education; 3) providing a model for workforce development in other fields, and 4) inspiring K-12 students in STEM education. The project team will develop a web-based interactive 3D simulator incorporating numerous scenarios and education modules based on real world situations. The simulator will be designed to meet specific learning objectives with activities to facilitate learning. It will be used to teach troubleshooting and safety strategies that enable students to solve problems in a safe, cost-effective and timely context. These learning modules will include open-ended questions for students to learn critical thinking and problem solving skills. The simulator will be used in existing community college courses. The effectiveness of the simulator and derivative formats for improving the learning outcomes will be continuously assessed, and such formative assessment throughout the project will enable cyclical improvements. The project will contribute to the body of knowledge on the effectiveness, perceptions, and attitudes regarding web-based interactive 3D simulators for technical education and also measure the learning that comes from the different formats (web-based interactive 3D simulator, videos, and text-based materials). An expected outcome of this project is that computer-based simulators will be increasingly used in the future for transferring learned concepts to practical applications. The simulator will be taught and assessed in four community colleges. The project outcomes can be used by community colleges all over the nation.