Welding Education Long-Distance Community Outreach

具有先进科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）知识和技能的认证焊工对美国石油，食品生产和加工，运输和制造业至关重要，该项目包括来自这些部门的行业合作伙伴。由于这种巨大的需求，焊接距离社区外展（WELDCO）计划在西山社区学院的目的是为了满足日益增长的部门的先进焊接技术人员在加州西部贫困的中央谷的需求。该计划旨在运输和使移动的一个成功的，面对面的，焊接程序，并提供它在地理上孤立的地区内的职业和技术教育（CTE）的大学服务区历史上一直非常有限。随着第一代移民的子女获得中学后教育和有酬就业，该区域社区将发生文化变化，从而创造积极的世代学习成果。随着成人学习者、那些寻求提高工作技能的就业者和失业者利用这一教育方案的可及性，该地区将获得更多的好处。该项目将影响国家和民族，因为这种教育模式与其他社区学院和组织共享，以改善雇主伙伴关系和增长。一个强有力的项目评估将研究该项目对商业和工业以及对所涉学生和工人的影响。WELDCO是一个特定于群组的课程设计，其中包括电子学习，虚拟现实（VR）焊接技术和传统培训的可变整合，作为吸引非传统学生的一种手段。将采用形成性和总结性评估来评估课程表现和所需的修改。该一揽子计划充分利用了加州的立法授权和州政府对教育计划（包括高中途径和中学后教育）的资助，以增强对该地区教育和随后就业的影响。学生将受益于扩大的实习机会和雇主合作，以帮助创造区域影响。该项目的重点是3个目标：（a）开发一个混合焊接课程，将电子学习、虚拟现实教学和传统课堂教学整合在一起，最终获得美国焊接学会（AWS）认证;（B）优化课程交付，通过解决学生的认知偏好和学习风格，最大限度地提高效率、效果和参与度;以及（c）实施针对特定人群的招聘，包括西班牙裔、少数族裔和女学生。

Certified welders with advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and skills are vital to the United States petroleum, food production and processing, transportation, and manufacturing industries, and this project includes industry partners from these sectors. Because of this great need, the Welding Distance Community Outreach (WELDCO) program at West Hills Community College is designed to meet the needs for a growing sector of advanced welding technicians on the West Side of the California impoverished Central Valley. The program seeks to transport and make mobile a successful, face-to-face, welding program and offer it in geographically isolated areas within the service area of the college where career and technical education (CTE) has been historically very limited. Cultural changes will occur within the regional community as children of first-generation immigrants attain post-secondary education and gainful employment, thus creating a positive generational learning outcome. Further benefits will accrue to the region as adult learners, those already employed seeking to improve job skills, and the unemployed capitalize on the accessibility of this education program. The project will impact both the state and the nation as this education paradigm is shared with other community colleges and organizations for improving employer partnerships and growth. A robust project evaluation will study the impact of this project on business and industry and on the students and workers involved. WELDCO is a cohort-specific curriculum design which includes variable integration of e-learning, Virtual Reality (VR) welding technology, and traditional training as a means of engaging nontraditional students. Formative and summative assessments will be employed to assess curriculum performance and modifications needed. The package takes full advantage of California legislative mandates and state funding for education programs (including high school pathways and post-secondary education) to enhance the impact on education and subsequent employment in the region. Students will benefit from the expanded internship opportunities and employer collaborations to help create a regional impact. This project focuses on 3 objectives: (a) development of a blended welding curriculum to integrate e-learning, VR instruction, and traditional classroom instruction that will lead to American Welding Society (AWS) certification; (b) optimization of course delivery to maximize efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement by addressing student cognitive preferences and learning styles; and (c) implementation of population specific recruitment to include Hispanic, minority, and female students.