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

亚拉巴马劳工部已确定柴油技术员为高需求职业，并估计在未来六年内将雇用3000名技术员。 华莱士州立社区学院将通过修改和加强其柴油技术员计划来满足这一需求，以满足工业需求，并使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。 与国家妇女贸易，技术和科学研究所的额外合作伙伴关系将增加进入柴油技术课程的学生的多样性，最终为妇女和成人学习者提供更多的机会和就业机会。 该项目有可能为亚拉巴马受COVID-19大流行影响不成比例的社区的个人建立就业途径。此外，该项目还可以减少对供应链物流的潜在负面影响，这些物流严重依赖柴油技术来运输食品杂货和农业用品。修订后的柴油技术员计划将旨在（1）通过调整课程与国家汽车技术员教育基金会标准，（2）实施混合在线内容交付模式，使学生能够在远程位置完成高达75%的课程，以及（3）增加女性毕业生和/或来自柴油技术领域尚未得到公平代表的人口的毕业生人数。 柴油技术商业和工业领导团队将与大学教师合作，使课程与雇主的需求保持一致。 参加该计划的学生将使用虚拟现实培训，让他们获得在职培训，否则将在技术研讨会上进行。 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10个华莱士州立STEM职业和技术教育劳动力计划中共享和复制。 该项目由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NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 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.