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1. Innovations in Additive Manufacturing Workforce Development

   Fidan, Ismail ( January 2018 , 2018 Rapid +TCT Conference)

   With the nonstop advancements in Additive Manufacturing (AM), the American workforce needs technical training in several aspects of this leading-edge technology in its utilization and adaptability. The objective of the Additive Manufacturing Workforce Advancement Training Coalition and Hub (AM-WATCH) is to address current gaps in the knowledge base of 21st century professionals through the development of AM-WATCH educational materials tied to ABET Student Outcomes, delivery of professional development activities, and expanded outreach activities targeting K-12 and community college teachers and students. The project significantly enhances and expands the current resources developed by prior National Science Foundation projects (remote AM facilities, AM learning curriculum and educator workshops) to encompass hands-on desktop 3D printer-building modules, AM equipment operation/maintenance guidelines and additional remotely-accessible AM equipment laboratories. The project establishes a number of cutting edge AM innovations and targets to engage students in STEM and other technical careers while teaching them the latest AM trends and technologies. In short, this project brings many unique innovations to AM practices in teaching, learning, and training.
2. Multi Institutional Collaboration in Additive Manufacturing: Lessons Learned

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34987  

   Littrell, Michael ; Chitiyo, George ; Fidan, Ismail ; Cossette, Mel ; Singer, Thomas ; Tackett, Ed. ( June 2020 , Proceedings of the 2020 ASEE Annual Conference)

   One of the fastest growing fields in the broad field of engineering is Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D Printing. AM is being used in many fields including, among others, design, STEM, construction, art, and healthcare. Many educational institutions however, do not have the requisite capacity and resources to effectively educate students in this area particularly when it comes to rapid transition from design to small-volume level production. A coalition of several higher education institutions under a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Project has been working towards providing educators with the skills and material resources to effectively teach their students about 3D printing. The ultimate beneficiaries are high school and post-secondary students and include those in vocational fields. Before and during Fall 2019, Train the Trainer Studios (TTS) were conducted to train instructors, drawing participants from many institutions across neighboring states designed to provide hands-on instruction to participants. In addition, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and webinars have also been made available to all participating instructors and other collaborators to openly share the information being generated through this ATE AM coalition. Evaluation of the TTS revealed many positive results, with the participants sharing many successmore »stories after implementing the learned concepts at their institutions. From the evaluation findings, participants were largely satisfied with the delivery and quality of instruction they received from all the TTS presenters, with almost all of them, in all instances, indicating that the training they received would be useful in their programs. The current paper and proposed presentation will report on the lessons learned through this process, including sharing some of the success stories from the instructors and their students.« less
3. Strengthening Community College Engineering Programs through Alternative Learning Strategies: Developing Resources for Flexible Delivery of a Materials Science Course

   Dunmire, Erik ; Enriquez, Amelito ; Rebold, Thomas ; Schiorring, Eva ; Langhoff, Nicholas ; Huang, Tracy ( April 2017 , 2017 ASEE Pacific Southwest Section Conference)

   Community colleges provide an important pathway for many prospective engineering graduates, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups. However, due to a lack of facilities, resources, student demand and/or local faculty expertise, the breadth and frequency of engineering course offerings is severely restricted at many community colleges. This in turn presents challenges for students trying to maximize their transfer eligibility and preparedness. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program (NSF IUSE), three community colleges from Northern California collaborated to increase the availability and accessibility of a comprehensive lower-division engineering curriculum, even at small-to-medium sized community colleges. This was accomplished by developing resources and teaching strategies that could be employed in a variety of delivery formats (e.g., fully online, online/hybrid, flipped face-to-face, etc.), providing flexibility for local community colleges to leverage according to their individual needs. This paper focuses on the iterative development, testing, and refining of the resources for an introductory Materials Science course with 3-unit lecture and 1-unit laboratory components. This course is required as part of recently adopted statewide model associate degree curricula for transfer into Civil, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing engineering bachelor’s degree programs at California State Universities. However, offering such amore »course is particularly challenging for many community colleges, because of a lack of adequate expertise and/or laboratory facilities and equipment. Consequently, course resources were developed to help mitigate these challenges by streamlining preparation for instructors new to teaching the course, as well as minimizing the face-to-face use of traditional materials testing equipment in the laboratory portion of the course. These same resources can be used to support online hybrid and other alternative (e.g., emporium) delivery approaches. After initial pilot implementation of the course during the Spring 2015 semester by the curriculum designer in a flipped student-centered format, these same resources were then implemented by an instructor who had never previously taught the course, at a different community college that did not have its own materials laboratory facilities. A single site visit was arranged with a nearby community college to afford students an opportunity to complete certain lab activities using traditional materials testing equipment. Lessons learned during this attempt were used to inform curriculum revisions, which were evaluated in a repeat offering the following year. In all implementations of the course, student surveys and interviews were used to determine students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the course resources, student use of these resources, and overall satisfaction with the course. Additionally, student performance on objective assessments was compared with that of traditional lecture delivery of the course by the curriculum designer in prior years. During initial implementations of the course, results from these surveys and assessments revealed low levels of student satisfaction with certain aspects of the flipped approach and course resources, as well as reduced learning among students at the alternate institution. Subsequent modifications to the curriculum and delivery approach were successful in addressing most of these deficiencies.« less
4. Bridging the Workforce Skills Gap in High Value Manufacturing through Continuing Education

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--32423  

   Johnson, M. D. ( January 2019 , ASEE annual conference)

   Research shows that there is a growing need for skilled workers in the area of advanced manufacturing; this refers to making use of new technologies and advanced processes to produce products that have high value. More importantly, U.S. government employment data reveals that there is lack of supply of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, it has also been widely cited in industrial literature that there is a concern regarding the job readiness of fresh college graduates and the gaps in skills sets needed to be successful in an industrial setting, especially in the engineering or manufacturing fields. One approach to bridge the skills gap is to provide customized continuing education to current the workforce as per the industry need. This paper presents a case study of such customized continuing education offered by Texas A&M University for oil and gas industry in Houston, Texas. Specifically, as a part of National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education project, two professional development sessions were organized in the summer of 2018 in Houston targeting the energy industry. Both programs were two-days long and focused on two key aspects of high value manufacturing: manufacturing operations excellence and manufacturing quality excellence. The professional development sessionsmore »were focused on materials and inventory planning, production economics, manufacturing quality, non-destructive evaluation, statistical process control, and lean/ sixsigma. The continuing education programs and course materials were developed based on the feedback from the industry advisory board for the Manufacturing Center of Excellence at Houston Community College, which is a collaborating partner on the ATE Grant. As a part of assessment of the programs, industry participants in the both sessions were given comprehensive surveys asking for their feedback on the applicability of the educational sessions. Overall, the participants rated the sessions very highly on the organization and the relevancy of the program topics and learning materials. The participants also felt that they learned new information through these programs.« less
5. The Emerging Impact of Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions (2-year HSIs) in Educating Technicians in Advanced Technologies – Defining the Opportunities and Addressing the Challenges

   Pickering, Cynthia ; Craft, Elaine ; VanIngen-Dunn, Caroline ( January 2019 , ASEE annual conference)

   To remain competitive in the global economy, the United States needs skilled technical workers in occupations requiring a high level of domain-specific technical knowledge to meet the country’s anticipated shortage of 5 million technically-credentialed workers. The changing demographics of the country are of increasing importance to addressing this workforce challenge. According to federal data, half the students earning a certificate in 2016-17 received credentials from community colleges where the percent enrollment of Latinx (a gender-neutral term referencing Latin American cultural or racial identity) students (56%) exceeds that of other post-secondary sectors. If this enrollment rate persists, then by 2050 over 25% of all students enrolled in higher education will be Latinx. Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are essential points of access as they enroll 64% of all Latinx college students, and nearly 50% of all HSIs are 2-year institutions. Census estimates predict Latinxs are the fastest-growing segment reaching 30% of the U.S. population while becoming the youngest group comprising 33.5% of those under 18 years by 2060. The demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be met when workers reflect the diversity of the population, therefore more students—of all ages and backgrounds—must be brought into community colleges and supported throughmore »graduation: a central focus of community colleges everywhere. While Latinx students of color are as likely as white students to major in STEM, their completion numbers drop dramatically: Latinx students often have distinct needs that evolved from a history of discrimination in the educational system. HSI ATE Hub is a three-year collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program (NSF ATE) being implemented by Florence Darlington Technical College and Science Foundation Arizona Center for STEM at Arizona State University to address the imperative that 2-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) develop and improve engineering technology and related technician education programs in a way that is culturally inclusive. Interventions focus on strengthening grant-writing skills among CC HSIs to fund advancements in technician education and connecting 2-year HSIs with resources for faculty development and program improvement. A mixed methods approach will explore the following research questions: 1) What are the unique barriers and challenges for 2-year HSIs related to STEM program development and grant-writing endeavors? 2) How do we build capacity at 2-year HSIs to address these barriers and challenges? 3) How do mentoring efforts/styles need to differ? 4) How do existing ATE resources need to be augmented to better serve 2-year HSIs? 5) How do proposal submission and success rates compare for 2-year HSIs that have gone through the KS STEM planning process but not M-C, through the M-C cohort mentoring process but not KS, and through both interventions? The project will identify HSI-relevant resources, augment existing ATE resources, and create new ones to support 2-year HSI faculty as potential ATE grantees. To address the distinct needs of Latinx students in STEM, resources representing best practices and frameworks for cultural inclusivity, as well as faculty development will be included. Throughout, the community-based tradition of the ATE Program is being fostered with particular emphasis on forming, nurturing, and serving participating 2-year HSIs. This paper will discuss the need, baseline data, and early results for the three-year program, setting the stage for a series of annual papers that report new findings.« less