2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

RET Site: Enhancing Teacher Knowledge & Skills in Modern Manufacturing – Lesson and Feedback

ABSTRACT
Thirty-seven teachers were hosted at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in the last three summers. The target school districts were those near TAMU especially those in rural areas, or with many underrepresented students. During the 6-week training period, the in-service and pre-service teachers took part in capsulated technical sessions (metrology, conventional and unconventional processes, computer-aided drafting/machining, and additive manufacturing), complementary laboratory practice, field tours, and guided research projects. The deliverables from the program included individual and implementable lesson/exercise, as well as dissemination of newly acquired knowledge at annual teacher summit and/or online presentation. The participants also summarized their studies and shared their posters with other research students and teachers from different RET/REU programs. The expected outcomes of this program would be the transferring of acquired practical knowledge and skills to excite, empower, and educate students through new class/lab activities. Funding from industry allowed additional equipment for schools and having more teacher participants in this program.
The three-year program achieved most of the planned objectives. The program recruited and trained a diverse cohort of participants, most teachers managed to grow their student activities with positive outcomes. Several program adjustments were made based on the participants’ feedbacks. Improvement of participant attention and performance was achieved by adding quizzes, mid/end program assessments. One topic with highly technical level was adjusted and training of student assistants was improved. Although 70% of teachers had successfully implemented their lesson plans into respective classes, other plans were delayed due to teacher retirement or lack of commitment of few teachers. The manufacturing-focused lesson plans from pre-service teachers were also delayed and must be modified for kindergarten level at their schools.