Developing and Deploying Flipped Classroom Resources for Electrical Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, and Renewable Energy Technicians

This award addresses a well-documented and growing workforce need for technicians educated in electronics, mechanics, hydraulics, and motor control in a way accessible to those already employed. The focus of this project is to develop online educational resources to support a flipped classroom approach to teaching technical subjects. The flipped classroom approach offers several advantages in that students can watch lectures at the time and place of their choosing and lecture content is always available for review. This allows a degree of flexibility for those with work and family obligations to attend a program of study. The benefits of the flipped classroom resources will be far reaching because they can be repurposed for other technical programs nationwide. The online lectures can be used to supplement or replace a textbook and cut down on student commute time and expense. The online resources allow non-traditional students with work and family obligations to maintain enrollment in a program of study.

Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) offers a Renewable Energy Technology program that prepares students to work in the field of renewable energy technology. Technicians use electrical and electronic theory to design, build, repair, calibrate, and modify components, circuitry, controls, and machinery and are responsible for operations, maintenance, and repair of equipment at generation and transmission facilities. The content is applicable to regionally significant renewable energy generation, electrical transmission, unmanned aerial surveillance manufacturing, industrial agriculture, and general industrial maintenance, and is adaptable to other programs and regions. Previous online material developed in cooperation with the NSF ATE Center CREATE has had an immediate impact on the CGCC's Renewable Energy Technology program by allowing an evening electronics lab. Incumbent workers can take advantage of the evening labs to expand and update skills while maintaining employment.