Improving Student Mastery of Welding Skills through Real-Time Assessment and Feedback

Columbus State Community College, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

Welding technology is essential for producing many different types of products. As a result, highly skilled welders are critical in industries including manufacturing, construction, and energy. In particular, the rapid growth of manufacturing amplifies the need to prepare more welding technicians to meet industry demand. This project will expand the use of welding training systems to provide students with real-time feedback during training sessions. The welding trainer and virtual tracking system will capture and evaluate each action a welder makes to complete an assignment and will create a success score for the activity. The project will use this assessment to provide students with credit for existing skills, to create a student portfolio for employment, and to train incumbent employees or develop customized training profiles for specific workplaces. This assessment-driven approach is expected to contribute to the development of standardized welding practices. By engaging with precollege students interested in welding pathways and employer partners interested in providing students with experiential learning opportunities, the project also expects to strengthen partnerships with industry and high schools. The goal of this project is to create a standardized welding pathway that can be scaled to other institutions and partnerships. Students will be able to develop their technical skills through efficient, industry-standard training. Performance data will be collected from professional welders in industry to construct a baseline model for student welding skills. Students’ actions during welding exercises will be captured using a welding trainer and virtual tracking system. The baseline model will be used to evaluate and automatically generate a formative assessment of student performance. The project will provide professional development opportunities for K-12 and community college instructors and will partner with Weld-Ed at Lorain Community College for additional professional development. A veteran outreach plan will expedite the assessment process to validate Prior Learning Assessment experiences for veterans and will map the current military training to formal welding education. 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.