Needs+Assessment+&+Identification+of+Focus+Area

Needs Assessment and Identification of Focus Area

Needs and Focus Area:

Proposal:

My proposal for this technology initiative is to incorporate Interactive Automotive Repair and Maintenance into the Automotive Technology Classroom as part of instruction. Automotive Technology is a class devoted to turning out mechanics from a vocational setting in the high school arena that will allow them to focus on repairing their own automobiles, or possibly moving on to a vocational school of higher learning for certification in the automotive repair field. Whether this course is taken for personal gain, or for a career minded goal, it is a course that could enhance different ways of learning.

In starting my fourth year of teaching this course, and the only educator in my school to do so, I find it hard to emphasize the importance of working on a specific vehicle if we are not able to procure that vehicle to actually work on. In this world of technology, it is understandable that there is a need to do something that you possibly can’t do in real life, but a simulation is possible. The technology I am proposing will enhance student achievement based on being able to apply their skills to more than just the applications of vehicles we have available for them to work on. This interactive technology will allow them to work on most any domestic or foreign vehicle as well as possibly some oversized vehicles such as tractor-trailers and farm equipment. The need for mechanics is growing and if that need can be satisfied in a high school setting then there in lies the possibility that a student could graduate high school and not require a follow on vocational type school to certify them as a mechanic. This will ultimately allow a student to enter the workforce approximately one and a half to two years earlier than what the standards are today.

Normally a survey would have been conducted based on understanding the needs for this type of instructional program being incorporated into our curriculum, but as the only instructor and the need shows that we do not have access to the vehicles we need to facilitate the curriculum requirements of technology, this is a way to resolve these issues. All of the technology needed to incorporate this technology into the classroom setting will cover needs addressed by Delaware Technology Education Standards as well as ISTE Technology standards.

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