Strengthening High School Initiatives in Future Technology

There is a high demand in the Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) service region, and nationwide, for trained mechatronics technicians to support this critical industry. Mechatronics is a cutting-edge field that merges mechanics, electronics, and computer science to create intelligent machines and systems. To support this growing demand, the project will develop a one-year pathway for high school dual enrollment (DE) students on the Accelerated Career Pathways (ACP) high school graduation plan, to earn two college certificates in mechatronics. In Georgia, the ACP offers a unique path to high school graduation for career-focused students, where they simultaneously earn a high school diploma and college credentials in a specific career pathway. Over the three years of the project, 60 students will be recruited to participate in the program. The project will align the required courses with experiential learning activities, in coordination with the local school systems and industry partners, strengthening the K-12 pipeline and improving the readiness of students to transition into the high-demand career field of mechatronics as technicians. Because GPTC has a high population of economically disadvantaged and underrepresented students in STEM fields, this project has the potential to broaden participation in the mechatronics workforce and generate new knowledge on how high school students are prepared for college and high-demand career fields. The overall goal of the project is to prepare students to enter the workforce as a mechatronics technician with relevant classroom and industry experiences. GPTC will adapt the current technical certificates of credit (TCCs) into a two-semester pathway for high school students, while integrating experiential learning activities involving representatives from local industries and will focus on exposure to the mechatronics career field, academic persistence, workforce readiness, and job placement. Students in the program will earn 25 college credits in two targeted mechatronics TCCs. Additionally, the project will offer workshops for high school STEM teachers to introduce mechatronics topics and lessons that they can then use in their own classrooms. This will add to the faculty content knowledge and create a stronger pipeline into the mechatronics program. 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.