STEP II
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STEP II |
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Services Offered Photonics Skill Standards STEP II |
STEP II (ATE program track: ATE Projects, Curriculum and Educational Materials Development) Abstract The critical shortage of photonics technicians in U.S. industry can be remedied, in part, through effective associate degree programs. The knowledge and skills needed to succeed as a photonics technician are obtainable via associate degrees, and companies often prefer graduates of two-year colleges. But, to meet the challenge of producing qualified photonics technicians, community and technical colleges need more up-to-date educational materials and well-trained faculty. They also need a larger pool of high school graduates who have good academic skills and who, through exposure to photonics via articulation, are inclined and prepared to enter two-year programs in photonics. The STEP II project will endeavor to enhance the ability of community and technical colleges to produce larger numbers of qualified photonics technicians. The project will achieve that goal through (1) development of up-to-date photonics curriculum materials (including both new materials and an updated version of the materials produced through the NSF-funded STEP I project, Fundamentals of Photonics [NSF grant DUE #97520920]); (2) promotion, dissemination, and facilitation of the use of project materials at community and technical colleges; and (3) demonstration of how articulated technical curricula, beginning in the ninth grade and continuing through the baccalaureate degree, enhance the value of associate degrees in photonics by making the transition from high school to two-year colleges seamless and by providing options for education beyond the associate degree level. In addition to curriculum materials, the project will produce a number of supporting items, including an updated and reconfigured version of the National Photonics Skills Standard for Technicians (1995), which will serve as a guide for future curriculum and assessment development; new and/or updated clustered curriculum frameworks; online supplements; a diagnostic test designed to identify areas of math deficiency in entering postsecondary photonics students; a math remediation guide for two-year postsecondary photonics students; and a curriculum planning guide describing the logistical steps necessary to implement a two-year postsecondary photonics program or to infuse photonics courses into existing technical programs. The project will disseminate and facilitate the use of project materials at two-year colleges and technical schools and provide professional development (some delivered via the web) for new faculty members. It is anticipated that, as a result of the projects dissemination efforts, 20 to 30 community and technical colleges will be using STEP materials as of the 2003-2004 school year.
Survey of Need for Photonics Technicians U.S. Photonics Technician Employment Trend |
