Abstract:

In this study we explore the possibility of organizing and structuring an information technology training day for upper secondary vocational teacher training in automotive and transport engineering. The objective is to show the development process of the three training sessions in response to survey data completed by teachers. Information technology has widely penetrated into the car industry during the last few decades but some teachers have difficulty in adapting and teaching new technologies to their students. This paper presents one approach to break the ice between 'old school' teachers and information technology, through the use of an 8-hour training day consisting of programming, electronic technology and data bus technology.

The aim of this study is to discover how to structure training of new technology for experienced vocational teachers. In this paper we describe how we developed, organized and assessed information technology training for vocational teachers within the case study. The training day was organized in three locations in Finland: In Pori, Jyväskylä and Vantaa. After the first surveys were completed by the vocational teachers, the arrangement of the next training day was adjusted in response to the outcome of the initial surveys. After the first lecture session, the training feedback indicated that there should be more 'learning-by-doing' type of action. The next sessions included Arduino board [1], electronic components and a laptop software development environment.

In this study we found that the attitudes of the training attendees were different in three locations around Finland. This is an interesting finding. When comparing the results obtained from Jyväskylä and Vantaa the outcomes were slightly more negative in Jyväskylä than in Vantaa. However the training was identical in both cases. The results also showed a difference in attitude between teachers of different age groups.

One of the biggest problems in this type of training was the limitation of time. Most of the teachers were familiar with the automotive based digital testing equipment, but they were also aware that their students were far more advanced in information technology than they were. This may have generated tensions and resistance from the older generation of teacher when adopting any new technology.

The overall outcome was positive. Teachers were pleased with this training in an automotive context, because it was first time they had received generic technological training. The attendees felt it was important because the training sessions were targeted directly to them. The collected survey results provided information about what vocational teachers are actually missing in practice. In the conceptual part of this paper we discuss motivation to learn [2], [3] and Adult Education. In the empirical part of this paper we introduce the training method utilized and finally discuss the presented outcomes and conclusions of the survey data.

References:
[1] Banzi, M. (2009). Getting Started with Arduino. O’Reilly Media.
[2] Aramo-Immonen, H., Koskinen, K. U., & Porkka, P. L. (2011). The significance of formal training in project-based companies. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 4(2), adult Education 257–273.
[3] Aramo-Immonen, H. (2012) Knowledge management through learning model in industrial projects, Int. J. Knowledge and Learning, Vol. 8, Nos. 3/4, pp. 298–312.

Keywords:

Arduino, motivation to learn, vocational teaching, survey, case study.