| Industrial technology programs around the country must be sensitive to the demands of manufacturing and industry as programs continue to replace "vocational" curriculum with high-tech alternatives. Entry-level managers who understand the practical as well as the theoretical nature of technology are still required. Much of the facility and vocational equipment infrastructures at institutions remain intact, albeit a bit dusty, and should be utilized to revitalize or reorganize a hot metals curriculum to meet the demands of industry. This research examines a curriculum that bolsters manual gas metal arc welding skills within the current time constraints of lab/lecture curriculums by allotting more hands-on gas metal arc welding time to students without sacrificing or impeding other subject matter. Simply put, which approach to teaching welding yields most effectively and efficiently the skill sets required by industrial technology students?;The study compared three different instructional methods for teaching arc welding: (1) oxyfuel welding with filler, (2) oxyfuel welding without filler, and (3) gas metal arc welding. All three groups tested on gas metal arc welding to determine which, if any, instructional method yielded the skill sets required for gas metal arc welding by industrial technology students. The results to the study indicated insufficient evidence to suggest any significant difference between the three groups at the 0.05 alpha level with the limited practice time allotted to each group. The study concluded that technology programs, in particular those with welding, must have students and industry in mind---this means that gas metal arc welding is a critical component of the industrial technology curriculum. Under the conditions of this study, teaching oxyfuel welding prior to gas metal arc welding does not impact gas metal arc welding skills and removing oxyfuel welding may be an option for programs that struggle to find time for both technologies. Furthermore, gas metal arc welding was found to be used more extensively in industry and may therefore be considered a more valuable skill than oxyfuel welding for industrial technology students. |
