Transfer Of Knowledge And Skills Assessments In Engineering And Technological Education

In today’s fast changing world, companies spend large amounts of money on staff training and development. To reduce costs and training time, employers are increasingly interested in improving the way employees apply their acquired knowledge and skills to new settings or situations. This is defined as the Transfer of Knowledge and Skills. The current paper describes an assessment method that can be used to measure this transfer of knowledge. It also outlines a practical approach to curriculum development, delivery, and assessment targeted for engineering and technological education. This approach brings real-world problems to the classroom and is hoped to enhance learning and retention in these programs. This method has been applied in technological education in Tennessee and the preliminary results are discussed. The work is done through a three-year NSF-funded grant ($1.8 million) entitled “The South-East Advanced Technological Education Consortium, SEATEC.” The consortium is a collaborative effort of five institutions across Tennessee. Each team includes multi-disciplinary faculties, industry partners, university partners, and high school tech-prep teachers.