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DOCUMENT RESUME CE 060 919 ED 344 091 A Developing Aptitude Model--Sex Equity. Summary TITLE Report. Fox Valley Technical Coll., Appleton, WI. INSTITUTION Wisconsin State Board of Vocational, Technical, and SPONS AGENCY Adult Education, Madison. PUB DATE 91 NOTE 26p. Reports - Descriptive (141) PUB TYPE NF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *College Programs; Females; Mathematical DESCRIPTORS Applications; Mathematics Education; *Nontraditional Occupations; *Outcomes of Education; *Program Development; Program Effectiven%ess; Program Implementation; Science Education; *Sex Fairness; Technical Education; Two Year Colleges; *Womens Education *Fox Valley Technical College WI IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT During a 2-year period, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) in Wisconsin developed a "New Directions" project, funded y the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), that successfully identified, enrolled, and graduated 30 women in a training program for nontraditional occupations. Project activities included scheduling morning and evening classes to meet the needs of shift workers and developing an outline for a 10-week course covering the following topics: introduction to technical thinking, abstract reasoning, spatial relations, mechanical or electrical problems, tools, levers and simple machines, electricity, gears, and drive trains. After 10 weeks of classes, comparison of pretests and posttests showed significant gains in these areas for the women who completed the course. Many of the support services designed for the project, such as pretechnical mathematics and science courses, continue to be used for all students to ensure greater academic success. Expansion of the program is sought for the future to enroll 100 women in pretechnical developing aptitude courses. (Attached to the report a,.a narratives and graphs of project development activities.) (KC) ************A********************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the test that can be made * * from the original document. * * *********************************************************************** 12-705-150-151 Developing Aptitude Sex Equity 112-705 Developing Apitutde Project - Model- Sex Equity A Developing Aptitude Summery Report Table of Contents Application Abstract History I. Recruitment II. III.Curriculum/Courses Scheduling of classes A. Course outline B. Student evaluation C. IV. Test results findings/recommendations Summary of V. "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY U.S DEPARTMENT RasarCn and Improvment Off.ce of Edudational RESOURCES INFORMATION ED/LICATIONAL CENTER tERiC) iitS 'Tete document nes Peen reproduced organitation person ot reCeived from the originating it to irnolo.e nave teen made r Minor crtariges reproduction qualrty TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES stated m Mrs docu "ma! Points of iriewor oornions INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." noceslardy represent merit do nOt policy OF RI position or BEST COPV MEM APPLICATION ABSTRACT Since 1980, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) has takon an active approach Efforts to eliminate artificial barriers to services and to to sex equity. a wide range of students have program entry for nontraditional inclnded "New Directions" a Fox Valley Technical College project funded by activities. and graduated 30 women JTPA dollars successfully enrolled, identified, in Many of the support services nontraditional programs in a two-year period. designed for this project continue to be used for all studonts to assure greater academic success; pre-tech math and science courses are good examples. This proposal seeks to continue and expand the District's efforts to provide support to people entering or considering entry into nontraditional programs, primarily women, by funding research, curriculnm development, and the piloting of two 30-hour courses "Developing Mechanical Aptitude," Ind "Developing Electrical Aptitude." The goal of the project is to determine if merThanical and electrical aptitude can be increased through instrnction further eliminating artificial barriers for women to nontraditional programs and training. Results of this project will be disseminated to all VTAE Districts and the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical & Adult Education (WBVTAE.) History I. of lack student's on comments instructors' College Fox Valley Technical local industry to develop skill, and a request from a electrical and mechanical jobs, to move into nontraditional would enable women employees a course that This project was designed Aptitude Sex Equity Project. led to the Developing 30 aptitude prior to and after student's mechanical and electrical to weasure and electrical concepts. hours of instruction in mechanical from local industries (Attachment 1) of representatives An advisory committee of the for the Implementation to help provide guidelines was established instructor of the committee input, the As a result: of the advisory project. Valmet, Gilbert indust-ies: toured the following class and project coordinator and Rich Miller Electric, Valley Wire, Square D, Paper, Wisconsin Tissue, if they employees were interviewed to see During the tours, women Products. their suggestions for course taking the course, and would be interested in (See attachment 2). content was requested. gathered during the tours: The following information was evening section of the course swing shift, so a day and a) All plants are on the must be scheduled. enthusiastic about the course. 10 Women employees were it was a course for discriminated against because c) Men at one plant felt women. themselves because they only interested in upgrading d) Some women were not would for their families, in. hours a day to hnve time wanted to work eight shifts. not consider night Recruitment II. From he enroll in this project. 1991, 30 women were to By the end of January in the Fox Valley were 1990, six mnjor companies July 18, 1990 - September 4, support and information and instructor to enlist toured by the project advisor material committee met to review December 6, 1990 an advisory (Attachment 2.) 1990 the project December 13, (Attachment 1.) and recommend activities. Advisory Board Women in Electronics for Equity: advisor attended the Design Mid January 1991 (Attachment 4.) information. Meeting at NWTC together more nnd personnel directors. flyer Wes mailed to interested women an information additional 48 waiting list with an 37 women enrolled and a (Attachment 5.) women was formed. III.Curriculum/Courses Scheduling of Classes A. the evening and a conducted, one session in Two class sessions a week were discussions with employers, We found throngh morning. repeat session in the offering the class on the advisory committee that prospective students and the students who needed flexibility for those evening/morning schedule provided the This who had family commitments. rotating shifts and those were employed on have prevented manyu barriers that wonld otherwise option eliminated the project. students participation in the Deanoping Aptitude (Final Curr culum still under development.) B. Course Outline: Class 1 Student Introductions I. student To get students to know each other and encourage Objective: interaction in the classroom. Each student Students where broken into groups af four. Activity: introduce themselves to their was given the opportunity to After all for 2 minutes. group and talk about themselves students in the groups comp'eted one student from each each group was selected groups completed one student from each to introduce and tell what they have learned about student to the class. Abstract Reasoning II. Students were given an explanation of abstract reasoning, Activity: and problem solving techniques. Students were shown sample problems on overhead projector and problems were solved through class discussion. Students were given worksheets with problems for them to solve on their own, followed by class discussion on solving the problems. III.Spacial Relations Students were given an explanation of 9mcial relation Activity: problem solving, and class discussion on basic spacial relation problem solving techniques. Example problems were presented to the Etudents on overhead, problems were solved through class discussion. Class 2 Class discussion I. Class discussion on any mechanical or electrical problems Activity: they encountered at work or at home since last class session. Students were allowed to ask questions about topics covered in previous class. II. Tool Presentations Student tool presentations given to the (lass followed by Activity: discussion on each tool presented. a Class discussion and demonstration by instructors of various types of hand tools. Video; Hand and Power Tools by Hometime. Class 3 Class Discussion I. session Class discussion on material covered in previous Activity: encountered by and any mechanical or electrical problems the students since last class. II. Tools Hand on Lab. various Students participated in hands on projects using Activity: hand tools. Class 4 Class Discussion I. session Class discussion on material covered in previous Activity: the student and any mechanical or electrical problems encountered since last session. II. Mechanical Advantage. advantage, Lecture sad class discussion on mechanical Activity: classes of levers, and simple machines. classes Students participated in experiments using various of levers. Students ant'yzed data from experiments and calculated and mechanical advantage of the various types of levers simple machines. Class 5 Simple Machines. I. and Lecture and class discussion the circle, pulleys, Activity: simple machines. information Students participated in experiments applying obtained from lecture material. Class 6 Discussion. I. Class discussion on material covered in previous session Activity: covering mechanical advantage, leverage, pulleys and simple machines. II, Introduction to Electricity. Lecture and class discussion on Introduction to Basic Activity: Electricity including what is electricity, how it is produced, electrical terms. Class 7 Basic Electricty I. Lecture and class discussion on electrical theory, ohms Activity: law, parallel and series circuits, volt-ohm meter and electrical components. Students participated in experiments using volt-ohm meters and electrical components. Q1 las Electricity in the home. I. Lecture and class discussion on how electricy is used in Activity: the home, basic house wiring, components and electrical safety in the home. Students participated in hand on wiring of simple house wiring projects. Class 9. Gears, Drive Trains, Simple Machines. I. Class discussion on gears and drive trains and how they Activity: are used in machines. Students participated in experiments using gears in various configurations and drive trains. Review of course material. I. Class discussion and review on all material covered in Activity: previous classes. Question and answer session on any questions in the mechanical and electrical areas. Tour of FVTC Technical Division. Student Evaluations C. Student evaluations were conducted at the conclusion of each class session. to monitor the effectiveness of instruction and Student input allowed us The evaluations also provided us with information as to delivery techniques. the needs of the students allowing Us to modify the curriculum to include those topics requested by the students. Comments from the evaluations included: teachers! - -enjoy open, friendly atmosphere; good and discussion - -liked instructors asking for questions abstract reasoning problems but wanted - -enjoyed the spacial relation and more difficult problems --looked forward to the next class --enjoyed actually using the tools --enjoyed all of the hands-on --- and would have like mote --the electricity classes were great! --feel better really understanding safety issues re. electricity --interested in more classes about electricity, mechanicF and physics. the experiments and --were confused by the six hours of physics hitt liked understood the need for the content --class was better than expected but still so much more to learn --will tell friends about the class Test results IV. In February of 1991, 37 women from local business and industry were assessed in Mechanical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Space Relations, sne electrical The average percentile for that initial testing in Mechanical Reasoning skills. In Abstract Reasoning tilt average percentile was 53. was the 31st percentile. In Space Relations the average percentile was 56.5, and in electrical skills the average percentage (rather than percentile) was 42. After the initial test session, 9 women chose not to continue in the study. For the next 10 weeks, 28 women attended instructional classes on a weekly basis in all of the above areas. In May of 1991, these remaining 28 women were In all areas a significant improvement was Ellown. In Mechanical retested. Reasoning the average percentile was 57.5 with an increase of standard 1 In Abstract Reasoning the average percentile was 80 with an increase deviation. In Space Relations the average percentile was 76 with of 1 standard deviation. an increase in performance but within the same standard deviation. A standard deviation is defined as being a measure of the variability or dispersion of a The more the scores cluster around the mean, distribution of scores. the a normal distribution, smaller the standard deviation. approximately For two-thirds of the scores are within the range from one standard deviation below the mean to one standard deviation above the mean. On the electrical test the average was changed to 69 percent with an increase of 27 percent. Business and industry, when looking for new employees or promoting from within, will establish cutoff levels for these aptitude tests specific to the needs of their own company. Some of the methods for determining such cutoffs are: A set percentile for Dach test (ex. 50th percentile on Mechanical Reasoning, 1. 85th percentile on Space Relations, etc.) A set percentile for all tests (ex. 50th percentile en all tests) 2. An average percentile on all 70th percentile when averaged tests (ex. 3. together) There do no appear to be any companies in this district that will accept a cut off level below the 50th percentile. In the examiners experience, of the companies within the FVTC District use test results as the sole criteria for determining whether or not a candidate will be chosen for promotion, an apprenticeship, or new hire Other factors such seniority, work experience, education, past habits, attendance, as and recommendations, all play en important part in such decision making. The job positions available in business and industry that require the aptitudes in this assessment have traditionally been held by mnles. Therefore, the scores obtained for this study were from the w'rms table for men, making these women more competitive in the job market. (Attachment 6) BEST COPY AVAILABLE Summary of findings/recommendations V. The response to the advertising for the project was almost triple Recuatment: Eighty three women requested signing up for the course. the desired outcome. We over-registered anticipating some dropouts and began the classes with thirty seven rather than thirty. Classes should be offered to women and men in the future. Much more The testing tools were found to be satisfactory. Curriculum: This curriculum curriculum was developed than could be nsed in thirty hours. will be used in the 1991-9 project. Both daytime and evening classes should be offered simultaneously to allow for swing shift workers to attend every class. Participants More "hands on" experiences, along with theory" should be offered. often stated they learned best in that learning style. TWo separate classes, one mechanical and one electrical, should be offered with both having at least 30 hours of instruction. space abstract relations, Mechanical rensoning, Assessment/Reassessment: The retest for assessment. four areas reasoning and electricity were the scores, following ten weeks (30 hours) of class, were all significantly improved for many to within or above the acceptable standard deviation (above 50%) companies to accept the participants into nontraditional job opportnnfties. (See IV Test results and Attachment 6 for details.) Through the 1991-92 Pre-Technical Developing Aptitude project Fuiture Plus: at FVTC, a continuation/expansion of the 1990-91 project, 100 females will be exploration Pre-tech aptitude career anl nontraditional with provided leading to the nontraditional participants enrollment of activities, in advancements within apprentice program their or vocational-technical and Curriculum for mechanicll and electrical pre-tech classes will be companies. Pre-tech mechanical and electrical courses will further refined and expanded. to both women and Twenty-five FVTC future offered men. the in at be participants will participate in Program Tryouts, 1 0