I find hydraulics very intresting for learning because you take students with very little knowledge of this field and within two days of information they are using practical applications to do the assigned task.Such as plumb a circuit and understand it even though it has been only two days
When it comes to diagnosis learnativity is a wonderful tool, I would design a test out problem that appears to be a transmission problem. the Torque convertor will not engauage. by following the diagnostic procedure students discover that it is actually a brake light switch that is bad. Students learn the value and importance of a sound diagnosis procedure.
When we are working on diesel engine diagnostics, we will actively "bug" the engines so that they will have driveability problems. This will force the students to actively use what we have taught them about diagnosis, and is a progression throughout the course. The student tend to really enjoy this, and they often report that it was the best thing that they have done in their time at UTI.
Hi Terry,
Great way to reinforce the course content with your students. They hear, internalize and then review so they are getting repeated opportunities to make the course content a part of their working memory. Gary
When we cover information in class we use our labs to take the experience to lab so they have hands on experience.
I have students invent their dream camshaft and their idea of a dream set of cyl.heads.then I tell them to enter the information in the computer program and see what pops up.then the correct intake manifold, carb. ignition, and so on. It is great fun to see them interact with each other for best outcomes. They really enjoy this learning.
I use Learnativity in my class every day. I have four groups with four labs that they have to perform and solve on their own. After all labs are complete I have a class discussion on the labs and test their knowledge on what have learned. Some students don't pick it up at first, but will usually grasp it after the discussion.
I like to show my students how much they have progressed in just one day. After teaching my students a diagnostic strategy we then go and apply it in lab. It is good to see the confidence level build up as they figure out a problem that seemed so difficult at first.
Hi Jeff,
This is a great "ah-ha" moment for your students. They got to trouble shoot a situation that appeared to be flawed, problem solve solutions and then realize that they had come up with the correct answer. What a great day that was for them and yourself.
Gary
In one example, the student’s installed a cold air kit but saw a loss in power.
According to the data they logged, the air temp actual went up from 217 deg to 243 deg, but the system did flow more air and the computer added more fuel but power still went down.
When they investigated the program that controlled timing however they discovered the tune was for 87 octane fuel and they crossed an air temperature threshold of 240 deg that pulled back 6 deg of ignition timing.
This was one of several Ah Ha moments they had during this project. At first they thought the kit was worthless but found it was giving them the “Potential” to make more power but an area they had not considered was holding the power back. They realized they only had to get the air temp to drop 4 deg to prevent the timing change.
By relocating the air filter slightly, they got it to drop 12 deg and now gained 23 horsepower over the stock air box.
They now have a much better understanding of the way the computer handles the changes they are making to these cars.
Hi Jeff,
In helping your students work through this instructional format what are some of the big "ah-ha" moments that occur during the course.
Gary
In my class we teach how performance modifications can affect a vehicle both good and bad. After that they choose from various modifications and try them on real vehicles and then dyno for performance results and data log the computer to see how it is affected. Then they try to tune the computer to make it work if the modifications if possible.
They get to see the whole picture from theory to actual application, doing all the work in a true shop environment.
I set up a lab task that looks hard. Then I show them the tools to do that lab task. What I find out is that they feel that they have all the tools to do it Ex.computor, Dvom, manual,and a drawing.Then iI watch as they use those tools in the right order to complete task . There cofendece just rises from there.
In course 28 after covering most of the materials I split them into 6 groups and have them research thier own vehicles to find out what type of suspension and steering systems they have
Teaching Electrical diagnosis will take both cognitive and tactile skills. Electrical diagnosis is one of the most difficult for students to get through. In most of my classes I will have students that have a problem with there car and have the other students get diagrams and we work on them in class. Once the students have done this a few time they get the how-too and are able to work on other cars.
One area in our phase is usually very difficult for students and even some instructors to understand.Watching the student from his first reading of the instruction through the demonstration given and how lost some are to the full understanding when he finally figures it out,some may take hours where as some may take days but it really shows how the learning process works
Hi David,
This is what keeps us coming back to the classroom day after day. The "ah-ha" moments that occur when students get it. Talk about building self confidence. They have acquired skill sets they didn't realize they had until they work through a diagnostic procedure and fix the problem. Talk about pride!
Gary
I try to tell personal stories of incidents that apply to the lesson material, or use students questions to illustrate how it applies to their own cars.
during the brake valve lesson i bring the students to the front of the class to dicuss the valve of thier choice. they also must be able to answer questions about the subject. this usually gets a positive response from both the student and the class
Electrical diagnosis requires both cognitive and tactile skills. Teaching a systematic approach for diagnosing and using that approach to diagnose bugged vehicles allows students to see real world application. From printing a diagram, power flow the circuit, understanding how the circuit works, using the required tools to get the information needed to locate the specific problem gives students the confidence that shows in their excitement when they have properly diagnosed the vehicles particular problem.
