L.J.
Chapman, R.T.
Schuler, C.A.
Skjolaas and T.L.
Wilkinson
NIOSH Education and Information Division
We developed
instructional materials for use by senior and graduate engineering
students. The overall purpose was to improve awareness within
the engineering profession and to encourage greater consideration
of product safety in the design process. We prepared a short,
"stand alone" instructor presentation on the fundamentals
of hazard control, use of injury data, and how to redesign
equipment for greater safety. We also developed a student
workbook to accompany the instructor presentation which required
students to apply the knowledge they received in the instructor
presentation. The workbook layout was patterned after materials
developed by Phillip Berger and Sam Gunto at the University
of Kentucky for hazardous waste worker training. The instructor
presentation and the student workbook were designed to be
easy for instructors to insert into existing "main line" courses
(i.e., non-elective) in view of the fact that engineering
curriculums are already overcrowded.
The
case study unit was entitled "Traumatic Injury Prevention
In Equipment Design." The instructor presentation drew on
principles of injury control, ergonomics, human factors, work
physiology, and machinery safety. The student workbook involved
solving actual hazard control problems in current work methods
and equipment designs for post hole augers and post hole drivers.
Students analyzed actual injury data for augers and drivers
from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The
presentation strategy and instructional content of the case
study unit incorporated features supported in previous research.
Limited, tightly-focused educational and behavioral objectives
were identified before the instructor presentation and student
workbook were developed. The instructor presentation was kept
short (20 minutes) and designed for delivery by the course
instructor or in a self-administered format by students themselves.
The student workbook utilized participant skills in ap lying
factual knowledge to new problems. Previous educational research
has noted that training which focuses only on improving knowledge
outcomes may fail to improve capabilities to correctly apply
the knowledge in novel situations. The student workbook provided
full and immediate feedback on errors. If instructors desired,
the case study units could be assigned to students for completion
as groups rather than as individuals. Previous educational
research has shown that cooperative small group work is an
effective strategy for both achievement and motivation, particularly
for female, minority, and foreign students undertaking study
of technical subjects. Although no formal evaluation has been
undertaken, the case study unit has been used successfully
with a number student and faculty audiences and is popular.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: L.J. Chapman, R.T. Schuler,
C.A. Skjolaas and T.L. Wilkinson, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, WI.
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