How do you teach mechanics to college kids w/ no experience?

If I could figure out how to cross-post this on different topics, I would! But I just think this is such a neat thing.

College students today don't come to school with experience working on engines the way they would have in past generations. I work at Johns Hopkins, and while our kids are brilliant, they often haven't had the chance to get their hands dirty working on an engine, or a drivetrain, or a carburetor.

One of our mechanical engineering professors purchased two Ford N-series tractors from 1947 and brought them to campus for students to tinker with. They've already successfully rebuilt one engine, and practice taking it apart and putting it back together so they learn the skills they lack.

I think it's such a cool story, and my dad and brother-in-law LOVE Yesterday's Tractors (they have a Ford and an Allis Chalmers they farm with) so I wanted to share the story here, with folks who get it.

https://hub.jhu.edu/2018/11/28/tractor-class-1947-ford/

Squaralyn; thanks for posting this. Today's kids don't grow up around simple bicycles, doodle bugs, go carts etc. That's where my generation learned. If something broke down we couldn't afford to take it somewhere and have it fixed, we had to fix it ourselves.

Now, that is innovative teaching that I would not have expected to find in today's education system, engineering or otherwise.

When a fledgling engineer in the early 1970s, I remember listening to a seasoned engineer as he poked fun about new engineers, often from a particular country on another continent. I remember him saying that these brilliant folks could whip out integrals and derivatives from memory when asked why the "thing" was not working but could not use a screw driver to remove the panel exposing the blown fuse.

Dean

Kids come to power mechanics class not knowing which way to turn the wrench. I'm always having it's the other loose.

(quoted from post at 13:35:04 11/28/18) Now, that is innovative teaching that I would not have expected to find in today's education system, engineering or otherwise.

When a fledgling engineer in the early 1970s, I remember listening to a seasoned engineer as he poked fun about new engineers, often from a particular country on another continent. I remember him saying that these brilliant folks could whip out integrals and derivatives from memory when asked why the "thing" was not working but could not use a screw driver to remove the panel exposing the blown fuse.

Dean

Click to expand...

I always thought the world would be a much better place if there was a law that required all engineers to perform routine maintenance daily on everything they design for at least one year before it goes to production.

I teach a diesel program at my local community college. I'd say about half of the incoming students come in with at least
some degree of mechanical experience, whether it's from working on their own car or growing up working next to dad on the
farm. When you pair up those folks with the ones that have zero experience, the more knowledgeable students can assist those
who are really green. This also helps with their "people skills".

My biggest complaint with today's generation of "kids" (some as young as 16) is that too many of them don't like to study
repair manuals. Some feel that if they can't find the answer to a problem via Google or Siri in 30 seconds or less, it's not
worth looking up. Stated another way, they don't come to me with very good "stick-to-it-iveness" with regards to research
skills (we can thank today's K-12 system for that). By the time they're done with my program, however, that bad habit has
been largely broken. I tell them that I won't be there to hold their hand once they're out in the field, and neither will
their boss. That seems to motivate them for the most part.

Nice to see those old Fords being used in a training program! We're working on a 5000 right now, and regularly tinker with a
TW25.

Righty-tighty...lefty-loosey?

Butch

I think that's one thing in the school systems today they don't do. I remember my senior year years ago they consolidate schools and offered a automotive class that I signed up for. I wished these schools would offer classes like this, maybe welding, machine shop work, plumbing, etc. not mandatory but voluntarily. college for a lot of these kids is a joke. classes like this would help them get ready for life after school. one thing for sure if a kid volunteers there most likely to learn something.

Around here all the shop type classes in K-12 went away with budget cuts. Funny though they seem to have money for football stadiums that are as big and fancy as most college stadiums.

This triggered my curiosity, Catoosa Oklahoma, population about 8000 in 2010. Satellite view of the High School, think the image speaks for itself.

It is a catch 22 for the school. The communities support activities they can participate in and will pay to do it, like watching sports, but they largely ignore anything dealing with learning unless they have kids in school. The school is there to teach but needs the support and extra revenue the sports generate.