Electronics and automation vocational teacher

Electronics and automation vocational teachers instruct students in their specialised field of study, electronics and automation, which is predominantly practical in nature. They provide theoretical instruction in service of the practical skills and techniques the students must subsequently master for an electronics and automation-related profession, such as electrician or technicians involved in automating production processes. Electronics and automation vocational teachers monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate their knowledge and performance on the subject of electronics and automation through assignments, tests and examinations.

The following job titles also refer to electronics and automation vocational teacher:

electronics and automation educator
vocational teacher in electronics and automation
electronics and automation vocational instructor
electronics and automation trainer
vocational educator in electronics and automation
electronics and automation teacher
electronics and automation instructor

Associate’s degree is generally required to work as electronics and automation vocational teacher. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Electronics and automation vocational teacher is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to electronics and automation vocational teacher.

hospitality vocational teacher
industrial arts vocational teacher
medical laboratory technology vocational teacher
business administration vocational teacher
hairdressing vocational teacher

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of electronics and automation vocational teacher. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of electronics and automation vocational teacher with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of electronics and automation vocational teacher.

Assessment processes: Various evaluation techniques, theories, and tools applicable in the assessment of students, participants in a programme, and employees. Different assessment strategies such as initial, formative, summative and self- assessment are used for varying purposes.
Learning difficulties: The learning disorders some students face in an academic context, especially Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and concentration deficit disorders.
Electronics: The functioning of electronic circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware and software, including programming and applications. Apply this knowledge to ensure electronic equipment runs smoothly.
Teamwork principles: The cooperation between people characterised by a unified commitment to achieving a given goal, participating equally, maintaining open communication, facilitating effective usage of ideas etc.
Curriculum objectives: The goals identified in curricula and defined learning outcomes.
Automation technology: Set of technologies that make a process, system, or apparatus operate automatically through the use of control systems.

These skills are necessary for the role of electronics and automation vocational teacher.

Guarantee students’ safety: Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.
Assign homework: Provide additional exercises and assignments that the students will prepare at home, explain them in a clear way, and determine the deadline and evaluation method.
Prepare lesson content: Prepare content to be taught in class in accordance with curriculum objectives by drafting exercises, researching up-to-date examples etc.
Facilitate teamwork between students: Encourage students to cooperate with others in their learning by working in teams, for example through group activities.
Monitor developments in field of expertise: Keep up with new research, regulations, and other significant changes, labour market related or otherwise, occurring within the field of specialisation.
Observe student’s progress: Follow up on students’ learning progress and assess their achievements and needs.
Manage student relationships: Manage the relations between students and between student and teacher. Act as a just authority and create an environment of trust and stability.
Adapt teaching to student’s capabilities: Identify the learning struggles and successes of students. Select teaching and learning strategies that support students’ individual learning needs and goals.
Apply teaching strategies: Employ various approaches, learning styles, and channels to instruct students, such as communicating content in terms they can understand, organising talking points for clarity, and repeating arguments when necessary. Use a wide range of teaching devices and methodologies appropriate to the class content, the learners’ level, goals, and priorities.
Maintain students’ discipline: Make sure students follow the rules and code of behaviour established in the school and take the appropriate measures in case of violation or misbehaviour.
Assess students: Evaluate the students’ (academic) progress, achievements, course knowledge and skills through assignments, tests, and examinations. Diagnose their needs and track their progress, strengths, and weaknesses. Formulate a summative statement of the goals the student achieved.
Assist students with equipment: Provide assistance to students when working with (technical) equipment used in practice-based lessons and solve operational problems when necessary.
Teach electronics and automation principles: Instruct students in the theory and practice of electronics and automation, with the aim of assisting them in pursuing a future career in this field, more specifically in the maintenance and repair of electrical, electronic, and automated systems.
Adapt instruction to labour market: Identify developments in the labour market and recognise their relevance to the training of students.
Give constructive feedback: Provide founded feedback through both criticism and praise in a respectful, clear, and consistent manner. Highlight achievements as well as mistakes and set up methods of formative assessment to evaluate work.
Perform classroom management: Maintain discipline and engage students during instruction.
Assist students in their learning: Support and coach students in their work, give learners practical support and encouragement.
Instruct on safety measures: Provide instruction on the possible causes of accidents or sources of danger and explain the protective measures that should be taken to guarantee health and safety.
Apply intercultural teaching strategies: Ensure that the content, methods, materials and the general learning experience is inclusive for all students and takes into account the expectations and experiences of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Explore individual and social stereotypes and develop cross-cultural teaching strategies.
Work in vocational school: Work in a vocational school that instructs students in practical courses.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of electronics and automation vocational teacher. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Precision mechanics: Precision or fine mechanics is a subdiscipline in engineering that focuses on the design and development of smaller precision machines.
Manufacturing processes: The steps required through which a material is transformed into a product, its development and full-scale manufacturing.
Printed circuit boards testing methods: Printed circuit board (PCB) testing methods consist of those processes in which PCB components or systems are tested, such as the in-circuit test (ICT), joint test action group (JTAG) test, and automated optical inspection (AOI).
Microelectronics: Microelectronics is a subdiscipline of electronics and relates the study, design, and manufacture of small electronic components, such as microchips.
Hardware testing methods: Those processes in which hardware components or systems are tested, such as the system test (ST), the ongoing reliability test (ORT), and the in-circuit test (ICT).
Physics: The natural science involving the study of matter, motion, energy, force and related notions.
Disability types: The nature and types of disabilities affecting the human beings such as physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional or developmental and the specific needs and access requirements of disabled people.
Maintenance and repair: The preservation and restoration of products and systems, and the methods and logistics of these practices.
Fluid mechanics: The characteristics and properties of fluids, including gases, liquids and plasmas, at rest and in motion, and the forces on them.
Micromechanics: The design and production of micromechanisms. Micromechanisms combine mechanical and electrical components in a single device that is less than 1mm across.
Mechatronics: Multidisciplinary field of engineering that combines principles of electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering, control engineering, computer engineering, and mechanical engineering in the design of products and manufacturing processes. The combination of these areas of engineering allows for the design and development of “smart” devices and the achievement of an optimal balance between mechanical structure and control.
Electronic communication: Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail.
Robotics: The branch of engineering that involves the design, operation, manufacture, and application of robots. Robotics is part of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science and overlaps with mechatronics and automation engineering.
Analog electronics theory: The theory based on analogue circuits in which volumes (voltage or current) continuously vary over time.
Mechanics: Theoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of electronics and automation vocational teacher. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Measure electrical characteristics: Measure voltage, current, resistance or other electrical characteristics by using electrical measuring equipment such as multimeters, voltmeters, and ammeters.
Perform in-circuit test: Conduct in-circuit test (ICT) to assess whether the printed circuit boards (PCB) were correctly manufactured. The ICT tests for shorts, resistance, and capacitance, and can be performed with a “bed of nails” tester or with a fixtureless in-circuit test (FICT).
Manage resources for educational purposes: Identify the necessary resources needed for learning purposes, such as materials in class or arranged transportation for a field trip. Apply for the corresponding budget and follow up on the orders.
Work with virtual learning environments: Incorporate the use of online learning environments and platforms into the process of instruction.
Provide lesson materials: Ensure that the necessary materials for teaching a class, such as visual aids, are prepared, up-to-date, and present in the instruction space.
Set up automotive robot: Set up and programme an automotive robot working on machine processes and substituting or collaboratively supporting human labour, such as the six-axis automotive robot.

2320 – Vocational education teachers

 

 

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References

1. Electronics and automation vocational teacher – ESCO