Skill Standards for Photonics Technicians

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Skill Standards for Photonics Technicians

• Darrell Hull, Co-PI STEP II

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National Skill Standards

• First Published in 1995
• Included
• 6 specialties
• Tasks
• Knowledge components
• Curriculum framework for a 2-year program in
  Photonics Technology
• Involved over 300 participants from Industry and
  Education

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2002 Skill Standards

• The first Objective to accomplish as a part of
  the larger STEPII program
• Establishes an updated foundation or blueprint
  for the development of the proposed STEP
  curriculum
• Defines the current skills and abilities required
  to succeed in the photonics workforce as a
  technician

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OrganizationalStructure
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Specialty Areas

• Communications
• Fiber optics and free space transmitters and
  detectors/receivers
• Imaging Illumination
• Signal image processing, lighting, displays, and
  entertainment
• Medicine
• Biomedical optics medical imaging
• Manufacturing
• Materials processing, alignment, metrology, and
  inspection
• Optoelectronics
• Nanotechnology, microsystems, semiconductors
• Remote Sensing
• Environmental aerospace

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Critical Work Functions

• 4-6 per Specialty
• Global functions that subsume all lower-level
  tasks
• General areas of responsibility
• Example Install a fiber optic system in
  accordance with previously established customer
  requirements

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Tasks

• 10-30 (approximately) tasks for each Critical
  Work Function
• Usually associated with a tool/piece of equipment
  or a process
• Observable activities that can contain
  combinations of several inter-related skills
• Example Recommend selection of components and
  participate in the development of the
  installation plan

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Skills

• The most basic, observable, and measurable
  element that is necessary for performing a job
• Skills identified for different tasks will
  overlap considerably
• May be classified as either technical or
  employability skills
• Technical related to photonics technology
• Employability related to holding nearly any job
• Examples measure noise equivalent power or
  navigate the internet to gather information

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Knowledge Components

• Knowledge associated with any skill that is
  possessed by the person capable of performing
  that skill
• Statements can always be preceded with the word
  understands
• Range from invariant knowledge (principles, laws,
  or theories) to state-of-the-art knowledge (may
  become obsolete)
• Examples principle of refraction Snells law
  DWDM testing/analysis wavelength accuracy of a
  semiconductor laser

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Performance Indicators

• Specifies a quantitative or qualitative
  assessment of skill performance
• May indicate at least one of two levels of
  performance
• Entry level
• Expert level
• Example consistently establishes a connection
  with less than .5 dB loss in the system

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Curriculum

• The organization of knowledge components
• In addition to knowledge components, the
  curriculum also includes skill development
  exercises or laboratories, and assessment tools
  such as questions or problems that help students
  understand how the knowledge is used.
• Curriculum frameworks are the organizing
  structures that help educators implement the
  curriculum in a useful scope and sequence

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Curriculum Framework
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Developmental Process for the Skill Standard

• Project staff and selected technicians,
  engineers, and technical managers establish
  initial framework for the standard
• Technical Working Group reviews the framework
• Large-scale content validation efforts with
  participants representing all 6 specialties from
  13photonics business/industry
• Development of Knowledge Components with staff
  and Education Working Group
• Final content validation check

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Photonics Curriculum Conceptual Structure
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Review Questions

• Have the Specialty descriptions been written to
  accurately represent a good cross-section of the
  industry?
• What additional Critical Work Functions should be
  considered?
• Are the Critical Work Functions, Tasks, and
  Skills stated in a technically accurate manner
  that reflects many contexts?