ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN AID FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KINETIC SKILLS REQUIRED FOR T. I. G. WELDING

This action research project was carried out in the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. The authors are both Lecturers of Engineering in this college and have a keen interest in providing the best possible aids to their students learning. Three groups of engineering apprentices and one group of part time students took part in this project. At the time these students were taking a third level Tungsten Inert Gas welding (T.I.G.) training module. Qualified T.I.G. welders are in very high demand worldwide and as such can demand a very high rate of pay for their services. The kinetic skills applicable to this discipline relate to the close control of the movement of the hands, arms, head and upper body of the student during the T.I.G. welding process. The authors were keen to provide additional help to the many students who struggled to master these skills. The students who took part in this project tested and provided feedback on a device which was developed by the authors. The purpose of this device was to aid the students to understand and appreciate the specific set of kinetic skills required for the successful completion of the T.I.G. welding module. It was anticipated that the device, in addition to helping the students to develop their kinetic awareness would reduce the cost of delivering the module by reducing the quantity of consumable resources such as electricity, and welding gas required to train the students to the required international standard. A quantitative survey was completed and the analysis of the data gathered provides an interesting insight into the impact on the learning of the participants and also the potential of the device to reduce the cost of delivering the module.