VOLUME XI, NUMBER 23

oi INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

   

Using Combined Auditory, Kinesthetic,
and Visual Learning Methods in the Auto Shop

“Crayons! Crayons? Son, why are you taking
crayons to college?”

“I'm using them in my auto mechanics class, Dad.
The teacher has us color the hydraulic diagrams for our
automatic transmissions.”

I teach auto mechanics to community college stu-
dents. Their ages range from 18 to 65 years. They
exhibit a wide variety of learning methods. Some are
kinesthetic learners who learn best by touching. Others
are auditory learners who learn best via listening. (All
of us use all three methods, but we normally use one
method more than the others.) Most of my students are
visual and/or kinesthetic learners. Very few are
auditory learners. Yet auditory learning skills are

‘pected for the lecture portion of class. I have found a
way to combine all three major learning methods into
one. | still use an auditory lecture, but | supplement it
with visual and kinesthetic methods at the same time.

Automatic transmissions have hydraulic circuits that
are used to control when the transmission shifts gears.
In each gear different passageways are filled with oil.
When students first see the complete factory hydraulic
schematic of a production transmission, they are
overwhelmed. They can’t see the individual compo-
nents because of the overall complexity. Therefore, |
created a beginning generic hydraulic schematic of the
transmission gears. There are cight or more different
patterns for them to learn. It would be very time-
consuming to make a unique drawing for each gear of
each transmission, so | use a computer to make a basic
pattern. At first I thought that ] would have to master
computer graphics to create this pattern. But after
experimentation | found that a simple word processing
program, rather than complex graphics, was all I
necded. The time-consuming part is creating the
original generic form. The easy part is to copy the basic
form using the computer and then to modify just those
parts that are different in each gear. AsI teach each
new transmission, all | do is modify the generic form

nd include the different features of the current trans-
@Bis:icn. rather than create a new computer form.

“

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I also create a schematic diagram that identifies the
physical location of the various clutches and bands
controlled by the hydraulic system. As well, these
diagrams are computer files for easy manipulation. For
both types of schematics I use the same color codes for
the bands and clutches. That way the student can see
that the red-colored pressure in the hydraulic schematic
is responsible for applying the red-colored clutch in the
physical location schematic.

In lecture class | use these two forms as the organiz-
ing format for my lecture on transmissions. | have the
students sit around the table at the front of the room
while I lecture. As I lecture, | have them color the
various hydraulic circuits that 1am explaining. [ use
one color for mainline pressure and others for throttle
pressure and governor pressure. The students are all
close at hand, so I can easily use the form that 1 am also
coloring to show them how the circuits function. Since I
use a different form for each gear, the student can see
what is happening—as the transmission shifts gears—
by flipping rapidly from chart to chart. The forms can
also be used to make overhead projector transparencies
(via the copying machine).

I have found that student comprehension of basic
automatic transmission hydraulic theory has increased
since I have begun using this combined auditory,
visual, and kinesthetic method Of teaching. I know this
because | also use the charts on my tests. One part of
the test is to color a duplicate of one of the pages that
we colored in class. Then students can use their dia-
gram to help answer the short essay question about the
operation of the hydraulic system as it shifts from gear
to gear. Students at first joke about bringing crayons to
college, but soon they are proud of their sketches!

Terry Ristig, Coordinator, Auto Mechanics
For further information, contact the author at Kankakee

Community College, P.O. Box 888, Kankakee, IL 60901-
0888.

 

=<, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin 1
EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712