In the teaching of mechanical majors in higher vocational institutions, in order to make students proficient in driving various machine-related instruments, students must have the basic qualities and skills. The five compulsory basic professional courses of basic mechanical design, mechanical drawing, metalworking practice, tolerance and technology, and mechanical manufacturing fundamentals can precisely cater to the needs of students’ basic qualities and skills, and students learning these five basic courses can achieve the purpose of broad-caliber professional education.
It should be noted that
is that these courses are discipline-oriented basic course group teaching system, which does not put students’ ability cultivation in the first place, resulting in the low practical ability of students in higher vocational colleges, which brings great difficulties to employment. How to solve this dilemma, according to the needs of the actual work of enterprise units, the article proposes a competence-based teaching mode, combining practical work and basic courses, focusing on cultivating students’ hands-on ability. The current situation of China’s higher vocational machinery professional foundation course group Entering the 21st century, China’s higher vocational education has introduced the concept of competence-based, reformed the curriculum content, increased the practical aspects and changed the personnel training program on the basis of advanced foreign concepts. As we all know, the reform and curriculum teaching system is the necessary way to improve the quality of teaching, but the essence of the reform of the curriculum model and system has not changed fundamentally.
1. The tightness of professional training and curriculum construction is not high.
Although many institutions of higher education in China have reformed the teaching form and realized the importance of curriculum construction on teaching quality, the curriculum construction is not closely connected with professional training, and the structure of students’ professional skills is rather vague, resulting in general but not precise professional skills, not strong practicality, and the connection between professional training and curriculum construction is not close enough.
2. The discipline-oriented ideology is deeply rooted.
Although the competency-based teaching mode has been introduced into China for decades, it has not been implemented deeply, but only at the conceptual level, and the traditional discipline-based teaching idea is still deeply rooted in the minds of teachers and students. In the professional training program, the previous basic course clusters are still used, and the discipline-based approach is not transferred to the competence-based approach. In the construction of high-quality courses, the basic course cluster system is neglected to be built with competence-based, which leads to the construction of courses without practicality and low hands-on ability of students.
3. Students’ skills and theory scales are out of balance.
Students’ skills and knowledge should be developed simultaneously, but many colleges and universities focus on students’ theoretical knowledge, as long as students understand and master theoretical knowledge, they do not care about students’ practical ability. Under the influence of this concept, teachers will naturally be biased in the design of the curriculum, which makes the practical teaching hours less, and the practical teaching income is low, which seriously hinders the development of students’ practical ability.
Analysis of the orientation of the teaching system of the basic course group of higher vocational mechanical profession
The basic course group system of higher vocational mechanical profession is an open and circular course operation system, the core of which is to cultivate students’ practical ability and improve their comprehensive quality. The curriculum system involves various aspects, such as teaching content, teaching methods, teaching management, etc. It contains the curriculum concept, curriculum development, curriculum design, curriculum implementation and curriculum objectives, etc. It is an important link in the construction of mechanical professional curriculum, the cornerstone of deepening teaching reform, the starting point of method reform and teaching content, and a strong backing to guarantee teaching quality.
The construction of basic courses for higher vocational mechanical majors should be competence-based and employment-oriented to achieve the goal that students can be employed upon graduation. The concept of basic course group teaching system is to cultivate advanced skill talents with ability-based, so in the process of curriculum development and construction, we must focus on professional talent specification, implement systematic course content and curriculum setting, improve students’ professional skill level, and ensure the effective realization of training objectives.
According to the social and economic development and the needs of the workplace, the structure, content, ratio and overall class schedule of the basic course group of mechanical professions are systematically planned, and the curriculum is updated and transformed in a timely manner, so that the skills of school students are not out of line with society, and efforts are made to realize the pioneering, adaptability and openness of the curriculum. In the process of implementing the basic courses, we must follow the predetermined training objectives, the teaching concept of competence-based, adopt modern teaching methods and approaches, and carry out the teaching process comprehensively to achieve the goals of developing, designing, implementing, and evaluating the basic courses of higher vocational professions. Evaluation occupies an important position in the whole teaching system and can check whether the teaching analysis, training objectives and management methods are implemented according to the predetermined track and make corresponding changes in time.
The guiding principles of the teaching system of the basic course group of higher vocational machinery
1. The principle of taking ability cultivation as the core.
In the International Standard of Education Classification published by UNESCO, the definition of higher vocational courses is: a curriculum plan oriented to a specific occupation, which is practical and technical. The special professional courses of a specific occupation, the higher vocational courses, no matter the theoretical system or the practical system, are application-oriented and centered on the cultivation of ability. Therefore, the basic course group system of higher vocational mechanics must highlight the vocational ability. Along the main line of application for different positions of skilled personnel to implement the corresponding knowledge, ability, quality teaching, clear requirements for the cultivation of each level of ability.
In the course of curriculum construction, it must ensure that each ability can meet the needs of the workplace. Combine the practical teaching system with the theoretical teaching system to not only increase students’ practical ability cultivation, but also broaden students’ theoretical knowledge and improve their comprehensive quality. With ability cultivation as the core, it is necessary to highlight the characteristics of higher vocational education itself – applied talents. It is required to increase the proportion of students’ practical teaching hours in the teaching process of mechanical profession, replace the classroom-centered traditional teaching mode, pay attention to the modern teaching mode of cultivating students’ ability, and strengthen the practical ability cultivation of students.
2. The principle of employment-oriented as the goal.
From the viewpoint of China’s higher vocational colleges and universities, the graduated students are not qualified in hands-on practical ability and their theoretical knowledge level is not as good as that of secondary school students, which makes the employment situation of graduates from higher vocational colleges and universities worrying. In view of this situation, it is necessary to adhere to the employment-oriented principle to cultivate mechanical students. Therefore, the objective requirement is that the curriculum system of higher vocational mechanical professions must reflect the market demand for technical talents, what kind of talents the market needs, what kind of talents the higher vocational institutions will cultivate, and try to fill the vacancies in the market, so that the employment of students is no longer a problem, and truly realize the goal of employment for students upon graduation. In this way, it can reduce the employment rate of the society and ensure the safety and stability of the society.
3.Adhere to the principle of openness of the curriculum system.
The so-called principle of openness, refers to the course construction process should not be limited to the basic knowledge of the profession, should be appropriate to integrate the knowledge of other professions, cross-disciplinary can broaden the basic knowledge of students, and fully develop other professional skills of students. At the same time, students can choose to study courses according to their own interests and hobbies, to build on their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Educational practice and theoretical research show that students’ creative ability largely depends on the basic knowledge and the level of comprehensive knowledge. Therefore, in the teaching system of the basic course group of higher vocational machinery, we should adhere to the principle of openness of the curriculum, broaden students’ knowledge, cross-pollination between various disciplines, and improve students’ innovative thinking ability.
4. Adhere to the principle of integration of teaching content.
The so-called principle of integration is to superimpose, combine or fuse on the predetermined basic curriculum to create a new and flexible curriculum teaching system. Firstly, it is necessary to clarify the training objectives of the curriculum system to ensure that students can get vocational teaching; secondly, combine the curriculum content to improve the effectiveness of the construction of the curriculum; finally, use the modular combination form, to ensure that the students can be taught in a professional manner.
Finally, using the modular combination form, the practical skills and theoretical knowledge are organically combined into one or more teaching units, so that students can learn theoretical knowledge and practical skills at the same time, truly apply what they learn, combine what they learn with what they use, consolidate the foundation of theoretical knowledge, improve the level of practical skills, improve the quality of teaching in all aspects, so that the teaching objectives of the curriculum can be achieved.
Build a competence-based teaching system of the basic course group of mechanical profession
Cultivating high-quality workers and senior skilled talents is the major mission of higher vocational education, which plays a very important role in the social and economic development. Since the reform and opening up, China’s higher vocational education has developed like a spring. The state regards higher vocational education as the cornerstone of economic and social development and the focus of education work, and accelerates the development of higher vocational education. Australia, Germany and other developed countries have good development of vocational education, which is inextricably linked with their industries, enterprises and governments.
The successful experience of Australia and Germany’s higher vocational education is of great reference value to China’s higher vocational education. When industries and enterprises are not fully involved in higher vocational education, the government and schools should take the initiative and develop higher vocational education in a directional way. The country should improve the quality of the nationals, improve the competitiveness of national enterprises, develop the socialist economy, focus on higher vocational education, and establish and improve the operation mechanism of developing higher vocational education. For example, in Germany there is “dual system”, in Australia there is TAFE, China should establish the operation mechanism of higher vocational education with Chinese characteristics on the basis of the basic national conditions. In the higher vocational institutions, we must strengthen the teaching management, take the initiative to strengthen the communication with industries and enterprises, pay attention to the talents needed by the society at all times, and let students know the dynamic situation of skilled talents.
1. School-enterprise cooperation, cooperation between institutions, and school-industry combination
The traditional mode of schooling is simply that teachers write theoretical knowledge on the blackboard and students calculate data under the podium, this teaching mode cannot effectively cultivate students’ practical ability, and it is difficult for students to find jobs after graduation, and even if they find jobs, it is difficult to meet the needs of the positions. The cultivation of higher vocational mechanical professionals emphasizes that students can be successfully employed after graduation and can successfully complete various tasks in the workplace. Therefore, the school side should cooperate with enterprises, sign the talent training plan, and implement the open schooling mode of industry-university combination, school-enterprise cooperation, and institution-institute cooperation.
(1) Explore school-enterprise cooperation to deliver talents to enterprises.
Cooperation between schools and enterprises can not only make students free of employment worries, but also enable enterprises to get useful talents and increase the space for students’ internship and practical training. When developing the teaching system of the basic course group of machinery, relevant experts from the industry and enterprises can be invited to give guidance, participate in the development of teaching plans and curriculum development, and agree to cooperate for mutual benefit. After graduation, students of mechanical classes can go to work in enterprises to continue their further study, which is of great help to students’ career.
(2) Create a teaching system through cooperation between schools and research units.
Project development between schools and research units as a link, the students are sent to research units, experts or teachers lead students to participate in engineering projects, equipment procurement, technology projects and other links, students not only learn technology, but also learn to manage, improve the overall quality.
(3) Some idle teaching practice bases are formed into limited liability companies with industry characteristics, and the companies can have professionally relevant development and application of economic entities within the company, with less investment, lower cost, and less risk. In this way, it makes full use of social resources, promotes the development of school-run industries and reduces the investment in industrial construction. The company adopts the form of shareholding system, and jointly establishes a virtual high-tech park with research institutes, cooperates in many aspects, finances in many aspects, and absorbs funds through the project so that development and planning can be carried out simultaneously to achieve the goal of continuous capital chain. In the process of project development, the company can provide a base for students’ internship and practical training as well as jobs for work-study students. In the project development, students are allowed to participate and learn, produce and improve at the same time.
2. Clarify the purpose of schooling and clarify the positioning of schooling.
The teaching system of the basic course group of higher vocational mechanical professions with ability as the basis must be clear about the purpose of schooling and clarify the orientation of schooling. The cultivation of higher vocational mechanical professionals is no longer an academic path, it is different from undergraduate education and secondary education, it should be in accordance with the specifications and basic features of higher vocational talents, training technical application, moral, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic development of talents is the purpose of higher vocational education, mechanical students can clarify their technical orientation after graduation, adapt to the production, construction, management and service of society.
The teaching concept of ability-based is the orientation of higher vocational institutions to cultivate talents. In higher vocational institutions, mechanical students focus on skills, and if they take the academic path they can’t compare with undergraduate institutions. Compared with secondary education, students in higher vocational institutions have stronger basic knowledge and learn more advanced skills.
Taking into full consideration the difference between higher vocational education and other education, the teaching concept based on ability is the orientation of higher vocational training talents. Therefore, the teaching system of the basic course group of machinery should also be built with competence-based to improve students’ practical skills level.
Constructing the teaching system of higher vocational mechanical professional foundation course group with competence-based is a major breakthrough of discipline-based thinking and a correction of the traditional higher vocational education curriculum construction that emphasizes theory but not skills. We advocate competence-based, and the importance of competence should be fully reflected in higher vocational education, while schools should strengthen the communication with enterprises and industries.
Constructing the teaching system of higher vocational mechanical professional foundation course group with competence-based not only adapts to the needs of social and economic development in the 21st century, but also meets the training objectives of China’s higher vocational education; it is not only conducive to cultivating senior skilled application talents for social production, service and management, but also can solve the problem of difficult employment of students in higher vocational colleges and universities. Therefore, it is imperative to build the teaching system of higher vocational mechanical professional foundation course group with competence as the basis.