(SWEETWATER, Texas) – For five Texas State Technical College Automotive Technology students, the performance-based education model has been a fitting opportunity.
“It is a real hands-on way of learning, which makes it easier for me to learn,” Evan McMullin, of Brady, said. “It is good for automotive students because we spend so much of our day working on vehicles.”
McMullin and his second-semester classmates — Hector Almazan, of Garden City, Trey Halfmann, of Wall, Hunter Miller, of Brownwood, and Matthew Westfall, of West Odessa — agree that performance-based education has been easy to grasp.
“It is better for me because it is not as rushed,” Miller said. “I want to make sure I know what I am doing before taking the mastery test.”
TSTC’s performance-based education model allows students to work at their own pace with the assistance of online lectures, videos and other learning content. They inform the instructor when they are ready to test for mastery of the current lesson before moving on to the next portion of the curriculum.
“We are always working together to make sure we understand what is going on,” Almazan said. “My classmates are right there if anyone has a question.”
Halfmann said instructor Ty Liedtke makes sure that students understand what they are doing.
“He is going to make sure we know how to complete each assignment the correct way and with the best skills,” Halfmann said. “He wants to see all of the students succeed.”
The students said they are looking forward to what the second semester brings, including one aspect that TSTC promotes: interaction with industry experts.
“My goal is to continue to improve on my skills, as well as learn about the job opportunities that will be coming my way,” Westfall said.
The need for qualified automotive service technicians and mechanics is expected to grow in Texas over the next several years. According to onetonline.org, Texas employs more than 55,000 of these technicians around the state, and that number was forecast to top 61,000 by 2030. The website stated that the average annual salary for a technician in the state is $46,800.
TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology and an Automotive Technician certificate of completion at the Harlingen, Sweetwater and Waco campuses. Several other certificates, including Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair, Chrysler Specialization and Tesla START Technician, are also available depending on campus location.
To learn more about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
