The University of Arizona will create a Western Mining Safety and Health Resource Center as a collaboration between the Departments of Mining and Geological Engineering, Teaching, Learning and SocioCultural Studies in the College of Education, and the Division of Community, Environment and Policy in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The Center will utilize the new training facility at the San Xavier Mine owned by the University of Arizona. The 5 aims of the project are: 1) Offer new miner and refresher training to western states miners putting into practice current theories about adult learning and new training materials;2) Develop and offer train the trainer courses including advanced materials translated from the current research in occupational medicine and industrial hygiene and also on best practices for adult learners, English as a second language learners, low literacy and education disadvantaged learners;3) Increase mine rescue and recovery training capacity by expanding the surface and underground capabilities at the San Xavier Mine;4) Create and populate a national website for training materials that is comprehensive and easy to use and helps create a safety and health community;5) Redesign NIOSH and MSHA training materials for English as a second language learners, low literacy, and education disadvantaged learners including translation into Spanish of materials using best practices for non-traditional learners. Key outcomes from the project are 1) robust 3D virtual environment simulations of fatalgrams to fill a gap in accident prevention training and that involves peer sharing and problem solving;2) create a western training conference similar to the former Western TRAM for training trainers;3) increased capacity for mine rescue;4) a safety community created through an interactive and comprehensive website;5) Adult literacy and language training for trainers including new materials translated into Spanish that use the best methods for non-native speakers and low literacy adults. We will develop a comprehensive assessment and evaluation program that will track our trainees and solicit continuous feedback for improvement of training methods and materials.
: We will increase the training capacity for western states miners through training classes for miners and trainers and development of new materials and methods especially for a growing Hispanic population of miners. We will develop a website that includes streamed lectures for trainers and miners, new materials, and existing materials that will build a safety community for miners. Our assessments will follow miners and trainers to determine effectiveness, new needs, and provide continuous improvement of our training.
