Development of a VR STEAM Welding Project Course

This research aimed to develop the teaching mode, ability indicators, and course content of a “VR STEAM Welding Course” for the Engineering Department of Universities of Science and Technology. The students of the Electric Welding Course in Universities of Science and Technology were taken as the subjects for the integration of the STEAM education concept, in order to integrate the VR technology into the teaching of the welding course. The Fuzzy Delphi Method was adopted as the research method, and an expert questionnaire analysis was conducted. The conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) a three-part, “student-centered” teaching mode was developed, which included welding knowledge and skills training, STEAM integrated learning, and the practical application of VR; (2) Eight ability indicators of the “VR STEAM welding course” were established; (3) the “welding construction” ability indicator for VR-assisted welding teaching was the most feasible; (4) the ability indicator of “welding construction” for STEAM education had the highest integrality into welding teaching; and (5) the mobile learning platform of the VR STEAM welding course had high real-time characteristics. The findings can serve as a reference for the subsequent content design, teaching activity planning and the implementation of the experimental teaching of this course.