This partnership project involves the reshaping of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Education. ICT Education is changed to become responsive to the workforce needs of high-growth industries. This Colorado ATE Partnership (CATEP) project: (1) Strengthens the participating colleges' CIS introductory curriculum and associated Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses through the integration of employability skills with technical skills; (2) Transforms the recruitment, curriculum and pedagogical practices employed in CIS and CTE courses; (3) Addresses industry needs beyond basic IT skills; (4) Develops an ongoing evaluation program to ensure students meet the ICT workforce needs of the region's high-growth industries; and (5) Develops a dissemination plan to share the resulting ICT workforce education model with the other community colleges and secondary schools in the region. This project takes advantage of established relationships between postsecondary partners, industry representatives, the secondary education systems in the service areas of the respective community colleges, and pertinent Workforce Development agencies. It also incorporates best practices generated from research by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, the Center for Information Technology Education, Boston Area Advanced Technological Education Connections and the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center.
Colorado Advanced Technological Education Partnership National Science Foundation, Department of Undergraduate Education Advanced Technological Education Award #0802439 Arapahoe Community College and Aims Community College Intellectual Merit of the Project The merit criteria most strongly addressed by the Colorado Advanced Technological Education Partnership (CATEP) is the extent to which a number of distinct groups collaborated toward transforming teaching methods in the Computer Information Systems (CIS) introductory class (Introduction to PC Applications) at both Arapahoe Community College and Aims Community College. The class transcends the narrow approach of technical content delivery in that it offers students the opportunity to experience and apply both technical and employability skills. Pre-grant research documented the demand expressed by business partners that potential, as well as incumbent, employees are well-qualified in terms of their Information Technology (IT) skills, but severely lacking in terms of their "employability," or soft skills. CATEP Advisory Boards at both Arapahoe Community College (ACC) and Aims Community College provided a network of contacts from which input was continuously gathered over the three-year grant period. The goal to integrate employability skills with the technical skills employers report they need for their IT workforce was collaboratively accomplished through professional development for faculty via other NSF-funded projects, partnerships with high schools (secondary schools) through Career and Technical Education programs, membership in community-based science and technical education organizations, conversations with workforce development agencies, evaluations of student interns by employers, evaluations by students of course content and continued input from industry partners. Based upon discussions with these groups, as well as their valued feedback, the CIS 118 class not only includes detailed coverage of fundamental computer concepts, terminology and applications, but students are taught through project-based learning the importance of employability skills: the ability to work effectively as part of a team, creatively solve problems, effectively communicate (oral and written), and the ability to analyze, prioritize, evaluate and work with minimal supervision – all traits highly valued by employers. Broader Impact of the Project In every case, when CATEP project personnel shared the activities and outcomes of this project with CIS faculty and business representatives, the aspect of "discovery" for students and faculty in designing a project with practical application for the workplace and life-long learning was immediately apparent. It is clear that the education of our future scientific and technical workforce must integrate general education skills with discipline-specific technical skills. The CATEP project proposal built in a number of opportunities to impact other entities, including other community colleges, in-house departments of the participating colleges, secondary institutions and workforce development agencies. CATEP project personnel discovered, early on, the benefits of events that presented opportunities for face-to-face interaction with students, as well as other community college faculty. Career fairs held at both ACC and Aims Community Colleges enabled CATEP project personnel to bring awareness to the importance of employability skills in preparation for the workplace/transfer to a four-year institution. Fall and spring high school student visitation days also offered that same opportunity for CATEP project personnel to tie technical skills and employability skills together for a well-prepared, work-ready graduate. The CATEP project exhibit at the Annual ATE PI Conference offered project personnel a chance to visit one-on-one with other community college faculty about the project. A presentation at Central Community College, Columbus, Nebraska, for Project SHINE’s (DUE #0903157) Business - Education Leaders’ Summit was a direct result of the exhibit and furthered the impact of the CATEP project across state lines. CATEP work culminated in an Employability Skills Summit that brought together community college faculty, high school leaders, key workforce agency personnel, representatives from four-year colleges and industry partners. The purpose of the Summit was to highlight "lessons learned" from the project as well as the possibilities of working together to impact scientific and technical fields beyond Information Technology, with regard to incorporating employability skills into curricula. Goals/accomplishments/lessons learned were made available to all participants through flash drives handed out at the Summit, as well as an overview of the "hands-on" employability skills project designed by CATEP project personnel. CATEP currently maintains a student-designed website @ www.catepgrant.org through which interested individuals can obtain files for the CIS employability skills project at no cost, as well as general project information. Best practices for successful outcomes are also available to anyone seeking to implement a similar program.
