The Technology Education Pathways Project prepares students for becoming technicians in the upstate New York area's emerging electrical/ electronics industry. A technician career pathway program is established in the eleventh and twelfth grades of a Career and Technical Education program that aligns with two years of community college coursework in Electrical Technology. The technicians mainly work at the systems level and need skills in testing and measuring. Most technician jobs involve installing new equipment and maintaining and servicing large expensive equipment. The project develops thirty two-week modules for the 11th grade exploratory technology courses and thirty more for the 12th grade technician education courses by adapting materials from the ATE-funded Career Curriculum for Technology project. The courses address standards-driven technological skills and 21st Century Skills and provide a strong foundation in STEM subject areas through exploration of current and emerging technological fields. High school students in Career and technical education are encouraged to continue their education through being able to earn fifteen college credits in five STEM courses while earning seven high school credits in STEM subjects. Eight new modules are developed for the Electrical Technology courses at the community college. These courses provide instruction in key concepts through studying the component systems in consumer and industrial products. The formative evaluation, done by an external evaluator, provides information on vertical alignment model, the curricular materials, and the creation of a student centered learning environment.
was a four-year effort by Fulton-Montgomery Community College and the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES, both in Johnstown NY, creating engineering and technology pathways for secondary level and college students and culminating in rewarding technical careers in industry and/or advanced education. The key elements of the project included: 1. Creating a college credit bearing junior and senior high school engineering and technology program 2. Revamping the college’s AAS Electrical Technology program 3. Reverse engineering common electronic products into Teaching Elements (TEs) for classroom use 4. Exploring and creating specialized collaborative work areas for student engagement and learning All facets of the project, including downloadable classroom documents, are available on the project’s website at FMCCTEPP.org. The Engineering and Technology program is a two-year high school sequence emphasizing project-based learning, academic rigor, college credit and strong connections to community college technology and facilities. Until the TEPP project began, students in a 15 school district area served by the college were without a targeted path into the world of technician and engineering technology education. TEPP has introduced a significant number of students, teachers and administrators to the technician career path and the viability of community college education as a pathway to exciting, high paying careers. At the college level, a strong effort was made toward development of a program that is now successfully producing competent and coveted technician graduates. TEPP significantly assisted Fulton Montgomery Community College’s effort to align the Electrical Technology program with emerging semiconductor manufacturing and nanotechnology industries in the region. As a result, the college is a source of technical talent for these industries. Recent graduates have had outstanding success obtaining well-paid positions and unprecedented opportunity for interviews and access to high tech careers. TEPP helped improve facilities and garner equipment and supplies for students at Fulton-Montgomery. The THINK room with its touch-sensitive TV was created as a collaborative student work area, allowing students’ interaction with computers along with comfortable furniture, significant white board space and other amenities. TEPP provided electronic products that students reverse engineered to create Teaching Elements. The components purchased allow students and faculty to understand current trends in semiconductor technology, conduct laboratory experiments relevant to industry standards, and to work in teams creating their own working products. TEPP developed many downloadable Teaching Element documents used by instructors to illustrate theory and its applications in real commercial products such as AM/FM radios, digital scales, motion sensing lights, and LED bulbs. The college was approached by and began collaboration with several local school districts to develop additional STEM-related programming. Some of this work involves applying for grants, whereas other efforts develop specific technical activity programming for students. The core of the TEPP-developed high school Engineering and Technology program is a key component in these efforts. A significant indication of TEPP’s success is the increased number of visitors to Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s Electrical Technology facilities. Prior to TEPP, only a handful of people visited. Since May 2012, we have documented over 1,800 visitors interested in learning about our programs.
