Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, in partnership with five consortia of community colleges across the nation, have established a nationwide effort to equip faculty with the tools they need to teach generic manufacturing workplace competencies to community college students. The outcome has been the development of five CD-ROM modules based on the SCANS competencies. The second phase of this project will bring the now-tested concept to reality in a self-sustaining manner through extensive faculty development, assessment, and extension and enhancement of the CD-ROMs. The model of technician education being used to guide the project is Integrated (or blended), Project-based, Collaborative, Assessment-guided, and Technology-intensive. While ATE has been funding models of technician training with some or all of these characteristics, and these models have begun to change community college teaching in selected institutions, four challenges remain: (1) Refine the models; (2) Institutionalize the models so that the changes are sustained; (3) Build an expanding network of colleges that will use the results of not only this project but of ATE's other successful projects as well; and (4) Connect the network to high schools (via Tech Prep), other colleges and employers.
