Five New York State community colleges (Dutchess Community College, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Monroe Community College, and Suffolk County Community College) in partnership with Hofstra University, the New York State Technology Education Association (NYSTEA), and 10 New York business/industry/government partners, are establishing a statewide professional development collaborative. The project is initially providing workshops in the areas of materials/manufacturing and information technologies to 100 secondary school technology teachers through a program that brings together community college technical experts, professional association teacher/leaders, and university pedagogical experts. The overarching goals are to provide contemporary professional development to technology educators using standards-based exemplary materials, to forge sustainable alliances between community colleges and the technology education community, and to create a professional development model that the leadership of New York's Technology Education Association will sustain. NYSTEA represents 3,000 secondary school technology educators in the state and has an abiding interest in providing professional development to its constituents. Year I of the project is devoted to building the professional development leadership teams, comprised of two-year college faculty from the five partnering community colleges, and high school technology teachers who are leaders in NYSTEA. Year II is being spent conducting weeklong workshops for technology teachers at each of the five community colleges. Workshop content is based on curricular materials being developed as part of the current NSF ATE project, New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technological Education, as well as other exemplary materials developed by well-known ATE projects and centers. Standards-based materials are being chosen on the basis of a proven track record and relevance to technician education; and the pedagogical focus is on informed design, which emphasizes science inquiry and mathematical analysis in the context of design. Year III of the project is devoted to widespread dissemination through technology education conferences and mini-conferences at the community colleges. These activities are establishing five ATE training centers at the community colleges, with NYSTEA as the collaborative professional organization for these sites. By building the capacity of professional association leaders to conduct further staff development workshops, the project is creating a replicable and transportable model of professional development and imparting a mechanism through which ongoing staff development can be sustained by NYSTEA and the community colleges.
