JITE v35n4 - From the Editor - Parting Thoughts

Parting Thoughts

It hardly seems possible, but two years as Editor of the Journal comes to close with this issue. At this juncture, I want to express appreciation to NAITTE and the profession for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. The work of the Journal has provided a stimulus and personal opportunity to learn more about writing, research, and scholarly inquiry. I have also developed a profound appreciation of how the rigors of the review process take good manuscripts and transform them into high quality work. Good scholarly writing and clear thinking are difficult; but these qualities consistently emerge as a function of a willingness to submit work to the rigors of critique, writing, rewriting, and editing. The process works and all of us have our colleagues from around the profession to thank. I also want to take this opportunity to encourage colleagues to become involved with the Journal as future editors, board members, and reviewers. This type of professional involvement is both an opportunity to grow and a chance to serve. The Journal remains strong and continues to represent an important outlet for research in industrial and technical teacher education because individuals and institutions have committed time, expertise, and resources. With the next issue, Karen F. Zuga of The Ohio State University assumes the Editorship. Her research and leadership abilities are widely recognized and well established. We can look forward to her leadership and guidance over the next two years. Please support her and JITE by becoming involved in the various activities associated with the Journal. Most important, do your part to insure a steady flow of manuscripts through the review process. The Journal can only be as strong as the quality of the work that is submitted for review.

In addition to the transfer of the Editorship, the final issue in Volume 35 represents an annual point of transition in the leadership of the Journal. I want to publicly acknowledge Marie Hoepfl, Richard Lakes, and David Pucel who complete terms of service as Assistant Editors with the completion of this issue. As members of the editorial board, these individuals have reviewed numerous manuscripts, participated in establishing policy guidelines, and provided invaluable and wise counsel. At this juncture, I also want to thank Rick Satchwell who served as Style Editor for Volume 35. Rick brought a remarkable blend of conceptual ability and editing skill to the process. His work and assistance were invaluable and are very much appreciated.

In This Issue

Four articles are presented in the refereed section. The first article, by Randall T. MacPherson, reports research investigating the predictive relationship among factors affecting near transfer troubleshooting technological problem-solving skills. The factors that emerged as significant included technical knowledge, experience in the technical area, and critical thinking ability. The remaining three articles focus on some new and emerging areas of teaching and research in industrial and technical teacher education. In the first of these manuscripts, Bill Havice employs a quasiexperimental design to compare achievement differences of college students instructed using integrated, computer-based media with those receiving information through traditional instructional methods. The next article, by Dan Brown, Michael Kemp, and Jennifer Hall focuses on biotechnology, which is an emerging new content area for technology education. In this article, they assess teacher perceptions and support for biotechnology, as well as examine appropriate conceptual and curriculum frameworks for the study of this emerging area of study. The final article, by Scott Mackenzie and Duane Jansen, returns to the topic of computer-based delivery of instruction, this time in the context of teaching design and drafting principles. The findings of this study indicate that multimedia-based approaches to instruction hold promise for motivating students and for effectively delivering design and drafting content.

The At Issue section contains an essay by Edward Reeve that extends the general discussion of the use of computers as an instructional tool to issues and challenges associated with developing and maintaining effective webpages. These issues include responsibility for maintaining and insuring accuracy, as well as insuring quality and professionalism. Bits and Pieces contains a complete index of Volume 35 of the Journal as well as an acknowledgment of the exemplary service provided by the Journal's reviewers. The section concludes with the usual information relating to how to submit manuscripts, becoming a member of NAITTE, and ordering various NAITTE publications.

RLC