JITE v44n1 - From the Editor - Editorial
FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome, Readers, to Volume 44 Number 1 of the Journal of Industrial Teacher Education (JITE). As the newly installed editor, I begin my two-year term with the intent of upholding the high standards established by my predecessors, in particular the most recent, Janet Zeleski Burns and George Rogers.
At the December 2006 executive committee meeting of the National Association of Industrial and Technical Teacher Educators held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for Career and Technical Education, two major changes for the publication of the JITE were proposed and approved. The first has been implemented and is reflected in the Bits and Pieces section of this issue; that being the elimination of the requirement for the submission of manuscripts in hard copy form. Manuscripts may now be submitted as email attachments (preferred), on CD’s, or on 3.5” floppy disks without the previously required six hard copies.
The second change will be implemented beginning with Volume 45. Rather than publishing four issues per volume, Volume 45 will initiate the change to three issues per year with Spring, Fall, and Winter issues.
In This Issue
The lead-off article for this issue of the JITE is from Marie Kraska and Stephen Harris and is focused on the relationship between cognitive and teaching style preferences. The authors state that their purpose in conducting this research was to, “…investigate cognitive styles and teaching style preferences for future instructors for the Air Force who were enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor course at the Academic Instructor School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama” (p. 6).
Another aspect of the learning environment is examined by Paul Asunda and Roger Hill in the second article. Their research for the National Center for Engineering and Technology Education was focused on developing, “…a process for identifying critical features of engineering design within technology education learning activities” (p. 26).
The research detailed within the third article by George Rogers focuses upon Project Lead the Way (PLTW) as implemented in Indiana. Rogers investigated the perceptions of secondary-level principals toward the school, teacher, and student effects of implementing PLTW. For example, Rogers notes, “…a strong positive effect on their students’ motivation and enthusiasm as a result of offering the PLTW technology education curriculum” (p. 61).
Finally, the At Issue piece by Mark Threeton calls upon us to consider the evolving nature of Career and Technical Education as reflected in the requirements of the Carl D. Perkins Act. Specifically, Threeton discusses the implications of, “…the inclusion of counselors and CTE instructors in the guidance and student development process, and the integration of academics into career and technical curriculum” (p. 64).
Richard Walter