FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to JSTE

As I was thinking about this being the first volume of the new JSTE, I started to reflect on how important it is to be the first in this country, or number one. When I looked back in history I came up with many significant firsts that seem to be very important to us. Some of the important firsts that came to me were from the space program: the first man in space, the first woman in space, and of course the first man on the moon. Getting away from the space program we can go into sports where in any race the first across the finish line is important, finishing first in the college football polls, and of course first place in world cup soccer. Bringing in technology brings to mind the first automobile, the first airplane flight, and the first Atomic bomb that has changed the world. Today we continue to have many firsts, one of which has brought a major change in American Politics was the election of our first Afro-American President.

Now we have another important first to add to our growing list of firsts. This is the first volume of the Journal of sTEm Teacher Education. (JSTE) which covers the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Teacher Education (STEM). Volume 47-2 is the first JSTE journal and has been in the works for a long time. JSTE was organized to bring our readers a wider range of topics to meet the needs of a changing world. It is with this in mind that I would like to welcome everyone to the first JSTE volume 47-2.

In this Issue

In this first issue of JSTE you will find three very interesting manuscripts that highlight what the new journal is all about. Volume 47-2 starts off with a manuscript Two Approaches to Engineering Design: Observations in sTEm Education by Todd Kelley, Daniel C. Brenner, and Jon T. Pieper. The authors conducted a study that compared two different approaches to engineering design curriculum, Project Lead the Way and Engineering Projects in Community Service . The researchers conducted a qualitative study that compared indicators such as engineering reasoning, data on the nature of students, and how students define problems.

In the second manuscript Jeremy Jordan and Christopher Curtis conducted an interesting study titled Evaluating the Impacts of Technology Education on Military Maintenance Students . In this study the authors present the finding of a study done to identify the three specific areas used to train airmen in the vehicle maintenance field.

The third manuscript in this volume, An Assessment of the “Diploma in Computer Engineering” Course in Technical Education was authored by Jinsoo Kim and Kul B. Basnet. Research conducted by the authors analyzed current issues and future policy strategies associated with employment opportunities. Findings showed that the government can play a vital role to improve the employability of graduates by taking necessary steps in monitoring and supervision of institutions.

The work done by the authors in these three manuscripts helps get the new JSTE off to a great start, I am sure you will enjoy reading them and future manuscripts in upcoming volumes of JSTE.