Professional Development Collaborative Focuses On High School/College Faculty Partnerships

Five colleges—Alfred State College, Dutchess Community College, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, and Suffolk County Community College—in partnership with Hofstra University and the New York State Technology Education Association, are establishing the New York State Professional Development Collaborative (NYSPDC) with support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program. The project is initially providing workshops in the areas of materials/manufacturing and information technologies to high 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 effective alliances between community/technical colleges and the technology education community, and to create a professional development model that the leadership of New York’s technology education community will sustain.