FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome, Readers, to Volume 45 Number 1 Spring 2008 of the Journal of Industrial Teacher Education (JITE). As mentioned previously in his column, Volume 45 marks the inauguration of the three issues per volume publication cycle with Fall 45.2, and Winter 45.3 to follow.

Although not planned as a theme issue, the articles that await you align themselves with the foundational elements of the teaching/learning continuum: What to Teach, How to Teach It, and How to Assess It. Kara Harris and George Rogers lead off with their Delphi study focused upon, “…what qualities and competencies high school students should possess upon entering into freshman engineering programs” (p. 6).

Paul Asunda and Roger Hill pick up the How To Teach It aspect within their article Preparing Technology Teachers to Teach Engineering Design. As they clearly state, “The purpose of this study was to describe a process of preparing technology education teachers to teach engineering design concepts in the context of technology education” (p. 26).

Lynna Ausburn and Floyd Ausburn continue the same aspect with their examination of the potential of virtual reality as an instructional technique. The authors explain, “The study reported here is a pilot and is highly exploratory. It is a first step in developing a theory-based line of inquiry into desktop VR as an instructional technology with potential for Career and Technical Education” (p. 54).

Jeremy Ernst chose to focus upon the How to Assess It aspect in his article, Analysis of Cognitive and Performance Assessments in an Engineering/Technical Graphics Curriculum. “The purpose of this study was to evaluate cognitive and performance assessments using high school trade and industrial engineering/technical graphics student scores on a standardized post-assessment and a series of curriculum specified performance projects in the state of North Carolina” (p. 88).

Charles Backes and Janet Burns use their At Issue piece to look at the underlying foundation of the teaching/learning continuum in Career and Technical Education – what attracts and retains CTE teachers who enter through the non-traditional certification route? The authors state, “If the organization does not have a clear understanding of what motivates an individual to become a T&I or HSTE teacher, or what expectations the new teachers bring to their new workplace, is difficult to keep a teacher who feels rewarded and satisfied” (p. 106).

Enjoy!