Twenty-First Century Leadership Academy

Early Career Leadership and Professional Development Initiative

Program Description

The Council on Technology and Engineering Teacher Education (CTETE) is the international professional organization focusing on the needs of Technology & Engineering Teacher Education. The CTETE is affiliated with the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). Founded in 1950, the CTETE strives to: (a) provide educational leadership opportunities for its members; (b) stimulate research and scholarship related to the technology and engineering education profession; and (c) support and further the professional ideals of technology and engineering teacher education.

The CTETE continues to create leadership opportunities for technology and engineering educators. As members and co-chairs of the newly established CTETE Leadership Development Committee, we were asked to design and implement a unique plan for enhancing leadership and professional development opportunities for junior faculty in the academy. As part of our plan we assembled a group of early-career technology and engineering education faculty to facilitate a sense of community and scholarly/professional development.

A pilot project was proposed to introduce and evaluate this initiative. The 2006-07 program included an initial dinner meeting held in conjunction with the ITEEA Annual Conference, a monthly online discussion seminar to encourage scholarly activity and professional growth, and a concluding meeting at the 2007 ITEEA Annual Conference. With the success of the first year program, the pilot project was expanded for 2007-08 to include six more emerging junior faculty in a cohort, the monthly online seminars, as well as a 2-day meeting at the ITEEA Annual Conference to introduce participants to National Science Foundation and National Academy of Engineering representatives.

One component of this project has been to utilize a Web-based portal to enhance communication and facilitate access to existing expertise within the profession. Using rich media Web development tools, a series of presentations have been and continue to be captured and made available for use by early career faculty. These materials are used to stimulate discussion and inform practice as participants endeavor to enhance their scholarship and productivity in the areas of teaching, research, and service.

Planned Annual Activities:

  • Six early career technology and engineering teacher education faculty members are identified and invited to participate in the leadership and professional development initiative.
  • Rich media technology, a tool for creating, capturing, organizing, and cataloging rich media presentations, will be used to establish a database of online leadership presentations. Distinguished authors, practitioners, consultants, researchers, and leaders in the field of technology and engineering education are invited to make recorded presentations, which are archived, online as references for the entire profession. These presentations include discussions on unique viewpoints about leadership, exploring the past, citing current trends, and theorizing about the future of technology education.
  • Leadership and professional development materials prepared and logistical plans completed for yearlong program.
  • Dinner meeting with participants in conjunction with the ITEEA Annual Conference to introduce the program and build community.
  • Two-day meeting at ITEEA’s Annual Conference. Participants will have the opportunity to network with national/international organizations. For example, participants may have the opportunity to network with professionals in the National Academy of Engineering, National Science Foundation, and International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. This two-day meeting also provides additional opportunities for building community and sharing of professional development plans for the year.
  • Monthly synchronous online discussion sessions are used to share progress on professional growth activities, develop leadership skills through participant presentations, and inform provision of resource materials. Special guests are invited to participate in the monthly discussions. These include established authors, practitioners, consultants, researchers, and leaders in the field of technology education.
  • Leadership workshop focusing on personal leadership development and association leadership.
  • At the annual ITEEA Conference, participants in the program are recognized at the CTETE business meeting as well as a special celebratory dinner meeting. At the dinner meeting the participants are asked to critique and provide recommendations for the program.

Benefits of the Program

This program is providing an opportunity for rising technology and engineering educators from across the country to develop as professional leaders, develop community, and have experiences related to the promotion of technology and engineering education and technological literacy in our schools. Furthermore, the best of practices are being shared throughout different regions of the country via the media technology established in the course of this year long program.

Participant Selection 

Participants in the program will be selected from early career university technology and engineering education teachers. Each participant will be self-nominated or nominated by another CTETE member and must agree to participate in the program for one year. If more than six applicant names are submitted, the CTETE Leadership Development Committee will make the selection.

21st Century Leadership Academy Class of 2022 Nomination Form (PDF)

Past and current participants profiles can be viewed on the Twenty-First Century Leadership Academy Cohort tab on this page.

Future Development

Senior faculty members and active ITEEA and CTETE professionals will coordinate the project and facilitate instruction. The coordinators provide an annual report to the membership of CTETE enumerating results of the program and providing recommendations for future leadership and professional development activities. Based on the positive feedback from this program, CTETE has committed to supporting a sixteenth cohort. If you are interested in applying for this program, please contact Roger Hill or Douglas Lecorchick.

ITEEA Faculty Mentors

  • Steven A. Barbato, ITEEA Executive Director/CEO
  • Tom Bell, Millersville University
  • Jennifer Buelin, ITEEA STEM Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Diana Cantu, Old Dominion University
  • Vincent Childress, North Carolina A&T
  • Rod Custer, Black Hills State University
  • Michael Daugherty, University of Arkansas
  • Tom Erekson, Western Illinois
  • Michael DeMiranda, Colorado State University
  • Bill Havice, Clemson University
  • Roger Hill, University of Georgia
  • Tyler Love, Penn State Harrisburg
  • Tom Loveland, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
  • Gene Martin, Texas State University San-Marcos
  • Chris Merrill, Illinois State University
  • Johnny J Moye, ITEEA Senior Fellow
  • Mark Sanders, Virginia Tech
  • Kendall Starkweather, ITEEA
  • Lindsey Swaggerty, University of Arkansas
  • Jerianne Taylor, Appalachian State University
  • John G. Wells, Virginia Tech
  • Ginger Whiting, Adjunct Instructor, James Madison University
  • Kim Weaver, Retired Elementary School Teacher, Author, and Consultant
  • Sandy Addis, National Dropout Prevention Center
  • Edward Reeve, Utah State University