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This year’s ATE PI Conference is fast approaching! This year’s theme is Innovation and Impact: ATE for the Future, centering on “the significant role that ATE projects and centers play in creating and implementing successful and impactful career pathways resulting in a highly skilled U.S. workforce.”

In this vein, conference organizers are accepting session proposals demonstrating “how the ATE community has successfully broadened impact through partnerships and collaboration with key stakeholders.” These proposals can be formatted in several ways, including as a forum, demonstration, discussion session, breakfast roundtable, high impact practice workshop, or synergy meeting.

Any of the following criteria may also be addressed: evidence-based project or center impact in one of the six session track topic areas, focus on multi-discipline-relevant learning experiences and strategies, interactive learning activities with take-away resources, or collaborative efforts among multiple ATE centers or projects. 

Those interested in submitting session proposals before the August 28 deadline can do so here.

HI-TEC Conference Banner 2019

It’s hard to believe summer is going by so quickly! HI-TEC is almost here and we are so excited to join members of the ATE Community in St. Louis. If you are planning to attend the conference July 22-25, stop by Booth #404 and say hello to ATE Central PI Rachael Bower, or participate in ATE’s special session on July 26 from 8:30-11:00 am CDT to give feedback on the current program solicitation and outreach efforts. See you there!

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If you are interested in developing your mentoring skills and giving back to the ATE community, apply to the Mentor Fellows internship program offered by Mentor-Connect. While shadowing experienced Mentor-Connect mentors and attending Mentor-Connect workshops and webinars, Mentor Fellows learn how to guide new-to-ATE college faculty as they prepare competitive ATE grant proposals through Mentor-Connect. Mentor Fellows receive a stipend and travel support. Applications are due September 27. Those interested in applying can learn more here. 

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Those looking to apply the latest research on student learning styles to their teaching practices may be interested in NISOD’s The New Science of Learning: Teaching That Promotes Student Success webinar. The talk will demystify the most successful methods of motivating students and targeting deep learning. It will also cover best practices for getting learners “more involved with course content,” as well as overviewing “applications of pedagogical research that can be used in almost any class.” 

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If you are a part of the ATE community and attending HI-TEC, come give feedback on the ATE program to NSF Program Officers in a targeted session Friday after HI-TEC. The ATE Program Officers want feedback on the current program solicitation regarding what is working and what needs to be improved. Further, they want ideas on how to conduct outreach to more community and technical colleges to help them to craft and submit competitive ATE proposals, and they want ideas for how to help those who have submitted but have been declined to recraft their proposals into competitive proposals. This session will cover these topics and more. 

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Hone your accessibility expertise with this webinar designed to assist in developing classroom materials that meet the core principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(WCAG). 

The hour-and-a-half program uses revision of a course syllabus as a context to explore these WCAG elements, which can be summed up under the acronym POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust), as well as offering easily implementable tips and techniques. Participants will walk away with practical knowledge on creating course materials that “are accessible and work for all learners from the start, by design.” 

The webinar runs Monday, June 10 from 12:00-1:30 pm CDT and is presented by the NSF- ATE-funded AccessATE project and the National AEM Center at CAST. For more information, visit ATE Central’s event listing. Register to participate in the webinar here.

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Conferences and meetings play such an important role for all of us as we work to disseminate information about the valuable impacts and outcomes of our ATE projects and centers.

NISOD's annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence provides a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about ATE. The conference attracts educators from around the world and serves as a gathering place for community and technical college faculty, administrators, and staff seeking to engage in deep conversations about best practices and promising approaches crafted to improve student achievement.

Regular conference registration will be open until May 25th, or you can register onsite during the event.

We look forward to seeing you there – please stop by and visit us in booth 209!

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The Decommissioning Strategy Forum (produced by the ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums) is partnering with RCNET for this year’s forum, which takes place June 17-18, 2019 at The Westin in Nashville, TN. RCNET will co-locate their annual professional meeting following the forum on June 19.

The second annual Decommissioning Strategy Forum allows attendees to learn how to capitalize on opportunities in the nuclear decommissioning market. This year’s program will explore the theme Driving Efficiency in Today’s Evolving Decommissioning Marketplace. Each session will include both a utility and supplier perspective.

To learn more about the 2019 Decommissioning Strategy Forum and to register, view the official press release about the event.

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This workshop, which will be held at HI-TEC this July, kicks off a two-week course that guides participants through the process of exploring innovative ways to solve problems that address the needs of your intended audience and/or market in the education sector.

This course is especially relevant to ATE PIs who are interested in learning how to sustain and scale educational innovations and network with education industry professionals. The kick-off workshop will be held at HI-TEC on July 22 with all subsequent courses held online throughout August 2019.

Those who participate in the course will learn how to explore project opportunities beyond federal funding, work through ideas while receiving direct feedback from instructors, and learn how to effectively network with the ATE community, among many other benefits.

For more information about the workshop and to register, check out the workshop’s informational flier and visit the HI-TEC registration site.

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This recently published report reflects the proceedings, presentations, and takeaways from the first ever Equity and Inclusion STEM Thought Leaders' Summit held in October 2018. This summit was funded through the ATE grant the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) received from the NSF and included a steering committee representing ATE projects and centers, in addition to AACC-affiliated councils. 

The summit entailed a series of workshop sessions revolving around a variety of issues concerning STEM education and the ATE program: equity gaps; recruitment and retainment strategies for underrepresented populations; and professional development, to name a few.

Summit sessions were attended by faculty and administrator teams from 15 colleges all new to the ATE program. The sessions were designed to be highly engaging, drawing feedback and insight from community college educators and leaders about these pertinent issues. 

Read the full report to learn more about the summit, in addition to projects and centers (including ATE Central) that were highlighted for ongoing support within the ATE Community.