Pre-Conference Information
The 2024 ATE Conference will offer pre-conference programming starting at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, which includes Affinity Group Meetings, Learning Labs, and Workshops. The Affinity Group Meetings and Learning Labs are open to all attendees and do not require advance registration. The Pre-Conference Workshops listed below do require advance registration.
Six Pre-Conference Workshops will be held on Wednesday, October 23 from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Workshop A: Getting Started for New Grantees and Workshop F: “Simple” Math in Industrial Contexts are offered complimentary; but advance registration is required. All other workshops require advance registration and a $75 registration fee. As workshop space is limited, registration is open on a first-come, first-served basis. All workshops include a box lunch.
Workshop A: Getting Started for New Grantees*
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: Complimentary; but advance registration required. A box lunch is provided starting at 11:45 a.m. Participants are asked to arrive by 11:45 a.m. to have time to pick up their lunch prior to the workshop starting at noon.
*New ATE grantees are strongly encouraged to sign-up to attend this workshop to gain insight into managing their ATE awards.
This workshop is recommended for all principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and other team members involved in newly awarded projects and centers in FY24. Others who may find the workshop useful include new awardees in FY23 and other project personnel from prior years who have recently become involved in ATE projects and centers. The goal of this workshop is to make new grantees aware of the reporting and financial requirements of their ATE grant and to connect them with other ATE projects and centers that can help them successfully manage, evaluate, and report on their projects. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from individuals representing Mentor-Connect, ATE Central, EvaluATE, and the National Science Foundation and to learn about the various resources they provide through this workshop. Participants will be provided access to a resource packet and are encouraged to bring questions about the management of their projects for discussion.
Workshop B: Industry Partnerships – Discovering & Deepening Relationships
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $75 (includes box lunch)
Finding the right industry members and employers to join us in our efforts to build the nation’s technical workforce is crucial to the success of ATE projects and centers. Ensuring that these relationships are truly productive, meaningful, and effective is equally vital to developing right-skilled and work-ready graduates. Join Working Partners Workshops for a guided, interactive session that explores how seasoned practitioners and workshop participants themselves have successfully located and deepened their outcomes-based partnerships with industry and employers.
Workshop C: Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Teaching & Learning
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $75 (includes box lunch)
In this workshop, attendees will discuss strategies for integrating generative AI technologies into teaching and learning, with an emphasis on ethical use and accessibility. Participants will also gain insights into emerging AI trends and applications, preparing them to anticipate future developments and their potential impact on STEM technician education.
Workshop D: How to Elevate Your ATE Program Using Effective Communications Tools
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $75 (includes box lunch)
Interested in learning how to raise awareness of your ATE program to increase student enrollment and generate greater student engagement? Ever been curious about what it would be like to work with a social change agency and learn more about strategic communications and marketing from a pro? In this workshop, you will learn from strategists at Fenton Communications, a social change agency who solely works with purpose-driven organizations like nonprofits, foundations and corporate social good companies focused on issues such as climate change, global health, and education. Join us and learn how to utilize communications, branding, and marketing strategies to inform and strengthen the work your project or center is doing in critical areas like student recruitment, outreach, and project dissemination.
Workshop E: Stories of Impact: Meaningful and Efficient Qualitative Evaluation
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $75 (includes box lunch)
First-hand accounts from students and faculty served by ATE projects can lend powerful evidence of impact. Many find evaluations most credible when numbers and stories are combined. However, qualitative analysis can feel time-consuming and nearly impossible on smaller evaluation budgets. In this workshop, participants will learn about methods for rapid qualitative analysis, practice different coding techniques, and discuss the use of technology such as AI to make qualitative analysis more efficient and meaningful. This interactive workshop is designed for ATE evaluators, PIs, and project staff looking to integrate qualitative methods into low-resourced evaluations.
Workshop F: “Simple” Math in Industrial Contexts – Why is it so Hard?
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: Complimentary; but advance registration required. A box lunch is provided.
Through site visits, interviews, document reviews, and survey research the Needed Math Project has explored the mathematical skills and understandings required by two-year college educated technicians employed in the manufacturing sector. While the mathematical operations performed by technicians rarely venture beyond basic math skills, the problems technicians routinely encounter are embedded in semantically rich real-world contexts that can make them challenging for many in the workforce. This workshop will present participants with realistic, industry-driven scenarios and collaboratively unpack them to reveal the mathematical competencies that underlie them. During the workshop, the project team will share research results related to the most important mathematics competencies manufacturing technicians need to know and will actively engage small groups of participants in working through scenario examples on their own to evolve strategies for implementing curriculum that meets identified industry needs. Participants will take away examples of scenarios— useful in contextualizing instruction and in stimulating discussion at advisory board meetings—that situate mathematical ideas and practices in several manufacturing domains.