ATEC Academy - Spring 2025

Part 147 schools cite the availability of qualified instructors as a top challenge to growing their programs. Difficulty finding and retaining instructors (in both education and industry settings) is becoming more acute as technical workforce demand increases. Schools are arguably hit the hardest when faced with industry competition (and associated salaries) for the same talent. A new initiative aims to tackle the shortage of aviation instructors by aiding professionals transitioning to the classroom and addressing challenges programs have to retain new educators with minimal teaching experience.

A significant number of new educators transition directly from industry, with minimal or no prior teaching experience. Training programs may not have the resources to adequately train these instructors or lack orientation programs that specifically address teaching methodologies and best practices. Consequently, new instructors often find themselves unprepared for the challenges of teaching and must learn on the job.

To assist recently appointed instructors to overcome challenges they’ll encounter in the classroom, ATEC has launched the ATEC Academy. The Academy’s third professional development course will kick off March  in Norman, Oklahoma, and then seamlessly transition to a virtual environment throughout the fall of 2024, culminating in a safe landing in November 2024.

This three-month course is designed to provide comprehensive training in active teaching strategies, student behavior management, assessment and evaluation methods, lesson planning, and current trends in higher education, with a specific focus on teaching technology. While the course was built with the new educator in mind, it can also be a resource for industry training personnel and seasoned instructors that want to learn new techniques or take information back to staff and colleagues.

Trainees will benefit from the face-to-face two-day session and subsequent virtual classes. In addition to class attendance, instructors will engage in assignments tailored to enhance their teaching skills and interactions with students. Recognizing the significant investments made by aviation maintenance programs in their instructor hiring practices, this immersive approach aims to improve student and instructor retention and persistence rates.

Leverage the ATEC Academy to provide your new instructors with a clear runway to success!

ATEC Academy: Professional Development for New Educators

Part I – “Take-off,” Saturday, March 15

• 8am: Welcome and Introductions
  • Facilitators
  • Individual Academy Enrollees Ice Breaker

• 9am: Rationale for the Academy
  • Review of Academy Syllabus
    • Log in – Google Class
    • Sign Up for Remind
  • Explanation of Assignments and Expectations
  • Discussion of “What Makes a Good Teacher”
    • Padlet

• 10am: Break

• 10:15: Pedagogy – The Nuts & Bolts of Teaching
  • Continuation of “What Makes a Good Teacher” Discussion
  • Creating a Culture of Learning
  • Planning Your Semester or Module of Teaching and Learning
  • Lecture/Theory Lesson Planning 101

• 12pm: Lunch Break

• 1pm: Pedagogy – The Nuts & Bolts of Teaching
  • Lesson Planning 101, continued
  • Assessment 101 – Formative and Summative Assessment Techniques

• 2:30pm: Break

• 2:45: Introduction to Interactive Teaching
  • Multiple Intelligence Theory
  • Student Learning Preferences

• 4pm: Reflections and Adjourn for the Day

Part I – “Take-off,” Sunday, March 16

• 8am: Welcome and Ice-Breaker

• 8:30: Interactive Teaching, Continued – Keeping Students Engaged
  • Active Teaching Techniques and Collaborative Learning
  • Life By PowerPoint
  • Enhancing Lecture Time with Nearpod

• 10am: Break

• 10:15: Lesson Planning for The Shop/Hangar
  • Transition from Lecture to Shop/Hangar
  • Creating the Plan for Teaching in a Shop/Hangar

• 12pm: Lunch Break

• 1pm: Hands On Activity: Implementing the Shop/Hangar Lesson Plan

• 2:30: Reflections and Reaching Altitude
  • Thoughts and Questions
    • Padlet
  • Looking Ahead – Surveying the Skies

Adjourn at 3pm

Part II – “Cruising at Altitude”

Faculty enrolled in the ATEC Academy will return to their home campuses, post ATEC Conference, where they will be expected to build on the knowledge and skills obtained during the ATEC Academy “Take Off” sessions held on March 16 and 17.  Over the next three months, faculty will be required to complete several assignments, attend two full cohort virtual meetings, record themselves teaching a 45 minute lesson, and meet with the ATEC Academy facilitator for an individual check-in at least one time.  The requirements and potential meeting dates are listed below:

Meeting at Altitude, Full Class

• Monday, March 31, 2025, 12pm (EST) – Virtual One-Hour Session – Educational Apps and Technology
• Monday, April 21, 2025, 12pm (EST) – Virtual One-Hour Session – Managing Student Behavior
• Monday, May 12, 2025, 12pm (EST) – Virtual One-Hour Session – Developing Effective Rubrics

Assignments

• Classroom Observation Report

Each enrollee will observe a peer at their respective institution and prepare a one-page report in which the instruction is described and analyzed. 

• Interview Report

Each enrollee will interview an aviation maintenance instructor who has taught for at least ten years.  The enrollee will ask questions related to teaching experiences, student behavior management, assessment and evaluation, communication, student engagement, and general successes and challenges.  The enrollee will then develop a two-page report summarizing what they learned from the interview.

• Recorded Lesson

Each enrollee will record a 30-minute lesson and submit the recording along with the lesson plan used for the lesson.

• Monthly Reflections

Each enrollee will submit a one-page reflection in which they describe their teaching experiences and what they are learning from those experiences.  Each attendee will meet with the ATEC Academy facilitator to review one reflection in a virtual meeting.

Part III – “The Safe Landing”

By the middle of November, with all assignments completed and assignments submitted and evaluated, we will have our second ATEC Academy Graduates.