Drive CTE with Penn State: Recent Episodes
Maria Border & Jeffrey Matu
Drive CTE podcasts explore topics aimed to help instructors, counselors, and administrators improve Career and Technical Education (CTE) in middle, secondary, and postsecondary schools. The recordings feature research and expert practitioners who offer advice, best practices, and lessons learned on different topics each month. Unlike a webinar, conference presentation, or class discussion, the podcasts are designed for the audience to participate as you listen to your car radio at the beginning or end of the school day. Drive CTE by downloading this podcast today.
In this episode, four instructors share their thoughts about helping students become more aware about the world outside the local community and region. Instructors share their teaching strategies that assist students to have a globally connected mindset.
Resources and Links:CTE Without Borders Policy PlaybookGlobal Models of Career PathwaysGeneration Global The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship
Artificial Intelligence is here to stay! In this episode Beate Brunow and Larkin Hood from Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Excellence, share practical information and insight to assist educators to begin exploring the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
This episode includes:
- artificial intelligence explained
- common artificial intelligence platforms
- prompt engineering basics
- common uses for artificial intelligence
- challenges for using artificial intelligence
- advice for getting started with artificial intelligence platforms
Episode Resources and Links:
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Microsoft Bing/Copilot
Google Bard/Gemini
AI Prompt Library (AI for Education)
In this episode we interview Mrs. Dodie Amigh to learn about best practices for infusing CTE Curriculum and Daily lessons with leadership and hands on competencies from SkillsUSA and other CTSO's
Dodie is the Executive Director of Pennsylvania SkillsUSA, and she shares her wisdom and strategies to help teachers integrate SkillsUSA into their every day lessons to help students overcome challenges and create life-changing opportunities. She also shares her advice for preparing students to be successful in competition and offers insight about the many ways a student may be involved in SkillsUSA.
Click HERE to access the Pa SkillsUSA site
Click HERE to access the Advantage Report
Click HERE to access the SkillsUSA Facebook Page
Click HERE to access the SkillsUSA Instagram Page
THANKS FOR DRIVING WITH US!
In this episode we interview Lisa Lundy to learn about her emotional processing model and workbook. Lisa describes how teachers may use the emotional processing model and workbook as a tool to help students manage their emotions and promote student engagement and well being in the classroom.
Lisa A. Lundy has been a member of the Newsweek Expert Forum since 2022, an invitation-only community for pioneering thinkers and industry leaders. She was hand-selected to join the Newsweek Expert Forum based on her proven expertise in the health and wellness field and is part of a curated network of thought leaders from various industries and professions. As a Newsweek Expert Forum member, she has published many articles on the Newsweek.com website. She is the author of Love.Life.™ A Handbook for Being Well Loved, Happy & Healthy, and Love.Life. ™ Allergy & Gluten Free Cookbook, a dynamic public speaker, podcaster, blogger and YouTuber whose content is about helping people, businesses and organizations be empowered, happy and productive even when life is hard.
To access Lisa Lundy's resources and podcasts click - HERE
To access the Emotional Processing Model and Workbook click HERE
To learn more about how to use emotional vocabulary, click HERE
In this episode, we examine how schools and school districts can help students from military families achieve and thrive in the classroom, and we speak with Retd. Col. Eugene L. McFeely about strategies educators can use to ease transition to a new school for students from military families.
Additional resources –
Military Cultural Competency Training (only for Penn State users) - please send email to elm101@psu.edu
Psych/Armor - https://psycharmor.org/
Military One Source - https://www.militaryonesource.mil/family-relationships/
Employer Support to Guard and Reserve - https://www.esgr.mil/
Local National Guard Unit or Military Base Outreach
Military & Family Readiness Center/Military & Family Support Center
Guest Speaker Profile –
Retd. Col. Eugene L. McFeelyis the Senior Director for Veterans Affairs and Services at Penn State University. He previously was a Penn State professor of aerospace studies and commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 720. Before joining Penn State, he was director of operations at Air Force Central Command at Shaw Air Force Base.
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). Students from Military Families and the Classroom Support CTE Programs Can Offer Them (No. 09) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, we explore how CTE programs can thrive in a multi-generational workplace, and we speak with Phyllis Weiss Haserot about how to organize cross-generational conversations to avoid conflict and create possibilities in a multigenerational workplace.
Additional resources –PODCAST GENERATIONAL CHALLENGE ACTIVITY- EVENT INSTRUCTIONS
Practice Development Counsel: Cross generational resources – http://www.pdcounsel.com/about-us/how-I-became-the-cross-generational-voice/
Guest speaker profile –
Phyllis Weiss Haserot promotes intergenerational workplace relationships to boost productivity, customer and employee attractiveness and retention, succession planning, and knowledge transfer. She founded Cross-Generational Conversation Day and Practice Development Counsel 25 years ago.
Through seminars, conferences, webcasts, blogging, Cross-Generational Conversation forums, and monthly newsletters, Phyllis has become a "go-to" expert on workplace intergenerational challenges. She helps firms resolve complex challenges between generations by blending marketing, conflict resolution, and intergenerational workplace success. She's a pioneer in law firm marketing/business development and helps firms with retention, lateral integration, strategic marketing planning, flexibility, and collaboration.
Phyllis is the author of "You Can't Google it! The Power of Cross-Generational Conversation at Work" and is a regular blogger on intergenerational issues for Forbes.com, Next Avenue, the Huffington Post, AccountingWEB, and the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute blog.
To cite the podcast –M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). How to CTE teachers prepare and organize their classroom for a new school year (No. 08) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, we will learn how CTE teachers prepare and organize their classroom for a new school year, we speak with some teachers about what they do over the summer to prepare themselves and their classrooms for another year of teaching and learning.
Here are the questions that were asked of each teacher about their perspectives on effective ways for CTE teachers to prepare for the upcoming school year.
- How and what do you do to prepare yourself for the upcoming school year?
- What are the activities and strategies you use during the first week of school to engage your students and prepare them for a successful school year?
- How and what things do you do to involve parents at the beginning of the school year
- How do you involve the upperclassmen or higher levels of students to help your new students assimilate to their new classroom?
Guest Speaker Profile –
Nelleke Beats -Health Instructor, McCaskey East High School
Justin Breen -Electromechanical Technology Instructor, Lebanon County CTC
Nina Eckert -Dental Assisting Instructor, Lebanon County CTC
Crist Fellman -Public Health and Safety, Huntingdon County CTC
Mindi Tobias -Dental Assisting Instructor, Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science & Technology (CPI)
Additional resources –
ACTE – Preparing CTE Teachers for Re-Engaging with Students in the Fall
To cite the podcast –M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). How to CTE teachers prepare and organize their classroom for a new school year (No. 07) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, Importance of Student Voices in CTE Programs, we cover student comments shared by teachers in which students discuss how CTCs could improve their learning experience in their schools. Better food in the cafeteria, improved sanitation, administration and community respect, parking permits, and much more are among the comments. How can CTCs use student voices to improve and enrich the educational experience?
Additional resources –
Student-Led School Improvement - http://www.whatkidscando.org/studentvoicerubric/pdf/Student-Led%20School%20Improvement.pdf
Meaningful Student Involvement: A Guide to Inclusive School Change -https://soundoutorg.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/79dca-msi_guide_to_inclusive_school_change.pdf
Guest speaker profile –
Anonymous CTE student comments
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). Importance of student voices in CTE programs (No. 06) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, Improving Student Mental Health Support in CTE Programs, we speak with Ms. Monica McCarty about how CTE programs can improve mental health support for students who are experiencing mental health challenges. Ms. McCarty works as a School Outreach Specialist at Blast IU 17 and is primarily responsible for supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and other IU initiatives.
DISCLAIMER: This episode contains discussion of sensitive and potentially upsetting topics, including mental health disorders and suicide.
Additional resources –
PDE Mental Health Resources - https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/MentalHealth/Pages/Resources.aspx
STAR-Center Postvention Standards Manual: A Guide for a School’s Response in the Aftermath of Sudden Death, Fifth Edition - https://www.starcenter.pitt.edu/manuals/manual-descriptions
QPR Training for Youth Guidelines: Policies and Procedures -https://qprinstitute.com/uploads/instructor/QPR-Training-for-Youth-Guidelines-2019.pdf
Guest speaker profile –
Monica McCarty, MEd, is a school psychologist and counselor who advises schools on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as wellness. Ms. McCarty also consults with schools on how to support and monitor students' well-being in order to improve student mental health support in CTE programs.
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). Improving student mental health support in CTE programs (No. 05) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Ways to promote DEI in our schools and the classroom, we speak with Dr. Seria Chatters to get her views on preparing teachers for DEI and ways to promote DEI in education. Dr. Chatters currently serves as the Director of Equity and Inclusivity at State College Area School District and teaches as an Assistant Professor at Penn State University and discusses ways to support DEI in the classroom and the schools.
Additional resources –Beloved Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Standards - https://www.wearebeloved.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-standards
Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) Equity Audit Toolkit - https://maec.org/resource/equity-audit-materials/
Learning for Justice DEI Resources - https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain - https://crtandthebrain.com/book/
Project Implicit- https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Racial Equity Tools- https://www.racialequitytools.org/
National Equity Project- https://www.nationalequityproject.org/?gclid=CjwKCAiA6seQBhAfEiwAvPqu12WkT62NMOxLG_dCatloqca_iH5knOAxDlLDx-E_HvdPu5vIm9mKiRoCbJMQAvD_BwE
Radical Accessibility | SeriaShia Chatters | TEDxPSU- https://youtu.be/SovnJoCt5Ws
Guest speaker profile –
Dr. Seria Chatters serves as the Director of Diversity and Inclusivity at State College Area School District and oversees the district’s ongoing efforts to meet the district's Climate/Inclusive Excellence Policy goals. Dr. Chatters is also an assistant professor in Penn State’s Department of Educational Psychology. Her research interests focus on the impact of diversity on interpersonal violence, focusing on the prevention of bullying and harassment in secondary, postsecondary, and work settings.
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Ways to promote DEI in our schools and the classroom (No. 04) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, How CTE can leverage social media to recruit students and build relationships with the community, we speak with Mr. Michael Katch to get his views on using social media in CTE.
Mr. Katch shares his perspective on why social media is important for CTE student recruitment/retention and how it can support building and sustaining community relationships.
Additional resources –ACTE - Social Media Advocacy
Final Site.com- School Social Media Examples
Maryland Public Schools: Social Media How To Guide
Piper Jaffray - Taking Stock with Teens Survey, 2019
PACTA – Using social media for student recruitment and retention (2016)
Advance CTE – Promoting Career Technical Education: Social Media Guide (2021)
Guest speaker profile –
Michael Katch is a career and technical education (CTE) educator and advocator with over twenty years of experience in CTE education and administration. Mr. Katch serves as a Career and Technical Distinguished School Leader for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, where he provides expertise and leadership to assist career and technical centers in identifying instructional or systematic barriers and critical gaps to improving student and school achievement.
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2022). How CTE can leverage social media to recruit/retain students and build relationships with the community (No. 03) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
In this episode, Parental involvement beyond the phone call: A teacher and parent’s perspective (part 2), we speak with some teachers and parents to get their views about parental involvement in CTE.
Cathy Melius- Cosmetology Instructor, Bedford County CTC, Brian Peffley- Pastry Arts Instructor, Lebanon County CTC, and Eli Martin- Electromechanical Engineering Instructor, Lancaster County CTC share their thoughts about the benefits of parental involvement in their classroom and the importance of parental involvement from a teacher’s perspective.
Two parents share their thoughts about the importance of parental involvement from their perspective and why they are involved in the children’s CTE program.
Additional resources –Wakelet : https://wke.lt/w/s/IR0_55
Advance CTE report – Communicating career technical education (CTE): Learners-centered messages for effective program recruitment
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Parent and family engagement: Title 1 local education agency and school parent and family engagement policy checklist
To cite the podcast –
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2021). Parental involvement beyond the phone call: A teacher and parent’s perspective (part 2) (No. 02) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.
Parental involvement beyond the phone call - why involving parents in CTE programs is important for student success from a director's perspective with Mr. Terry Miller and Dr. Daniel Potutshnig.
What major factors contribute to or limit the success of your school's parental involvement? According to Joyce Epstein, there are six factors of parental involvement - parenting, communicating, volunteering, decision-making, and collaborating.
To learn more about Epstein's 6 factors of parental involvement and possibly utilize a survey to conduct your research on parental involvement, please refer to Mehmet Erdener article - "Principals' and Teachers' Practices about Parent Involvement in Schooling", and Dr. Cynthia Shaw' dissertation - "A Study of the Relationship of Parental Involvement to Student Achievement in a Pennsylvania Career and Technology Center" both articles as well as other resources can be found in the show notes for this episode. Specifically, Dr. Shaw's dissertation includes a survey located at the end of her paper that may help you analyze what type of Parental involvement you currently have in your classroom. The data you collect from the survey may benefit you as you move towards creating your very own parent classroom, your parent Association, or alumni Association.
Additional resources –
Additional resources including the Franklin County CTC: Student and Community Resource Guide can be accessed here.
Guest Speaker Profile –
Terry Miller is the current Assistant Director at the Franklin County CTC. He began his career as a 6th generation family owned masonry contractor and started teaching masonry at the Harrisburg Vocational Technical School in 1989. He became the Cooperative Education Coordinator in 2010 in Harrisburg and began working at the Franklin County CTC in 2014 as the Workforce Development Coordinator. He has a Master of Science in Workforce Development from Penn State.
Dr. Daniel Potutschnig joined the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology as Administrative Director in July of 2011. Previously, he was the Assistant Director of the Huntingdon County Career and Technology (HCCTC) from 2009 to 2011. As Assistant Director, Dr. Potutschnig provided leadership in the area of curriculum and instruction, teacher evaluation, professional development, facility management, and adult programming. Prior to HCCTC, Dr. Potutschnig was employed by the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI), as the Precision Machining Instructor from 2003 to 2009 where he obtained the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) accreditation for his program.
Dr. Potutschnig holds Pennsylvania Vocational II, Co-Operative Education, Principal, Vocational Director and Superintendent's Letter of Eligibility certifications. He received his Associate Degree in Machine Tool Technology from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from the Pennsylvania State University where he majored in Workforce Education and Development. He completed his Principal certification through St. Francis prior to earning his doctorate from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in May of 2019.
To cite the podcast -
M. Border & J. Matu (Hosts). (2021). Parental involvement beyond the phone call: A director’s perspective (part 1) (No. 01) [Audio podcast episode]. In Drive CTE with Penn State.