CTE — integrating teaching with real-world experience

A former technology education teacher in Guilford County Schools, Dr. Jerianne Taylor is professor of career and technical education (CTE) in Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education. She is program director for Appalachian’s CTE undergraduate degree and its six concentrations.

Appalachian’s CTE program has a long-standing commitment to excellence in CTE teacher preparation and is well-respected at the local, state, national and international levels.

Appalachian’s CTE program is “a community of practice committed to furthering the education and development of our students through real-world experiences.”

Dr. Jerianne Taylor, CTE undergraduate program director

What excites you, motivates you or otherwise inspires you about CTE as a degree field?

The opportunities! This is a degree that is user friendly but still based on the needs of business and industry. Career and Technical Education is a hot topic now in education and industry because of the “skills gap” that exists. Finally we have a degree that connects the dots of technical skills, business foundations and soft skills.

Why did you choose to come to Appalachian to teach?

I have been at Appalachian for over 10 years now and started out in what is now the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment. As a teacher educator, I realized that Appalachian was intentional in its efforts to integrate teaching with real-world experiences.

What is your research specialty and how does it fit into and/or strengthen your teaching?

My research focuses on STEM-related competitions and career and technical student organizations (CTSOs). As future CTE teachers, our students are expected to understand the importance of their specific CTSO and integrate it into the classroom. My research has shown the value and importance of the competitions in CTSOs and how they impact students and their future career choices.

I am able to share my experience and research with our students through our methods and management courses. For our Workforce concentration students, research has shown what business and industry are looking for in the workforce of tomorrow. Relationships established through CTSOs and work-based learning experiences will help them as they transition to the world of work and into new roles in their chosen fields.

What do you hope students take away from the classes you teach?

To love learning. The value and importance of Career and Technical Education. Finally, that their CTE faculty are always there for them as a resource.

Why should a student interested in becoming a CTE major choose Appalachian?

We are a community of practice committed to furthering the education and development of our students through real-world experiences connected to Career and Technical Education.

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls approximately 2,400 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, Appalachian enrolls about 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.