Exploring the Proposition of a Joint Conference Between State Science, and Technology and Engineering Education Associations

One of the key sessions presented at the co-located 2012 Mississippi Valley Technology Teacher Education Conference (MVTTEC) and Southeast Technology Education Conference (STEC) held in Nashville, Tennessee was Perspectives of the Future of Technology Education Professional Associations (Busby, 2012). Three reasons affecting declining conference attendance were highlighted: demographics, technology, and the economy. Professional teacher association conferences are a yearly gathering of members, whether at the state, national or international level. Joint or collaborative conferences occur when more than one professional association decides to join forces with another association to hold a combined conference. The organizations make these decisions at the board level and in conjunction with other organizations with similar or overlapping content. In 2013, the boards of the Technology and Engineering Educator Association of Maryland (TEEAM) and the Maryland Association of Science Teachers (MAST) decided to hold a joint annual professional development conference after years of declining attendance (Figure 1) and low vendor participation (Figure 2). The overlapping content shared by the two organizations was Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or STEM, and their intersecting mission was to promote and deliver STEM to Maryland students. The result of this decision was an increase in overall attendance and a 30 percent increase in total vendor participation.