Many states offer professional development opportunities for secondary CTE teachers, yet dedicated learning spaces for postsecondary CTE educators are often limited. This session shares the development and outcomes of Utah’s first statewide professional development summit designed specifically for postsecondary Career and Technical Education educators.
The Utah ACTE Postsecondary and Adult Continuing Education (PACE) division designed the summit to create space for educators to learn directly from one another through structured, small-group discussions rather than traditional conference presentations. The event is organized around facilitated roundtable conversations where educators share instructional practices, explore common challenges, and engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Participants will learn how the summit was structured to support meaningful dialogue, how facilitators guide conversations, and how discussion topics are selected to address issues that matter most to postsecondary CTE educators. Early outcomes and participant feedback from the inaugural event will also be shared. During the session, attendees will engage in brief discussion activities to experience elements of the roundtable approach and reflect on professional development needs within their own states or institutions. Participants will leave with practical ideas and a simple framework for creating educator-centered professional learning opportunities that emphasize peer learning, collaboration, and shared problem solving.
Participants will receive a planning framework, sample discussion prompts, and facilitation strategies that can be used to organize similar educator-focused professional learning events.
