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Project Helps Teens see Relevance of Math and Science
Many Wisconsin teens are discovering first-hand engineering
and technology and the important roles they play in our everyday lives. These
light-bulb moments are occurring in classes such as Intro to Engineering and
Civil Engineering, taken in middle or high schools across the state. The
schools - more than 100 -- are participating in Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a
nonprofit program that's helping stem the nation's ever-growing shortage of
engineers.
MSOE, the National Affiliate University
for PLTW in the state, has been involved in the program since 2004, as has a
major proponent, the Kern Family Foundation. The program has grown
exponentially - 3,400% - the fourth-highest number in the country.
PLTW offers
middle- and high-school curricula that, when combined with college preparatory
mathematics and science courses, is a terrific introduction to the scope, rigor
and discipline that engineering and engineering technology programs require.
Benefit to Students,
High Schools
The fact
that the program shows students how the information they're learning will be
used later on is significant. Because of its hands-on approach to learning, the
program touches a wide array of students, many of whom normally wouldn't have
considered engineering or a technical field. PLTW students have performed
better than their college-prep counterparts in National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments.
It is a
good program from the engineering university's perspective, but the NAEP data
showed the benefit to high schools as well. PLTW students outscored their peers
in math, science and even reading, which says a lot about the comprehensive
nature of the program.
How Teachers Get
Involved
The
program's critical component is the comprehensive teacher-training model. Hundreds of teachers have come to the MSOE campus for intensive,
two-week training programs using PLTW-trained master teachers and professors,
teacher idea exchanges and conferences for guidance counselors.
Results that Show
Nationally, more than 1,400 schools in 50 states and District of Columbia now participate in PLTW and it has improved the math, science and reading skills of participants as compared to students in traditional four-year, pre-college programs. Also, there is compelling data that students who take three or more PLTW courses are better prepared for the rigors of college engineering and engineering technology academics and persist through to graduation. Nationally, 50 percent of college freshmen entering engineering programs fail to earn an engineering degree; PLTW students persist in the range of 80 percent or more.
