Each summer, faculty from the Eastern Michigan University College of Technology trains regional high school and middle school teachers in the national Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum.
The PLTW curriculum offers 6 courses to middle school students and 8 courses to high school students to help teach them science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with the aim of preparing these students for college courses and future careers in engineering.
“The teachers are learning a framework for success for students in STEM careers,” said Alvin Tessmer, EMU’s co-coordinator for PLTW.
- Gateway to Technology (Two Sessions) - Middle School
- Principles of Engeneering - High School
- Introduction to Engineering Design - High School
- Digital Electronics - High School
- Enginnering Design and Development - High School
GTT Class
As part of their training to teach the “Principles of Engineering” course to their students, the middle school and high school teachers built a working vehicle from Legos and sensors, learned about force and motion by using a stress analyzer, applied trigonometry and linear algebra to solving real-world problems, and learned how to create PowerPoint presentations of their experiments.
“The teachers said it was ‘the most in-depth greatest time they ever had’,” added Dr. Phil Cardon, an EMU associate professor of technology education and another EMU co-coordinator for PLTW.
“We’re providing a series of activities and projects that will help kids take ownership of their education,” Tessmer said. “As a result, it will put more rigor in their work and they will find more relevance in it.”
“We want these teachers empowered and the kids they teach to be empowered,” Tessmer concluded.