Pre-Engineering Curriculum Makes Science Interesting

By Anonymous

Grades 6-12

A successful engineering curriculum is being taught at 92 middle and high schools throughout Wisconsin. The pre-engineering curriculum, Project Lead the Way, is available to schools nationwide. Wisconsin now has the fourth highest level of participation in the nation, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

John Farrow, a professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the state affiliate director of Project Lead the Way told the Sentinel, “Project Lead the Way is the first national pre- engineering program that’s had any real sustainability.” The curriculum was first adopted and maintained for at least two years at high schools throughout Wisconsin. Then, because the hope is that interested students would want to continue their engineering education in high school, the curriculum was later introduced at the middle school level.

This curriculum gives many schools the resources to produce future engineers and skilled workers. An added benefit is the increased interest and participation in engineering fields among girls.

Charles Harris, lead instructor for Project Lead the Way, particularly enjoys seeing girls master science and math skills. “Recently, I had a group of them replicate what they had measured on a piece of graph paper. Basically, I wanted them to take a onedimensional object they had sketched and make it a real three- dimensional object…They kept saying, ‘I can’t do it!’ But with a little gentle prodding, they got the hang of it and had that light- bulb moment: ‘I understand it.’ That’s what I like to see and that’s what I’ve heard across the board.”

For more information on starting Project Lead the Way at your school, visit the non-profit organization’s website at: www.pltw.org/ index.html.

Copyright WD&S Publishing Apr 2007

(c) 2007 Curriculum Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.