July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Leading the way (03/14/07)
By By JENNIFER TARTER-
A new program at area schools is helping to point students toward careers in engineering.
Project Lead the Way allows high school and middle school students to take pre-engineering courses which focus on hands-on projects and real world problem solving activities.
An introduction to engineering design class began in August at Fort Recovery High School. Students participating in this year long class, work with 3-D computer modeling software, solve design problems using information they take from product models and learn the design process.
A similar program is set to begin this fall at Jay County and Fort Recovery Middle School.
According to the PLTW website, the program hopes to reduce the country's high-tech staffing shortage at U.S. industries by looking to schools to produce a new generation of engineers.
PLTW is set up to allow students to take one class each of the four years students are in high school.
FRHS sophomore Brent Faller wishes that program would have come one year sooner so that he could have completed all four years of classes.
The sophomore is enjoying his first engineering-based class and thinks that the class is a lot better than technology classes he took as a freshman at the school.
"We do a bunch of projects," Faller said, adding that his class designed a desktop organizer and a three-dimensional puzzle similar to a Rubik's Cube. He plans to continue in the program while at FRHS and major in an engineering field in college.
At JCHS, industrial technology teacher and vocational department chair Craig Campbell said that students are currently signing up for PLTW.
"We are gearing (PLTW) towards (incoming) freshmen," said Campbell, who he gave a presentation on PLTW to students and their parents recently during eighth grade orientation.
The corporation is also working on securing grants from Area 18 Career and Technology Education and other outside sources.
The programs at FRHS and middle school were made possible by a grant from the Ohio Department of Education, said Norman Leugers, PLTW and industrial technology teacher at FRHS. This grant also funds a week long camp that will be held this summer for FRMS students interested in engineering.
Both Campbell and Leugers will attend a two-week training course this summer to prepare them to teach the PLTW classes this fall.
This fall FRHS students already participating in PLTW can take a class on the principals of engineering. During the third year in the program, students will take a computer integrated manufacturing class and seniors will take engineering design and development.
"During this class, seniors will be given a real world problem to solve," Leugers said.
Students will solve the problem and give a presentation to an advisory committee of teachers and area business leaders on their solution. During the early stages of planning, Leugers met with officials at St. Henry High School in Ohio.
Officials from the two schools along with help from Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio worked together to create an advisory committee of business leaders and teachers from Mercer and Auglaize counties.
Currently, Leugers has 28 students in PLTW in grades 9 through 12. The class is split with about half of the students being underclassmen and half upperclassmen. Students who are on a college bound track and have the required science and math background are chosen to participate in the PLTW, Leugers said.
"Typically we score really well on the Ohio Graduation Test in math and science and we wanted to take advantage of that," Leugers said.
"The kids really enjoy (the computer software) because it's current. We have always offered the industrial technology classes," Leugers said. He added that students that are not interested in PLTW can still take technical drawing, woodworking and some computer based technology class work.
"We will continue to offer these courses," he said adding that enrollment in these classes fell this year after PLTW was offered at the school.
"We're not taking away from (vocational technology). We are teaching a cross curriculum for math and science to prepare students for a post-secondary education," Campbell said about PLTW at JCHS.
PLTW also offered FRHS students the opportunity to attend Engineering Day at Sinclair Community College on Feb. 23.
Leugers said students attended approximately 10 presentations on different areas of engineering including environmental, mechanical and electrical.
"It got them out to see what an engineer does and learn about the educational opportunities at a two-year school," Leugers said.[[In-content Ad]]
Project Lead the Way allows high school and middle school students to take pre-engineering courses which focus on hands-on projects and real world problem solving activities.
An introduction to engineering design class began in August at Fort Recovery High School. Students participating in this year long class, work with 3-D computer modeling software, solve design problems using information they take from product models and learn the design process.
A similar program is set to begin this fall at Jay County and Fort Recovery Middle School.
According to the PLTW website, the program hopes to reduce the country's high-tech staffing shortage at U.S. industries by looking to schools to produce a new generation of engineers.
PLTW is set up to allow students to take one class each of the four years students are in high school.
FRHS sophomore Brent Faller wishes that program would have come one year sooner so that he could have completed all four years of classes.
The sophomore is enjoying his first engineering-based class and thinks that the class is a lot better than technology classes he took as a freshman at the school.
"We do a bunch of projects," Faller said, adding that his class designed a desktop organizer and a three-dimensional puzzle similar to a Rubik's Cube. He plans to continue in the program while at FRHS and major in an engineering field in college.
At JCHS, industrial technology teacher and vocational department chair Craig Campbell said that students are currently signing up for PLTW.
"We are gearing (PLTW) towards (incoming) freshmen," said Campbell, who he gave a presentation on PLTW to students and their parents recently during eighth grade orientation.
The corporation is also working on securing grants from Area 18 Career and Technology Education and other outside sources.
The programs at FRHS and middle school were made possible by a grant from the Ohio Department of Education, said Norman Leugers, PLTW and industrial technology teacher at FRHS. This grant also funds a week long camp that will be held this summer for FRMS students interested in engineering.
Both Campbell and Leugers will attend a two-week training course this summer to prepare them to teach the PLTW classes this fall.
This fall FRHS students already participating in PLTW can take a class on the principals of engineering. During the third year in the program, students will take a computer integrated manufacturing class and seniors will take engineering design and development.
"During this class, seniors will be given a real world problem to solve," Leugers said.
Students will solve the problem and give a presentation to an advisory committee of teachers and area business leaders on their solution. During the early stages of planning, Leugers met with officials at St. Henry High School in Ohio.
Officials from the two schools along with help from Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio worked together to create an advisory committee of business leaders and teachers from Mercer and Auglaize counties.
Currently, Leugers has 28 students in PLTW in grades 9 through 12. The class is split with about half of the students being underclassmen and half upperclassmen. Students who are on a college bound track and have the required science and math background are chosen to participate in the PLTW, Leugers said.
"Typically we score really well on the Ohio Graduation Test in math and science and we wanted to take advantage of that," Leugers said.
"The kids really enjoy (the computer software) because it's current. We have always offered the industrial technology classes," Leugers said. He added that students that are not interested in PLTW can still take technical drawing, woodworking and some computer based technology class work.
"We will continue to offer these courses," he said adding that enrollment in these classes fell this year after PLTW was offered at the school.
"We're not taking away from (vocational technology). We are teaching a cross curriculum for math and science to prepare students for a post-secondary education," Campbell said about PLTW at JCHS.
PLTW also offered FRHS students the opportunity to attend Engineering Day at Sinclair Community College on Feb. 23.
Leugers said students attended approximately 10 presentations on different areas of engineering including environmental, mechanical and electrical.
"It got them out to see what an engineer does and learn about the educational opportunities at a two-year school," Leugers said.[[In-content Ad]]
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