Project Lead The Way (PLTW) provides transformative learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. PLTW creates an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empowers students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive.
Ed Coyle - edward.coyle@d303.org
Sean Finn - sean.finn@d303.org
Rob Harmon - robert.harmon@d303.org
Beth Custer - elizabeth.zeno@d303.org
Jason Briski - jason.briski@d303.org
Jen Blette - jennifer.blette@d303.org
Tom Battista - thomas.battista@d303.org
*Quarter Long Course
Computer Science for Innovators and Makers teaches students that programming goes beyond the virtual world into the physical world. Students are challenged to creatively use sensors and actuators to develop systems that interact with their environment. Designing algorithms and using computational thinking practices, they code and upload programs to microcontrollers that perform a variety of authentic tasks. The unit broadens students’ understanding of computer science concepts through meaningful applications. Teams select and solve a personally relevant problem related to wearable technology, interactive art, or mechanical devices.
*Quarter Long Course
This course presents the concept of “being green” to the next generation of designers and builders. In this unit, students are introduced to architectural plans, construction styles, alternative materials and processes, dimensioning, measuring and architectural sustainability. Students use a 3D architectural software program to create an environmentally friendly home using shipping containers.
*Quarter Long Course
Students explore robotics and automation as they take on the role of interns, and work in teams to create prototypes to meet the needs of clients. They build and analyze mechanical systems and automate them with programmed input and output devices.
*Quarter Long Course
In the Energy and the Environment Unit (EE), students are challenged to think big and look toward the future as they explore sustainable solutions to our energy needs and investigate the impact of energy on our lives and the world. They design and model alternative energy sources and evaluate options for reducing energy consumption.
*Quarter Long Course
The exciting world of aerospace comes alive through the Flight and Space (FS) unit. Students become engineers as they design, prototype, and test models to learn about the science of flight and what it takes to travel and live in space. They solve real-world aviation and space challenges and plan a mission to Mars.
*Quarter Long Course
Through hands-on projects, students explore electricity, the behavior and parts of atoms, and sensing devices in the Magic of Electrons (ME) unit. They learn knowledge and skills in basic circuitry design and examine the impact of electricity on the world around them.
*Quarter Long Course
Do you want to learn about what engineers do? Students will learn to think like an engineer and use the design process to solve problems. Students will spend time learning about how engineers communicate through the use of sketches and CAD models. Emphasis is placed on understanding how to record and document work in an engineer’s notebook. A majority of the projects require students to sketch, dimension, and create a CAD model for their solution to a problem.
*Quarter Long Course
This unit will expose students to computer science by computationally analyzing and developing solutions to authentic problems through mobile app development and will convey the positive impact of the application of computer science to other disciplines and society. Students will customize their experience by choosing a problem that interests them from the areas of health, environment, emergency preparedness, education, community service, and school culture. Because problems in the real world involve more than one discipline, the unit will introduce students to biomedical science concepts as they work on solutions for the specific problems they choose to tackle.
*Quarter Long Course
In this course, students play the role of real-life medical detectives as they collect and analyze medical data to diagnose diseases. They solve medical mysteries through hands-on projects and labs, measure and interpret vital signs, dissect a sheep brain, investigate disease outbreaks, and explore how a breakdown within the human body can lead to dysfunction.
*Year Long Course
*Prerequisite: Must have completed or concurrently enrolled in Algebra I
This course’s major focus is the design process and its application. Through hands-on projects, students apply engineering concepts and communicate their work. Students use industry-standard 3D modeling software to help them design solutions to solve proposed problems, document their work, and communicate their solutions to peers and members of the professional community. This course will be recorded on your high school transcript as an honors-level course.
*Quarter Long Course
In this course, students will learn valuable skills that can be used in the workplace and/or around the home. Students will learn various tools to design, build, and create projects. For the final project, students will measure, design, build, and race their own CO2 dragster.