PLTW Engineering

Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Engineering is a nationally recognized program for high school students that helps students explore career and college programs in engineering and engineering technology. The program is aligned with many top engineering colleges and universities, and students who successfully pass a PLTW end-of-course exam will receive dual weighting. PLTW Engineering courses are based on real-world experience and are designed to develop students' skills in problem solving, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and more. Students apply engineering, science, math, and technology to solve complex, open-ended problems, focusing on the process of defining and solving problems rather than getting the "right" answer. All courses are offered at the honors-level, which means students will participate in an academically rigorous CTE major. 

Required Courses

PLTW Introduction to Engineering

Students dig deep into the engineering design process, applying math, science, and engineering standards to hands-on projects. They work both individually and in teams to design solutions to a variety of problems using 3D modeling software and document their work in an engineering notebook. This is a required course for this major. 

PLTW Principles of Engineering

Through problems that engage and challenge students, they explore a broad range of engineering topics including mechanisms, the strength of structures and materials, and automation. Students develop skills in problem solving, research, and design while learning strategies for design process documentation, collaboration, and presentation. This is a required course for this major. 

PLTW Civil Engineering and Architecture

Students learn important aspects of building and site design and development, applying math, science, and standard engineering practices to design both residential and commercial projects. They document designs using 3D architecture design software. Some students have seen these designs come to life through partnerships with local housing organizations. 

PLTW Capstone

PLTW Capstone is a capstone course for students who are completing any of PLTW’s high school programs. It is an open-ended research course in which students work in teams to design and develop an original solution to a well-defined and justified open-ended problem.

Teams draw on the knowledge, skills, and interests of each member, as they perform research to select, define, and justify a problem. Given this collaboration, team members leave the course with a broadened skillset and an appreciation for learning from their peers. After carefully defining the design requirements and creating multiple solution approaches, student teams select an approach, create, and test or model their solution prototype. As they progress through the problem-solving process, students work closely with experts and continually hone their organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills, creative and problem-solving abilities, and their understanding of the integration of processes such as the design process, experimental design, and the software development process. At the conclusion of the course, teams present and defend their original solution to an outside panel.

PLTW Capstone is appropriate for 12th grade students who are interested in any technical career path because the projects students work on can vary with student interest, and the curriculum focuses on collaborative problem solving and project management. Students should take PLTW Capstone as the final PLTW course, because it requires application of the knowledge and skills introduced during the PLTW foundation courses. This course is not designed to teach additional content, but to empower students to find resources—mentors, subject matter experts, research articles, peers, and teachers—to meet their needs, bolster their skills, and solve the problem they have selected. This is a required course for this major. 

Optional 4th Course

PLTW Computer Science Principles

Using Python® as a primary tool and incorporating multiple platforms and languages for computation, this course aims to develop computational thinking, generate excitement about career paths that utilize computing, and introduce professional tools that foster creativity and collaboration. While this course can be a student’s first in computer science, students without prior computing experience are encouraged to start with Computer Science Essentials. Computer Science Principles helps students develop programming expertise and explore the workings of the Internet. Projects and problems include app development, visualization of data, cybersecurity, and simulation. PLTW is recognized by the College Board as an endorsed provider of curriculum and professional development for AP® Computer Science Principles (AP CSP). This endorsement affirms that all components of PLTW CSP’s offerings are aligned to the AP Curriculum Framework standards and the AP CSP assessment.