PLTW Engineering Scholars

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. This is a required course for this major. 

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.