Overview of Practicum

The Engineering & Technology Academy (ETA) is a program offered at Doherty Memorial High School for everyone within the Worcester Public Schools District, no matter the distance. Students apply into the program before the start of their high school career, and are in the program throughout their four years at Doherty. Throughout my teaching practicum, I took over two Project Lead the Way (PLTW) classes: Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and Civil Engineering & Architecture (CEA), totalling 4 periods and 56 students. Both of these classes are offered to juniors and seniors within the ETA, and if students pass a final exam, they are eligible to receive college credit through Rochester Institute of Technology, the parent university of PLTW.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing is a PLTW course designed to build upon students’ knowledge of Computer Aided Design (CAD) through manufacturing processes such as Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) milling, 3D printing, and VEX robotics. Students use software such as Inventor, CNC Motion, VCarve, ROBOTC, and FlowArm within projects such as creating a factory line, a nameplate, or a set of coasters. I taught 3 classes with 36 students in total (15 students in period 2, 15 students in period 6, and 6 students in period 7). The main objectives of the course were to expand on a student’s knowledge of manufacturing and give them hands-on experience. As it was a project-based class, students were given various projects throughout the year, in which a day or two was spent on introductory material, several days for the project (if not weeks), and a day or two to write in their engineering notebooks or create a report.

Civil Engineering & Architecture is a PLTW course designed to introduce students to aspects of building and site design and development through the creation of residential and commercial projects. Students use the Revit software in order to create an affordable house and commercial buildings. Students also learn the mathematics behind water supply, applied forces on beams, and other topics relevant to CEA. I taught a class of 20 students. The main objectives of the course were to expand on a student’s knowledge of civil engineering and give them hands-on experience. As it was a project-based class, students were given various projects throughout the year, in which a day or two was spent on introductory material, several days for the project (if not weeks), and a day or two to write in their engineering notebooks or create a report.