NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
5/6/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - The Northwestern State University Department of Engineering Technology hosted a conference Monday to explore the possibility of implementing a program that could provide Louisiana middle and high school students with accessibility to engineering classes. The program, Project Lead the Way, requires partnerships between schools, a university affiliate and industry to expose students who excel in math and science to engineering as a possible career path.
In an opening statement, NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb said that the United States needs a “Sputnik-type” stimulus to engage students in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), before the U.S. is overtaken by China and India as the world’s economic leader.
According to PLTW Director of State and Corporate Relations Pat Leaveck, the program targets students seeking careers in engineering, engineering technology and the biomedical field as well as those who plan to attend community colleges. In some cases, students can earn articulated college credit for completing the classes. There are currently about 300,000 students participating nationwide.
Teachers certified to instruct the classes and school counselors must complete a rigorous two-week summer training workshop and be committed to the success of the project, advocates said. The program’s university affiliate must support school staff, maintain on-going program evaluation and serve as an advocate to legislators and industry. The university affiliate is also required to accommodate the annual two-week teacher training workshop.
“The school projects compliment the traditional curriculum,” Leaveck said. “The focus is problem-based learning. Students do authentic real world work and may work in teams. Students learn real world skills.”
The cost of implementing the program can range from as little as $10,000 to as much as $90,000 per high school or $60,000 for a middle school, depending on the school’s existing facilities and equipment. Some grant funding, appropriations or industry support may be available to cover the cost of equipment and software.
The program has been successful in several school districts around the country, including the Arlington, Texas, Independent School District, where the program is supported by the local aerospace manufacturing industry.
“It takes a long pipeline of educators to produce STEM people. If we are going to produce people, we can’t produce them overnight. If we are going to be successful as a nation, we have to foster this link between secondary and post-secondary education,” said Dr. Phil Brown, assistant professor of Engineering Technology at NSU, a key organizer of the conference.
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