Engineering education options have grown quickly

In 2005, years before STEM was the buzzword it is today, Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids became one of the first schools in Iowa to offer Project Lead The Way, a national science, technology, engineering and math education program that incorporates hands-on activities, projects and problem solving.

Less than a decade later, 220 schools across the state offer at least one of PLTW's four programs of study - PLTW Launch for students in kindergarten through fifth grade; Gateway to Technology for students in grades six through eight; and Biomedical Sciences and Pathway to Engineering for high school students.

That's a lot of STEM opportunities for Iowa students.

In the Corridor, you'll find the engineering-focused PLTW program at more than 20 high schools in the seven-county area served by Kirkwood Community College says Kasey Keeling, regional coordinator for PLTW for Kirkwood.

The program is offered at the middle school level, too. There, students build a foundation for further STEM learning as they work on projects like designing and modeling alternative energy sources; using a robotics platform to design, build and program real-world objects like traffic lights and toll booths; and working in teams to design a playground.

In high school, where PTLW is an elective, students start with foundational classes, like Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering. They then have the option to take more specialized classes, like Civil Engineering and Architecture, Digital Electronics and Aerospace Engineering.

If a school doesn't offer the upper-level courses in its building, students can take them through Kirkwood's regional centers. The Linn County Regional Center, 1770 Boyson Rd., Hiawatha, opened in the fall of 2013. PLTW also is offered at the Jones County Regional Center, 220 Welter Dr., Monticello, and will be available at regional centers in Washington and Johnson counties when they open. (Washington's is scheduled to open later this year; Johnson's will open in 2015 and have a strong STEM focus overall.)

“We want to make sure that students have access to these classes. They are just awesome, and they're not just for those who are going to become engineers,” Keeling says. “They build a lot of skills in these classes - communication, team work, problem-solving and more.”

According to Project Lead The Way Iowa, students that take PLTW classes have an increase of 5.2 points in their ITED math and science scores relative to comparable students that do not.

High school students also may earn college credit through PTLW.

In addition to learning about engineering concepts through hands-on activities, PLTW students have opportunities to meet with professional engineers.

“They come in and speak about the life of an engineer, what their jobs are like,” Keeling says. “They might also share expertise and help students with projects.”

This article originally appeared in The Gazette's "Discover Engineering" Engineers Week special section, published on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014.