Program drives student interest

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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It's one thing for teachers and decision-makers to talk about the importance of strengthening this generation's understanding of science, technology, engineering and math concepts.

It's another thing to light a fire under students - to convince them to take STEM coursework and consider going on to pursue high-demand, STEM-related careers.

Enter Project Lead The Way, a non-profit partnership devoted to helping America's youth prepare to compete in an increasingly high-tech global economy. With the help of local businesses and partners like Amgen and Rockwell Automation, this program offers engaging, professionally designed engineering and biomedical science curricula to high schoolers.

In lower grades, the program's Gateway to Technology program helps introduce middle school or junior high school students to engineering principles.

We're glad to see the local expansion of this established, successful program to attract kids into engineering and science careers.

Iowa City West High School's Project Lead the Way program began in 2007, and added a fifth course this year.

Now students can take courses in principles of engineering, introduction to engineering design, biotechnical engineering, civil engineering and architecture, and aerospace engineering - all before graduating high school.

South East and Northwest Junior High schools also have begun implementing Project Lead the Way's curriculum for younger students. They represent just a few of the more than 150 Iowa schools participating in Project Lead the Way.

The classes are hands-on, focused on solving practical problems or questions and usually are offered as electives, complementing a student's core coursework in science and math.

But the project's unique strength is in its partnerships: Professional mentors bring experience to bear on questions and classroom concepts; students can earn college credit for some of the courses because of the project's partnerships with community colleges and many universities.

Studies have found that Project Lead the Way students outperform and tend to be more college-focused than their peers at school. Project Lead The Way students are four times as likely to study engineering and related fields in college when compared to their peers, according to the group.

Even for students who don't pursue engineering careers, Project Lead the Way programs help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will help them succeed in any field.

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