ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS•PLTW as STEM Curriculum Model

•Certification and State Leadership

•College Credit: Transcripted and Articulated

•Computer Science in PLTW curriculum

•What Are Other States Doing

PLTW As STEM Curriculum Model: Meeting The Criteria

Curricular and Extracurricular Educational Programs: What are their differences?

Attribute Curricular Program Extra-Curricular

Instructors Paid Volunteer

Goal To have students master the learning To inspire students and foster an appreciation

Students’ Meeting Time Daily during school year;180 hours

Occasionally

Professional Development Pre-Assessment, Immersion and Ongoing Varies

Curricula Rigorous, relevant with assessment and college credit

Activities and processes

Complement Prepares students to excel including in extra-curricular venues

Motivates students to engage in further curricular experience

Topics 3 points 2 points 1 points 0 points

Vision and Goals Offers a strategic plan that clearly defines the mission and measurable goals of the program.

A strategic plan is stated that defines the mission. Goals are listed but are not measurable.

States a general mission. No goals are provided.

Has no mission statement.

Comprehensive Contemporary Curriculum

Offers a fully developed, project/problem-based curricula which integrates national standards in science, mathematics, technology, and English language arts, and offers an in-depth study through a sequence of courses across E/ET disciplines.

Project/problem-based curriculum is present, but lacks national standards integration and connections with core concepts of a single course addressing limited E/ET disciplines.

Project-based or problem-based curriculum is presented haphazardly with no national standards integration and disjointed units of study with little evidence of connections with E/ET disciplines.

No evidence of project or problem- based curriculum, no national standards integration and no connections with E/ET disciplines.

Research-Based Instruction

Emphasizes teaching and learning applying essential teaching skills within a curriculum framework that focuses on key concepts.

Emphasis on self-directing, self-correcting student activities that focus on teaching software and/or hardware procedures

Over-emphasis on self-directing, self-correcting student activities that focus on teaching software and/or hardware procedures

Completely centered upon software and hardware capabilities.

Assessment Assessment is authentic, based upon rigorous academic applications of knowledge and skills.

Assessment is at times authentic with some rigorous application of knowledge and skills required.

Assessment is based on recall and understanding of procedures involving equipment and/or software.

No assessment of acquired student knowledge and skills.

Real World Projects and Problems

Offers rigorous projects and problems aligned with the program curricula enabling students to develop strategies to solve problems that are integrated with real world issues.

Occasionally offers rigorous projects and problems aligned with the program curriculum enabling students to develop strategies to solve problems.

Seldom offers projects and problems in the program curriculum.

No projects and problems in the program curriculum, relying solely on procedure-based activities.

Criteria for EvaluatingScience-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM)

Career Cluster Programs © CMC of ASEE 2005

CorporateMemberCouncil

Equity Curricula is representative of the nation’s full diversity and offers professional development that includes diversity training and a strategic goal to systematically promote and measure participation of women and underrepresented minorities.

Curriculum considers the importance of equity for women and underrepresented minorities and superficially addresses the issue in its professional development program.

Program refers to the importance of equity for women and underrepresented minorities in its activities and professional development.

Program does not address the importance equity for women and underrepresented minorities.

Improvement and Revision

Regularly updates curricula actively engaging Business /Industry, K-12 schools, and Higher Education in the process.

Intermittent updating of curriculum with the involvement of Business/ Industry, K-12 schools, and Higher Education.

Limited updating of program activities and limited involvement of Business/Industry, K-12 schools, and Higher Education.

No evidence of regular updating of program activities or the involvement of Business/ Industry, K-12 and Higher Education.

Standardized End-of-Course Examinations

Prepares and offers standardized end-of-course examinations twice a year for each course.

Provides an end-of-course examination for its course.

Offers tests measuring student recall and understanding on equipment and software procedures.

Offers no examinations or tests.

College Credit/recognition

Offers students an optional college credit acquisition program from ABET accredited colleges & universities.

Encourages students to apply to select colleges for college credit.

Directs students to mention program in college applications.

Offers no options or encouragement for college credit.

Teacher Professional Development

Offers a comprehensive program of professional development enabling continuous improvement in teacher knowledge and skills which includes: teacher pre-assessment, core training, graduate credit to teachers, and ongoing professional development.

Offers teacher training for its course with marginal pre/post support or graduate credit.

Offers manuals and teaching materials to teachers.

Offers no teacher training or support.

School Counselor Training and Support

Offers to school counselors a training program that provides knowledge of the E/ET career pathway and a counseling kit of materials to support parent and student career decision-making for E/ET.

Offers information to counselors and promotional materials for students and parents.

Offers promotional materials to parents and students.

Does not offer training or awareness materials for counselors.

Partnership Model Requires/supports a School Partnership Team of members from Business/ Industry/Higher Education for operational support for teachers and students.

Encourages the formation of a partnership model which involves members of the community.

Encourages the formation of a partnership model but does not specify membership.

Does not encourage or require the formation of a Partnership model.

State Support Works collaboratively with each state to implement all aspects of the program aligned with the state’s laws, policies and procedures.

Informally works with states to implement aspects of the program.

Works with schools without the proactive involvement of states.

Does not work with the state.

School Agreement Has a school agreement that describes/lists the quality standards and practices required to implement and to sustain the program at a high level of quality.

Provides guidelines which list goals and/or practices.

Provides some direction in the listing of practices.

Sets no standards for program implementation.

School and Teacher Support

Has a professional staff with the necessary experience in teaching and learning, curriculum and assessment, knowledge of the unique culture of K-12 schools andmanages a national database of participating schools, teachers, school counselors and students.

Has a staff that has worked with teachers in the development of the program and provides a list of participating schools.

Hires consultants to develop units of study.

Offers no school and teacher support.

Equipment to Support Program

Has an operational plan that supports schools with an optional bid of equipment, tools, and supplies needed to support the program’s instruction.

Provides a list of equipment, tools, and supplies which are needed in the program and suggests sources for their acquisition.

Provides a list of required equipment, tools, and supplies.

Does not list program needs.

Program Evaluation Offers a systematic program evaluation that measures the degree to which the mission and goals are achieved and which includes data on E/ET college attendance and retention, workforce placement, student achievement and demographics.

Provides an evaluation checklist for schools to use.

Encourages schools to evaluate their success of the program.

No evidence of a systematic evaluation program.

Leadership and Support

Has a Board of Directors (BOD) and National Advisory Board comprised of leaders from Business/Industry, Higher Education, and K-12 schools that direct the activities of the program to achieve its mission and goals.

Has an Advisory Committee which provides advice and review of published materials in the program.

Invites professionals in the field to review materials and offer suggestions for strengthening content.

No evidence that the program is overseen by stakeholders.

Sustainability Has a business plan that ensures the program’s continuance, with an operational plan that supports program growth significant enough to impact the national need.

Offers suggestions on ways of involving national groups and members of the business community to assist in sustaining the program through yearly contributions.

Encourages schools to develop a long-range commitment to offering the program.

No sustainability model.

Elementary and/or Middle School component

Offers a challenging, hands-on program for elementary/middle schools which complements the 9 – 12 E/ET program.

Offers learning packets to encourage students in science and technology.

Offers units in textbooks which provide activities in technology.

Offers no program in elementary/middle schools to encourage interest in E/ET.

Assessment of each STEM program is based on program portfolio evidence.60-51 Outstanding ----- STEM program is approved.50-31 Commendable – STEM program not approved but encouraged to develop a remedy in targeted areas.30-00 Unacceptable

Certification and State Leadership

Implement PLTW course curriculum over 4 years and/or Implement Gateway To Technology

Agree to become certified within 2 years• Counselors participate in training• Support teachers in training program (provide laptop)• Provide teachers with specified labs, with equipment and updated software

• Form a teacher-led partnership team

Participate in evaluation of PLTW

Commit to on-going training opportunities

School District Agreement Components

School District Agreement Components

The National Certification Process

The primary purposes and benefits of the certification program:

to provide national recognition for schools which have successfully implemented the PLTW™ programto identify your school as a certified pre-engineering site to provide an opportunity for your students to apply for college credit for selected PLTW™ coursesto provide the opportunity for your teachers to become master teachers within the PLTW Network

The process involves three steps:

Self-AssessmentSite VisitFinal Certification Report

Before applying for Certification ensure that these four elements are in place:

Each course is taught by a teacher who has successfully completed a PLTW™ Summer Institute for that course within the last five years.

The school uses equipment which meets or exceeds the PLTW™ equipment specifications including both hardware and software.

All students enrolled in PLTW™ courses are also concurrently enrolled in the appropriate college preparatory mathematics course.

A PLTW™ Partnership Team functions to support all aspects of the program and meets on a regular basis with a specific agenda and goals to accomplish.

Building State Leadership: The Oregon PLTW Network

The Goal: Involve key state stakeholders to become systemically self-reliant in the operation and support of the Oregon PLTW program. Develop capacity to engage statewide stakeholders

in acquiring new schoolscertifying existing schools supporting professional development protocols assisting schools and school districts in fundingassuring quality implementation through participation in the PLTW assessment and evaluationapply creativity and passion in using the PLTW model as a vehicle for school transformation and workforce development

College Credit Two Ways:

Transcripted and Articulated

Universities Offering Credit:

Arkansas Tech University DeVry UniversityDuke UniversityEastern Michigan Milwaukee School of Engineering New Hampshire Technical Institute Old Dominion UniversityPenn State Purdue University

Rochester Institute of Technology San Diego State University University of Maryland Baltimore CountyUniversity of Minnesota University of Missouri-Rolla University of New Haven University of South Carolina University of South FloridaUniversity of Texas at Tyler

Articulated College Credit

Any University or Community College is free to offer Credit for PLTW Courses

Articulation Agreements are Usually Specific to the Individual Post Secondary Institution and the School

Incorporating Computer Science

Issue Points

Examples from the curriculum

Computer Science in PLTW Computer Science is a large subject area and encompasses many different specialized fields

Our goal is to provide a wide variety of experiences to allow students to find areas that might interest them and to show how they relate to other fields. Programming languages, data acquisition and processing, control systems, and logic design are all areas to which we feel students should be exposed. In the process of completing projects students are required to use a variety of these skills developed over a number of courses.

Computer Science in PLTW 2The logical thought process is stressed

throughout the sequence of courses 

Students learn a problem solving process in the middle school program and enhance that through courses in the high schools.  They learn flow charting, k-mapping, Boolean algebra along with combinational and sequential logic in the Digital Electronics course.  This course also has a unit on microprocessors as well as work with shift registers, counters, and multiplexers and de-multiplexers.

Computer Science in PLTW 3Students are exposed to different types of

programming languages

Students learn to write G&M code for control of 3 Axis CNC machinery. Text based languages are used to program PLDs and stamps while graphical based flowchart languages are used to program Fischertechniks, robots and Data acquisition devices. We are now in the process of implementing LabView in a number of different areas to give students an exposure to a language they will see in college and industrial applications. We are also designing a board for digital electronics and other uses that will incorporate an FPGA.  Students will be able to program this using LabView, the Xilinx web pack or straight from a schematic produced by MultiSIM.

Fundamentals and Building Blocks (DE and GTT)

001011102 =  2E16

Combinational and Sequential Logic (DE)

Text Based Languages (DE and CIM and AE)

FPGA (DE and EDD)

Graphical Languages (GTT, POE, CIM and EDD, BTE, BMS)

RoboPro

LabView

What Are Other States Doing?

Washington State legislated funds for teacher training, and funds the STEM Director for the state (who is now the State Director for PLTW)

AeA provides political and funding support In Washington State

Kaufman Foundation supports and funds PLTW in Kansas City Region

Kern Foundation supports and funds PLTW in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois

Indiana supports PLTW through their State Department of Education, and their relationship with Purdue University (CTE added cost dollars)

Iowa funded a million and a half over 2 years for PLTW

Michigan and Arizona both use WIRED Grants to support and fund PLTW

Intel funds nationally, and specifically funded over $100,000 last year in the Sacramento Region

Qualcomm funded PLTW in San Diego at San Diego State University

San Diego Economic Development Foundation funds and support PLTW in the San Diego Region

Categories of Funding:

Perkins Federal---in most states used for PLTW

Grants/foundations

School funds

Private funding from Business/Industry