Engineering Students Embark on "Pathway"
The initial cohort of upper school engineers in the Pathways Program and Project Lead the Way are tackling their first assignment.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a nationally recognized course progression that weaves into Barstow's established STEAM curriculum for freshman enrolled in the new Pathways Program and other interested upper school students. The first two pathway courses are Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering. Teachers Candice Baldwin and Matt Thurman completed a rigorous two-week training this summer and receive ongoing support from IDEA Space Director Cassie Banka, and Design & Fabrication Coordinator Aaron Dalton, both experienced PLTW educators.
This week at IDEA Space, PLTW and Pathways students jumped into hands-on learning through activity-based, project-based and problem-based lessons. Throughout the semester, they will learn new concepts through directed application, and master those concepts with an end-of-lesson project.
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This week at IDEA Space, PLTW and Pathways students jumped into hands-on learning through activity-based, project-based and problem-based lessons. Throughout the semester, they will learn new concepts through directed application, and master those concepts with an end-of-lesson project.
Introduction to Engineering Design
Introduction to Engineering Design is the first course in the Project Lead the Way engineering pathway. It focuses on the engineering design process honing Computer Aided Design (CAD) modeling skills. This quarter, students build their spatial visualization skills through a series of hand-sketching techniques that lead directly into foundational CAD modeling concepts. Additionally, students learn the importance of precision measurement and using statistics to quantify the precision and accuracy of measurements and measurement tools. Their first challenge is to design a device to launch a bean bag as far as possible. Through the iterative design process, students build and test devices constructed of readily available material, take data, and use statistics to inform future design decisions.
Principles of Engineering
In Principles of Engineering, students see math and physics in action. During the first quarter, students will use VEX equipment to build, test and analyze simple and compound machines, use mechanisms to create motion in a variety of ways, and then use these new skills to solve a problem for a client. This week, students completed a thermal insulation lab and explored analyzing tolerances. In the insulation lab, students designed custom insulation solutions using material available to them. They measured temperature changes at regular intervals Up next: students will interview their new client, Profe Marvin, to design a storage solution for her coffee bar.
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Quincy Stribling, sophomore, and Ezra Jacobs, junior, experiment with insulation and thermal conductivity in Principles of Engineering.
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Instructor Matt Thurman watches as students begin planning their first activity-based, project-based, problem-based Project Lead the Way lesson.
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Senior Leili Deshmukh dives into engineering with an insulation lab.
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