Project lead the way: Indiana takes the lead in innovative program.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

"WE'RE NO. 1!" THAT auspicious ranking is always a source of pride when Hoosiers talk about their favorite sports team. But there's another No. 1 ranking that some Indiana teachers, students and potential employers can take to heart. Indiana has more high schools involved in Project Lead The Way, an innovative, hands-on curriculum to get kids interested in engineering careers, than any other state in the country.

The PLTW approach is called activities-based learning, project-based learning, and problem-based learning--or APPB, which has been shown to increase student motivation, cooperative learning skills, higher-order thinking, and improve student achievement. Because Project Lead The Way is engaging for the students, they are more apt to put in extra work that they think is important.

A "Pathway to Engineering" program is offered to high school students and a "Gateway to Technology" program to middle school students. High school courses include introduction to engineering, digital electronics, principles of engineering, computer integrated manufacturing, engineering design and development, civil engineering and architecture, aerospace engineering and bio-technical engineering.

The first step in the process is training the teachers who will teach the curriculum. Two weeks of intensive training on the Purdue University campus is required for each preengineering course taught.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In Indiana, Purdue has conducted the teacher training since the inception. Its PLTW office is located on the Kokomo campus.

Kokomo High School was the first in the state to try out the program in 2000 with about 30 students. Today there are nearly 175 students enrolled, says James Little, director of the Kokomo Area Career Center. Five pre-engineering courses are offered now and if students meet all requirements they can enroll in the Purdue College of Technology with 12 college credits. With the addition of aerospace, civil engineering and architecture this fall, the college credits can increase to 18.

O'Hair says Indiana surpassed New York, the program's founding state, in 2007 with the most schools in the program, as 232 schools (up from 165 in 2006) helped some 12,000 students. He estimates that 292 schools will be signed up in the fall, pulling well away from any competition. There are many reasons for the stellar showing, he says, but the most important is the cooperation and partnership with Purdue, the Department of Public Instruction...