Archive for News
Minnesota Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Counselor & Administrator Conference
A PLTW Counselor/Administrator Conference is a professional development conference designed to inform school counselors, administrators, teachers, school board members, business/industry partnership members, post-secondary advisors, about the PLTW program and give them information they can use to encourage students to enroll in PLTW courses.
***Attending this session will meet the PLTW Certification requirements. ***
Where: Eden Prairie High School, 17185 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55346. Map and Directions.
When: Thursday, February 9, 2012 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $30.00 which includes refreshments and lunch.
Questions: Jim Mecklenburg, james.mecklenburg@mnsu.edu, Work cell (320) 493-5229, Home Office 763-263-2687
A map, directions, and final agenda will be sent to registered attendees via e-mail prior to the event.
PLTW STEM Education Fund
Project Lead the Way (PLTW), through its PLTW STEM Education Fund (PSEF) is connecting companies, foundations, and philanthropic organizations seeking to impact STEM education with schools interested in providing their students with an innovative, high quality STEM education program. PLTW is committed to assisting schools interested in implementing PLTW curriculum with an opportunity to apply for funding.
The application is currently open for schools seeking to implement the Pathway to Engineering (PTE) high school program or the Gateway to Technology (GTT) middle school program during the 2012-13 school year.
The PSEF involves a competitive grant process. Successful applicants will have visited at least one other PLTW school, prepared a PLTW program budget, lined up potential community partners, and developed a computer lab that meets PLTW requirements. To access the online application and further information, please visit http://grants.pltw.org/.
The deadline for applications is January 20th, 2012.
PLTW will notify schools in March, 2012 regarding the status of its application.
Grant Awards
School districts interested in starting a high school Pathway to Engineering (PTE) program are eligible for start up funds of up to $35,000 over three years. High schools must commit to implementing a minimum of four courses, a minimum of one each year, to be eligible for this funding.
School districts interested in starting a PLTW middle school Gateway to Technology (GTT) program are eligible for start up funds of up to $20,000, over two years. Design and Modeling (DM) and Automation Robotics (AR) are required units.
Use of Funds
Grant funds are restricted to training costs for teachers (no stipends) and the required equipment and supplies for the GTT program and the foundation PTE courses: Introduction to Engineering Design (IED) and Principles of Engineering (POE) and one of the following specialty courses Digital Electronics (DE), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), Civil Engineering and Architecture (CEA), Aerospace Engineering (AE), Biotechnical Engineering (BE), and Engineering Design and Development (EDD). Funds may be used to purchase the teacher laptop, lab printer, and digital projector and screen. Grant funds are not be used for renovations, lab/student computers, network infrastructure, or items listed in the PTLW purchasing manuals as “Optional.”
For More Information
For more information regarding PLTW STEM Implementation Fund and the PLTW Model Grant Program, please visit http://grants.pltw.org/ or email Arvetta Jideonwo: ajideonwo@pltw.org.
For information regarding PLTW programs, please visit www.pltw.org.
For information on PLTW in Minnesota, please contact:
- Jim Mecklenburg, PLTW State Director, james.mecklenburg@mnsu.edu
- Ken Maguire, PLTW Regional Director, Upper Midwest, kmaguire@pltw.org
East Ridge teacher vying for prestigious award
Education wasn’t an integral part of Nancy Berg’s life.
“I was raised in a family where education wasn’t important,” said the East Ridge High School science teacher.
Berg said she hadn’t even intended on going to college, let alone becoming a teacher herself.
But now, Berg has achieved numerous accolades, including being named one of three finalists in the Presidential Award of Excellence for Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
“The fact that I came from that environment, with really no positive influence, and be successful is an accomplishment,” she said. “It’s always a competition with myself.”
The PAEMST is the highest honor teachers in math and science can receive, Berg said.
A national panel selects one math teacher and one science teacher from each state to travel to Washington, D.C., to have lunch with the president, meet with legislators and receive a $10,000 prize.
“Having lunch with Obama would be one of the perks — that would be a life experience for me,” Berg said. “I didn’t look at the award from the point of getting another accolade, because I’m fine. I looked at it like an opportunity to really get my voice heard.
“I think I have a good feel of the pulse on what needs to be done. I want to be heard because I think I have something to say.”
Berg said she is most passionate about expressing the need for smaller class sizes and inquiry-based, hands-on learning.
“The teachers are the facilitators,” she said. “You are not spoon-feeding the students, they are discovering.”
The path to teaching
Berg became a teacher really by chance. It was thanks to a friend that Berg even went to college and it was there that she took a class in biology.
“The teacher was just amazing,” she said.
Because of that class, Berg decided to major in biology.
After graduation she began working on genetic research as a lab technician.
“I’m too gregarious to be sitting behind a lab bench,” she said.
It was another friend who planted the idea of becoming a teacher.
“She said to me, ‘My god woman you have the gift of gab, you should be a teacher,’” she said.
With the coaxing of her husband, Berg received her teaching license in 1984.
“I was passionate about it from the minute I started it,” she said. “ I knew so much about science, I just wanted to tell it.”
Berg began teaching in District 833 in 1994 at Woodbury High School.
“I love the way you can light up kids,” she said. “I want to engrain in them a passion to learn.”
A rigorous process
Berg’s husband Ryan nominated her for the PAEMST.
She said she almost thought about not applying for the award since the application process was so involved.
In order to be considered for the PAEMST, a teacher must submit a 15-page application addressing various questions relating to philosophy, methodology and strategies.
Additionally the application needs to include supplemental materials such as a lesson plan, resume and demonstration of how the teacher has influenced education.
The panel judges teachers on: mastery of science content, use of instructional methods and strategies appropriate for students learning, effective use of assessment strategies, reflective practice and lifelong learning and leadership in education outside the classroom.
Berg said she spent close to 120 hours on the application.
“The whole process was very intense,” she said. “It’s a very rigorous process.”
Growing STEM
Berg said she was humbled to learn she was named one of the three Minnesota finalists, out of roughly 30 nominations.
“It felt good,” she said.
Berg said she thinks she was chosen because of her dedication to East Ridge’s Project Lead the Way biomedical sciences course.
Berg was the first teacher in the country to teach the course.
“Every time you listen to President Obama speak he’s always pushing STEM programs,” she said. “The program I’ve been instrumental in developing is a STEM program.”
Project Lead the Way is a four-year course where students explore concepts of human medicine, introducing them to bioinformatics; examining the processes, structures and interactions of the human body; studying prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases; and investigating innovative and designing innovative solutions. The course is centered around an inquiry-based, hands-on approach.
The winners of the PAEMST will be announced this winter.
Berg said she thinks she has a pretty good shot because of her STEM program.
“I don’t think personally I’m any better qualified than most, but it’s the fact that I took the initiative on this STEM program,” she said. “I’m sure the other people are just as qualified teachers, but I think I have a good chance because of the STEM program.”
Originally published August 31, 2011 in the Woodbury Bulletin. Written by Amber Kisbert.
PLTW CORE Training
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) CORE Training was held at Minnesota State University Mankato from July 31st – August 12th. Three courses were offered: Gateway to Technology Basic (GTT), Principles of Engineering (POE), and Digital Electronics (DE). For more information www.pltw.org.
Building Success for Latino Students with Project Lead the Way (PLTW)
Building Success for Latino Students with Project Lead the Way (PLTW) will be held at Ridgewater College-Willmar Campus in the Outreach Room, Building F, Second Floor on Thursday, May 19, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Park in Lot C-East. There is no cost to registered participants.
See the Building Success for Latino Students with Project Lead the Way (PLTW) flyer.
The purpose of this session is:
o To identify barriers and challenges faced by Latino students to enter STEM career fields
o To show the support systems available to schools today.
o To give school staff interested in PLTW the information necessary to make an informed decision if PLTW is right for their students, how to fund and how to connect with a support network.
o To give new administrators, school board members, business partners, legislators, and others an understanding of the benefits of PLTW in Minnesota and where PLTW is at.
o Recognize and sustain quality PLTW programs in MN
Lunch will be served. Costs for lunch/refreshments are supported through the Minnesota Center For Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence (MNCEME) www.mnceme.org
For more information, contact Jim Mecklenburg at james.mecklenburg@mnsu.edu or 320-493-5229.
MSU effort provides a taste of science and engineering to Latino students
MANKATO — A few hundred Latino high school students from around the state came to Minnesota State University Monday to get a taste of science and engineering, and to see if pursuing a career in either would suit their desires.
If a few of them pursue science, the conference will have been worth it. But for the Latino students, the battle just to get to college, much less excel in science or engineering, is one that begins well before a student steps onto a college campus for freshman year.
“A lot of Latino students drop out in high school,” said Guadalupe Quintero, director of Latino Affairs at MSU.
Monday’s conference, called Latino Engineering and Academic Day, gave them access to positive role models, MSU engineering students and faculty, and advice on how best to make sure they can get into college.
From The Free Press, Mankato, MN, February 28, 2011 by Robb Murray, Free Press Staff Writer. For the complete story, see Tuesday’s print edition or e-edition.
*****
From Editorial, The Free Press, Mankato, MN, March 4, 2011.
To Minnesota State University for hosting Latino Engineering and Academic Day this week. The event was put on by the Minnesota Center for Excellence in Manufacturing and MSU’s Latino Affairs Office. The focus of the day was to provide Latino high school students from southern Minnesota with a glimpse of science and engineering, as well as offer advice on how to get into college.
The importance of reaching those students is evident when considering the high school graduation rate for Latinos, which is about 48 percent. Of that number, only a portion go on to college. Nationally, of the estimated nearly 50 million Hispanics in the U.S., only about 13 percent have a college degree.
For many Latino families, the idea to forgo college for the sake of the family is culturally acceptable. This week’s workshop even addressed how to educate parents about how higher education can be financially manageable with the help of aid, grants and scholarships.
Encouraging Latino students to pursue higher education makes sense for their future and for the future of our area communities.
Project Lead The Way Announces More Than $577,900 in Grants for STEM Education in Minnesota Schools
Clifton Park, NY – Project Lead The Way (PLTW) announced today that students at fourteen Minnesota schools now have access to the nation’s leading science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education program through grants totaling $577,958. Middle schools and high schools were able to apply for funds through PLTW’s STEM Implementation Fund (PSIF) which requires schools to prove their commitment to preparing students for the jobs of the 21st century. PLTW partners with leading U.S. industries, professional associations, private and family foundations, and other philanthropic organizations to provide funding to schools through the PSIF. Minnesota schools will begin offering PLTW’s STEM education courses, including Gateway To Technology and Pathway To Engineering, beginning in Fall 2011.
“The economic prosperity of our communities and our nation depend on our ability to prepare today’s students for the high-tech, high-skill jobs of the 21stcentury,” said Thor S. Misko, interim CEO of Project Lead The Way. “We are grateful for the generosity of our partners from the industry and the philanthropic community who’ve made this grant process possible. We were extremely pleased to receive so many quality grant applications from Minnesota schools and look forward to partnering with them to prepare our nation’s next generation of innovators.”
PLTW provides students with a proven path to college and career success in STEM fields. The hands-on, project-based curriculum shows students how what they are learning in math and science class applies to real-world challenges. Each course emphasizes problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork – all skills that are in-demand from U.S. businesses and necessary in the 21st century high-tech economy. Studies have shown that PTLW students outperform their peers and are more likely to continue studying STEM-related subjects in college.
Among other things, PSIF grant applicants are required to show that they have visited at least one additional PLTW school; submitted a complete PLTW program budget; coordinated and provided a list of potential community partners; and have or are in the process of developing a computer lab that meets PLTW requirements. Schools use grant funds for teacher training and equipment and supplies for PLTW courses.
There are currently 185 PLTW schools in Minnesota. Schools receiving new funds for the 2011-2012 school year include:
- Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative
- Henry Sibley High School
- Kimball Area High School
- Kingsland Public Schools
- La Crescent Montessori Academy
- Lewiston-Altura High School
- Menahga Public Schools
- Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
- Minnetonka High School
- Orono High School
- Osakis High School
- Royalton High School
- Valley Middle School
- Waconia High School & Clearwater Middle School
For more information on PLTW’s STEM education program, visit www.pltw.org.
About PLTW
Project Lead The Way, Inc., is a national, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM education curricular programs used in K-12 schools. The PLTW comprehensive curriculum, which is collaboratively developed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators, emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. PLTW began in 1997 in 12 high schools in upstate New York as a program designed to address the shortage of engineering students at the college level and has grown to a network of nearly 4,000 middle and high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 350,000 students are expected to take a PLTW course during the coming school year. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.
John Frey Named Interim Executive Director of Minnesota Center for Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence
Mankato, Minn. – John Frey has been named interim executive director of the Minnesota Center for Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence by Minnesota State University, Mankato President Richard Davenport.
Davenport also transferred responsibility for oversight of the center to Minnesota State Mankato’s Division of Strategic Business, Education & Regional Partnerships, led by Vice President Robert Hoffman.
The center is a consortium of academic institutions, with Minnesota State Mankato as the lead member. It partners with six two-year colleges located throughout Minnesota, and serves as a first-contact resource for industry, providing continuing education, emerging technology and future worker development.
“Strong partnerships between higher education and industry are critical to the continued success of Minnesota manufacturers and service providers,” Davenport said. “Dr. Frey’s 40 years of leadership in partnership-building will ensure that MNCEME continues to strengthen those relationships.”
“And I will be closely involved in further developing relationships with the other MNCEME presidents,” Davenport said.
For the last year Frey has been interim director of the International Renewable Energy Technology Institute of Minnesota, as well as director of business partnerships for Minnesota State Mankato’s Division of Strategic Business, Education & Regional Partnerships.
Before that he served for 37 years as a faculty member and dean of Minnesota State Mankato’s College of Science, Engineering & Technology. He has actively sought and obtained grants, led successful campaigns for state and federal appropriations, and developed millions of dollars worth of contracts and private donations for science, engineering and technology research and education.
Earlier this year Frey and his wife, Anne, created the Anne and John Frey Renewable Energy/Bio Products Research Endowment – one of only a handful of undergraduate sustainable energy research funds in the nation. The endowment provides $3,000 each year to a student who conducts applied, faculty-mentored research in biomass energy.
The Minnesota Center for Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence was created in 2005 by the Minnesota Legislature to bring education partners together with industry, to encourage students to pursue engineering and technical occupations, and to help ensure that graduating engineers and technicians are steeped in cutting-edge, “best-practice” skills and knowledge demanded by Minnesota manufacturers.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive, doctoral university with 15,393 students, is part of the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system.
Senator Al Franken Visited STEM Day at the State Fair
U.S. Senator Al Franken witnessed first-hand kids engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math at the Minnesota State Fair. The inaugural STEM Day at the Fair held August 26, 2010, was dedicated to getting kids excited about stem-related careers and Franken did his part.
Exhibitors ranged from industry to universities to junior high engineering clubs. Franken visited as many booths as possible, participating alongside the kids in various activities.
Senator Al Franken visits the PLTW booth
MSU Mankato Professor Stephen Druschel-water demonstration
He watched a demonstration by Minnesota State Mankato’s civil engineers and learned that reinforcement materials sandwiched between layers of sand allows it to support significantly more weight than sand alone; he toyed with STARBASE Minnesota’s software that 4th graders use to design their own airplanes; and he picked up a money clip designed and produced with Minnesota technology used by Project Lead the Way students.
Then, following a demonstration by the University of Minnesota’s Physics Force, Franken took a few minutes on stage to address the kids directly. “This is a beautiful exhibit and that was a great demonstration. You can’t beat stuff blowing up. Everybody likes stuff blowing up and that is what you get to do when you study science, technology, engineering and math,” he joked. “You also get to make some really neat things.”
Both Franken and his brother studied math in college.
MSU Mankato Professor Aaron Budge-load demonstration
Although with a note of sympathy to his parents, Franken admitted that neither went on to work in stem careers. “My brother is a photographer and I became a comedian. I am not a very good example,” he laughed.
Nonetheless, he understands the importance of stem-related education. A solid education in science, technology, engineering and math helps a person understand what is happening in the world—from global warming to oil spill cleanup to high blood pressure.
With pride in his voice, Franken shared that his son is working on a graduate degree in engineering. “He is going to manufacture new products that we’ve never heard of,” he told the kids, “and develop green technology that is good for the environment, and create jobs for other engineers.”
Also obviously proud of Minnesota, Franken bragged to the audience about Sage Electrochromics, Inc., a company based in Faribault that makes electronically tintable glass. “They use state-of-the-art technology. They do it better than Europe, better than Asia and it is right here in Minnesota,” said Franken. “And I went to the lunch room there and everyone was from Minnesota and studied engineering and physics in Minnesota.”
Senator Al Franken speaking to the crowd
A member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Franken understands the best way to get kids interested in similar careers is to provide strong stem education early. “Congress is very conscious of the need for more stem education,” he said. “Congress is reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I know U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan understands the need and when we reauthorize the bill, we will be very focused on that.”
Franken encouraged industry and academia to continue to be politically active. “Find out when the bill will be written up. Make the case to senators and congress members about how important [stem education] is,” he said. “For example it is estimated that within 5 years there will be more than 200,000 jobs in Minnesota that cannot be filled because people don’t have the skills. When I travel the state, trying to get people jobs, I see people over here who need jobs and people over here who need employees, and the gap in the middle is training. And it starts in elementary and middle school.”
Bridge built by MSU Engineering students for State Fair display
And that is no doubt why he aimed most of his comments directly to the young people in the audience. “You are going to achieve such fantastic, amazing things—some of which you haven’t even dreamed of, things your parents never dreamed of. You are going to study science. You are going to learn to work in teams, learn to work creatively, be good critical thinkers, be an asset to your state, country and world,” said Franken. “You are going to make things that will help us prosper, save us from global warming. I don’t mean to put a lot of pressure on you,” he joked, “but I am. But seriously, as a senator, I can’t tell you how excited I am to see this exhibit, to see all you kids here today interested in this. Thanks for what you are going to do in school and thanks for what you are going to do for all the people in the world.”
PLTW Schools Have Strong Showing at FIRST Robotics World Championship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2010
CONTACT: Lisa Cohen, 310-395-2544, lisa@lisacohen.org
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY SCHOOLS HAVE STRONG SHOWING AT NATIONAL FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION
PLTW Students Were Part of the World Champion Team as Students from Three PLTW Pathway to Engineering Schools Work Together in Final Competition; 500 PLTW Schools Participated in the 2010 Competition, More Than Any Other STEM Program in the Country; PLTW CEO Calls for Increase in Support for In-School STEM Programs in America
Clifton Park, NY – Project Lead The Way, the nation’s leading provider of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in-school education programs, announced today that PLTW students from all over the country participated in this year’s 2010 FIRST Robotics Championship, including members of the World Champion team that won the national competition. Of the 1,800 teams participating in the 2010 First Robotics Competition, 500 were from schools that offer PLTW’s rigorous STEM education program. Two of three “World Champion” teams included students from three schools with Project Lead The Way (PLTW) programs, including Redondo Union (CA), Mira Costa (CA), and South Windsor (CT) High Schools.
“We are so proud of the innovative spirit PLTW students and teachers displayed at the FIRST Robotics Competition,” said John Lock, CEO of Project Lead The Way. “Every day, in PLTW classrooms around the country, students are developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills they are going to need to be college- and career-ready when they graduate. After-school programs and competitions that allow students to pursue their passion for creativity and innovation are a great complement to the rigorous in-school STEM program that PLTW students experience every day in the classroom. We congratulate all of the PLTW schools on their successful performance in this competition, especially the Champions from Redondo Union, Mira Costa and South Windsor High Schools.”
Project Lead The Way’s hands-on, project based program engages the hearts and minds of thousands of middle school and high school students through STEM education by helping them connect what they are learning in the classroom to real-life problems. PLTW students use professional design software in the classroom that allows them to imagine, create and build things like robots and cars, applying what they learn in math and science to the world’s grand challenges. Studies have shown that PLTW students are more engaged in learning than their peers and more likely to attend college and major in STEM-related fields than non-PLTW students.
Lock added, “We are really encouraged by the level of innovation and creativity from all of the teams that participated in this competition and hope that the entire country is paying attention. An innovative, rigorous and project-based STEM curriculum during the school day is exactly the kind of learning experience we need to be providing students. It is no coincidence that PLTW students performed so well in the competition – they spend every school day developing these problem-solving skills. Every student in every school should have the opportunity to participate in classes that develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. After school competitions like the FIRST competition are wonderful, but many students don’t have access to or even time to pursue after school activities. As a nation, we must also commit increased resources to STEM based programs in school so that all students can develop these skills that are so critical to their ability to succeed in the 21st century.”
About Project Lead The Way
Project Lead The Way, Inc., is a national, non-profit organization that is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM education curricular programs used in K-12 schools. The PLTW comprehensive curriculum, which is collaboratively developed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators, emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. PLTW began in 1998 in 12 high schools in upstate New York as a program designed to address the shortage of engineering students at the college level and has grown to a network of almost 3,400 middle and high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 350,000 students are enrolled in PLTW courses. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.
