成人头条

Project Lead The Way is up and running in more than 50 middle schools and high schools across Kansas, rescuing students and teachers from the grind of lecture and schoolwork with hands-on innovation and learning.

PLTW is a national pre-engineering program designed to develop science, technology, engineering and math skills (STEM). In the program, students work in teams and get the chance to use technology and critical thinking skills to work through projects.

As the Kansas affiliate for PLTW, 成人头条 advises schools and trains teachers to teach PLTW courses. The program is a win-win situation for students and WSU.

鈥淧LTW students come to WSU with STEM skills that help them in whatever career path they take,鈥� said Karen Reynolds, assistant director of K-12 engineering education at 成人头条. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely helped (recruitment) and that鈥檚 one of our goals.鈥�

鈥淭he students love it, the teachers love it,鈥� she said.

鈥淭his experience inspired me to choose my major in engineering. It opened doors for me and broadened my horizons,鈥� said Anh Le, a WSU freshman aerospace engineering major who was in PLTW at 成人头条 West High School.

Le said PLTW increased her interest in engineering, taught her to work in a team, gave her background knowledge on the program and made her more comfortable in her engineering classes.

鈥淧LTW impacted my education by giving me tools that I would have never gotten in high school if it wasn鈥檛 for this program,鈥� she said.

Real world setting
At Mayberry Cultural and Fine Arts Magnet Middle School in 成人头条, PLTW students are working on a project where they鈥檙e using engineering concepts in a real world setting.

Maneth took advantage of PLTW鈥檚 curriculum to have his students design a floor display for The Sewing Center in 成人头条. The designs were presented to the Sewing Center鈥檚 owner, who chose two winners from the designs created by Mayberry students.

Maneth鈥檚 students are finalizing their designs on the computer. Students who finish early will help him construct the display in class. The winners will autograph their names on the display.

鈥淚 think it can help kids realize that engineers aren鈥檛 these super geniuses. They鈥檙e just folks who can look at something and create something,鈥� said Maneth. 鈥淭hey just have to know the process.鈥�

Maneth discussed the importance of instilling a love for creativity in students.

鈥淚 think if they can get that idea and get that spark in them, then I think you鈥檇 see a lot more people getting into engineering.鈥�

When asked about the students鈥� response to PLTW, Maneth said, 鈥淭hey just jump on it. When it comes down to it, it鈥檚 theirs, they made it.鈥�

For real world experience, hands-on training and an exciting new classroom, PLTW lays a foundation for engineering in the future. Maneth and his middle school class epitomize that.

鈥淗e鈥檚 taking a lesson that they鈥檙e already doing, but he鈥檚 adapting it to do something really meaningful in the community and form a partnership with a local business,鈥� said Reynolds.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get any more real than that.鈥�

PLTW is the largest nonprofit provider of STEM education programs. Almost 350,000 students in about 4,000 schools nationwide benefit from the program. For more information on PLTW, visit or call the WSU College of Engineering at (316) 978-3400.