New Engineering Classes May Offer College Credits

Libertyville High School students participating in an engineering program offered by the school's Applied Arts department may be able to get college credit for the courses at many colleges in the U.S.

The program, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), gives students a hands-on engineering learning experience. The first class offered to students was Introduction to Engineering Design. Almost 50 students signed up for the class.

One project students were challenged with was creating their own Rubik’s cube. Students were required to paint the small blocks and then assemble them in long chains that would fold up into the game.

“I sat at the desk and tried to do it myself. It was very hard, and I had to push it away,” said Applied Arts Supervisor Debra Kellum, who made a presentation of the program during Monday's Community High School District 128 board meeting.

Students also completed a Reverse Engineering Project. They were given a small wooden assembly kit of either a train or a helicopter. Students measured each piece, entered the information into an invention and engineering software program and created owners’ manuals. Students also discussed what they learned through the process. 

“There’s a lot of higher level thinking in their notebooks –a high level of detail in there,” Kellum said. 

PLTW has eight classes, and Kellum plans to include four of them at the school. These classes include Introduction to Engineering Design, Digital Electronics, Principles of Engineering, and Engineering Design and Development.

The Applied Arts program will add one class every school year, and students must have a high level of math skills to be in the classes.

Kellum plans to approach professors at the College of Lake County to see if they will include the other four classes in their curriculum: Aerospace Design, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Civil Engineering.

Instructors in the courses must be certified by PLTW and attend boot camps every summer to learn the curriculum.

In May, PLTW members will visit Libertyville High School to review the work accomplished by the students. Students will then be able to get college credit for these courses at many colleges in the United States, including Bradley University, Purdue University, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

PLTW is sponsored by many engineering corporations, including FisherTechnik, Intel, National Instruments, and Northrop Grumman.

For more information on PLTW, visit: www.pltw.org