Project Lead the Way is an exciting and innovative engineering program. Students may currently select from a series of four courses as part of the high school Pathways to Engineering Program. PLTW students have access to powerful technology tools such as Autodesk Inventor CAD software and the Makerbot 3D printer. Our PLTW instructors have received extensive professional development through summer workshops at R.I.T. Students who successfully complete Pathways to Engineering course requirements may earn early college credit at R.I.T.

Pathway To Engineering | High School Engineering Program

The PLTW Pathway To Engineering (PTE) program is a sequence of courses which follows a proven hands-on, real-world problem solving approach to learning. Throughout PTE, students learn and apply the design process, acquire strong teamwork and communication proficiency and develop organizational, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. They discover the answers to questions like how are things made and what processes go into creating products. Students use the same industry-leading 3D design software used by companies like Intel, Lockheed Martin and Pixar. They explore aerodynamics, astronautics and space life sciences. Hello, NASA. Students apply biological and engineering concepts related to biomechanics – think robotics. They design, test and actually construct circuits and devices such as smart phones and tablets and work collaboratively on a culminating capstone project. It’s STEM education and it’s at the heart of today’s high-tech, high-skill global economy.

Lyndonville PLTW Pathways to Engineering Courses Include:

• Foundation Courses

• Introduction to Engineering Design (IED)

  • Designed for 9th or 10th grade students, the major focus of IED is the design process and its application. Through hands-on projects, students apply engineering standards and document their work. Students use industry standard 3D modeling software to help them design solutions to solve proposed problems, document their work using an engineer’s notebook, and communicate solutions to peers and members of the professional community.

• Principles of Engineering (POE)

  • Designed for 10th or 11th grade students, this survey course exposes students to major concepts they’ll encounter in a post-secondary engineering course of study. Topics include mechanisms, energy, statics, materials, and kinematics. They develop problem-solving skills and apply their knowledge of research and design to create solutions to various challenges, document their work and communicate solutions.

• Civil Engineering and Architecture (CEA)

  • Students learn important aspects of building and site design and development. They apply math, science, and standard engineering practices to design both residential and commercial projects and document their work using 3D architecture design software.

• Capstone Course - Engineering Design and Development

  • The knowledge and skills students acquire throughout PLTW Engineering come together in EDD as they identify an issue and then research, design, and test a solution, ultimately presenting their solution to a panel of engineers. Students apply the professional skills they have developed to document a design process to standards, completing EDD ready to take on any post-secondary program or career.