Over the summer, Project Lead The Way (PLTW) held a contest in which participants submitted blog posts detailing their Core Training experiences. Below is an entry by one of our three contest winners. Enjoy!
Over the past two summers, I have spent two birthdays and Father's Days at a PLTW Core Training. And although it was hard to be away from my husband and kids for two weeks, I love the PLTW family I have found, too. The Master Teachers and my fellow “students” at Core Training became fast colleagues and resources for support.
Last year, I was at the University of Illinois for Introduction to Engineering Design (IED). This year, I attended the Core Training for Principles of Engineering (POE) at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). My experience with Core Training this year was intense, but fun.
I have found that Core Training has left me more prepared for the year than I have been in any of my 10 years of teaching. This Core Training was no different. And the learning opportunities PLTW courses offer our students leave them more prepared than ever, too. I found that Core Training not only reinforces concepts and a pedagogical approach that I enjoy, but the work we do also reinforces skills needed to prepare us to be the best teachers we can be. We collaborate, we are creative, and we communicate.
I know firsthand from IED, and now, POE, that PLTW will prepare my students for further study in engineering and also for the future.
I am now proud to say that after 10 years of teaching physics, I have volunteered to exclusively teach only PLTW courses at our high school. This year will be my best year ever because my students have PLTW!
