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Originally Posted by sanddrag
Interesting. I wonder how PLTW is working out for them, and what it's giving them that they couldn't do independently. I don't have enough experience with it, but I've heard some unfavorable things about it.
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You aren't the first and you certainly won't be the last to hear unfavorable things about PLTW but that doesn't necessarily make it a universal truth. Everyone will have their opinion. Everyone will have different expectations and different issues.
As for me, as an educator, I appreciate the PLTW curriculum for a variety of reasons. First and foremost is the industry and educational support behind the program. A lot of well-known, reputable companies, colleges, and universities see a tremendous amount of value in the program or they wouldn't be the state affiliates or offer university credit for PLTW courses. The rigidity in the curriculum comes from the need for standard delivery and common assessment that allows those colleges and universities to offer credit. There is also the flexibility to add your own projects and activities as you see fit but the fundamental concepts will remain the same no matter what pre-engineering curriculum you look at.
An added bonus to PLTW is the integration of the VEX Robotics System into the curriculum. I know VEX is not a part of FIRST but robot building is robot building and automation is automation and engineering is engineering. It doesn't matter whose platform you use - the concepts are the same.
Our school looked at a few other programs for pre-engineering and PLTW was the best one available and the most established. It's hard to fight momentum. No matter what curriculum you look at, each one is going to have a few warts you'll need to look past or tweak for improvement. Yes, PLTW does have some up-front costs associated with it but if you do your homework, you'll find you may already have on hand the equipment associated with those up-front costs. Otherwise look into grant funding. The Kern Family Foundation does an AMAZING job of supporting PLTW in a four-state area of the Midwest.
As for a robotics curriculum, ours is based on providing students with the foundation for being on our robotics team so it deals with the specifics of being a member of the N.E.W. Apple Corps. Safety, wiring, machine use, where to find our stuff (we've got a balcony full of supplies), Inventor, game strategy development, robot integration, and programming are just a few of the things we cover. The class is lead by veteran members of the team with a teacher mentor serving as a guide. That last part provides some tremendous leadership and organizational opportunities for our veterans.
Hope this helps the conversation. I'd be more than happy to answer other questions via PM.
Thanks and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!