These students are enrolled in an aerospace engineering course under the direction of Al Martinez at White Plains High School in White Plains, New York. The students welcome support for three modules (wind turbines, satellite orbiting craft, rocketry). All business, science and engineering professionals are welcome to participate. The focus of the mentoring is teaching students how to collaborate effectively, invite mentor feedback, produce the next draft, and realize the quality of their work goes up in this environment. Most of the collaboration these students will do as professionals will be virtual. Mentors will also help students explore and begin planning for specific career interests.
Description:
Project Lead The Way This project will occur within the context of the following PLTW course: AEROSPACE ENGINEERING. This course propels students’ learning in the fundamentals of atmospheric and space flight. As they explore the physics of flight, students bring the concepts to life by designing an airfoil, propulsion system, and rockets. They learn basic orbital mechanics using industry- standard software. They also explore robot systems through projects such as remotely operated vehicles. Throughout this course, students will also be exploring career areas of interest, determining where industry sets the bar to be competitive for that career area, the post- secondary options and how to rank them, and begin understanding what they need to accomplish before high school graduation and beyond to be successful. Students will also look at the issues and challenges in a particular career area and discuss a subset they'd like to tackle. Looking at career opportunities through this lens is very powerful as it focuses on what the student can do and puts the student in a proactive mindset.
Benchmarks:
Students will work with mentors on each of the three modules in the Aerospace program and learn how to collaborate with a professional, invite critique, leverage and communicate the help they've received, learn how to professionally and personally thank the mentor, and a host of other critical skills necessary for STEM career success. Students will identify careers to research; student will demonstrate ability to locate, identify, and interpret information; will generate choices and make career decisions based upon interests, abilities and values; students will design realistic education and career action plan to reach desired goal. The student will summarize the information gathered from the mentoring process in a career and education planning portfolio, or a written report; this will be presented at the end of the session.
Duration:
34
Grade Level:
10
Content Area:
Aerospace Engineering (Wind Turbines, Satellite Orbiting Modules, Rocket Design and Implementation) Career and Education Planning, Engineering
Student Outcomes:
Engineering: Students will present their work to mentors and the instructor, showing how they incorporated the mentor's support, the impact of the mentoring in terms of project and product quality, career areas they'd like to explore further, and new interests that have surfaced as a result of participating. Career and Education Planning: Exploring and answering key questions that will help the student begin to develop a plan that meets an industry standard.
Evaluation of
Student Outcomes:
Students will use the project tracking system to evaluate their attainment of project outcomes. The student will complete an evaluation form about the telementoring project. The student and the mentor will evaluate their telementoring experience and provide recommendations for improving the project.
Teacher Role:
The teacher will act as the facilitator for the project and will monitor and supervise the mentoring relationship
Mentor Role:
Mentors are asked to maintain communication 2 times a week with the student; to act as adviser and provide encouragement and career awareness and collaborate with the student on the project.
