There is a noticeable increase in the emphasis being placed on hands-on, engaging learning in school classrooms. While traditional classroom lecturing still has value, it is less likely to engage students in the learning process.

Within the Wawasee Community School Corp., one way hands-on learning has been implemented is through the Project Lead The Way program. Project Lead The Way is a nationally known curriculum, based in Indianapolis, promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum in schools.

“It is project based, with a high level of technology involved and it is hands-on, engaged learning with real life applications,” said Kim Nguyen, director of the Wawasee Area Career and Technical Cooperative, adding the development of critical thinking skills is a key component of the program.

PLTW has been utilized in engineering classes — now numbering five — at Wawasee High School since the 2005-06 academic year. In more recent years it was expanded to include three biomedical classes at the high school.

Wawasee has applied for grant funding in order to expand PLTW into the middle school and elementary grade levels. Kosciusko is one of five northern Indiana counties that will be able to have local funds for PLTW implementation matched by a national funder. Nguyen indicated he should know within a month or so exactly how much funding Wawasee will receive.

Expanding PLTW into lower grade levels will help develop a feeder program for the high school. “We want to build it from the bottom up,” Nguyen said.

The middle school program is known as Gateway to Technology. It will include automation and robotics and be taught by Ryan Edgar at Wawasee Middle School and Cayle Woodard and Mary Brower at Milford Middle School. PLTW Launch is for elementary grades and will also incorporate automation and robotics and be taught by a yet to be named teacher rotating between the three elementary schools in Milford, Syracuse and North Webster for grades three to five.

Robotics was chosen because a club has existed at WMS for a few years already and one began at the high school this year. Teachers will train on PLTW this summer and it will be implemented in the lower grade levels beginning with the 2014-15 academic year. PLTW Launch is actually in its pilot year during the current academic year at a very few schools, Nguyen noted.

The medical side of PLTW at the high school will continue to include career-related speakers, touring facilities and internships. Dr. Larry Allen of IU Health Goshen and Alan Tehan of Technical Services are heavily involved in the program, Nguyen said.

Allen Coblentz and Jamie McAdams teach PLTW engineering classes at the high school to include intro to engineering, principles of engineering, civil engineering and architecture, digital electronics and engineering design and development, while Sarah Holsopple teaches biomedical courses principles of biomedical sciences, human body systems and medical interventions, which is a new class.