How to Support Science and Engineering in Your Community

You can introduce youth to the wonders of science and engineering by forming a PLTW partnership team, otherwise known as a PT.

A PT is an advisory board made up of teachers and members of the community involved in the industry. The team aids the teachers in implementing the program by helping with problem solving, assisting in education, and enhancing the program through internships and mentoring.

Key Benefits of a PLTW Partnership

The PLTW Partnership Team:

• Provides a community support system for technology and science
• Links the school and the community
• Provides additional math and science resources to students and teachers
• Opens up pathways to students for career opportunities in medical, engineering, and technical fields

How to Build a Partnership Team

There are numerous ways teachers can help create a PLTW partnership team:

• Ask students if their parents work in engineering or engineering technology, and reach out to those parents if so.
• Ask parents in a questionnaire at Open House if they are engineers or technologists and would be willing to assist with the technology program.
• Send a newsletter home about a technology project and ask parents if any of them would be interested in assisting because of their involvement in engineering or technology.
• Call parents who are engineers or technologists and ask them if they would be willing to visit your classroom to talk about careers in engineering or about a specific topic, such as statistics, robots, etc.

Starting a Partnership Team

Once you have identified potential members, hold a meeting after school. Here is a sample agenda of an opening meeting of a partnership team:

1. Provide an overview of the purpose of the PT.
2. Discuss the key elements of PLTW and answer questions.
3. Log-on to www.pltw.org and scroll through the information on Forming a Partnership Team.
4. Suggest or brainstorm several topics for the next meeting. For example:
   • If your school has not yet been certified by PLTW, discuss the criteria here.
   • How will your school encourage girls and minority students to sign up for the program and to remain in it?
   • Develop a list of area engineers who can be invited to participate in the mentoring component of the PLTW program.
     
     
5. Decide how many times the PT will meet, where, and for how long.
6. Provide an opportunity for those who are interested in becoming members of the PT to sign up.

How Often Should the PT Meet?

Partnership Teams can meet weekly, monthly , or just twice a year, depending on how often the community wants to take part.

Who Runs the PT?

Usually a technology teacher serves as chair, but it is up to the group to decide how it should be run. The chair usually establishes the agenda with input from members of the PT. The chair should develop a written agenda that is sent to members prior to the meeting.

Putting a PT into Practice

Here are some ways members of a PT can enhance the PLTW program at your school.

• Speak to a group of students about some aspect of the course or their job.
• Welcome teachers and students to their offices, industry, or college to explain their program, demonstrate their engineering equipment, etc.
• Serve as mentors.
• Talk about the field of engineering: its challenges, its rewards.
• Offer advice on how to use specific equipment.
• Enrich a PLTW unit or, if qualified, teach one or two periods.
• Evaluate students' oral presentations on some aspect of engineering.
• Lead students through a project the engineer had to solve and show the finished product.

Get Help from PLTW

If you are interested in starting a partnership team, contact PLTW today!