PLTW Biomedical Science (9-12)

Engage Students, One Medical Mystery at a Time

Empower Tomorrow's Biomedical Science Professionals Today

Whether discovering new cancer treatments or teaching healthy lifestyle choices to their communities, today’s biomedical science professionals are tackling big challenges to make the world a better place.

PLTW Biomedical Science students are taking on these same real-world challenges – and they’re doing it before they even graduate from high school. Working with the same tools used by professionals in hospitals and labs, students engage in compelling, hands-on activities and work together to find solutions to problems. Students take from the courses in-demand knowledge and skills they will use in high school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take.

PLTW is committed to preparing students for lasting careers by making a difference in the classroom with hands-on and relevant experiences. To learn more about our position on animal dissections as a means for authentic learning, please read our full statement here.

As a teacher, I have been totally reinvigorated by this curriculum. One of the best things for me is seeing just how much kids can do when you challenge them to do it. I have no doubt that the kids who go through this program are better off when they get to college and when they get to jobs because they know how to do things for themselves.They have been challenged – they know how to step up and to take different pieces and parts, put them together, and make something new.

- Becky Howell, PLTW Biomedical Science Master Teacher Lexington Richland School District No 5 | Columbia, South Carolina

As a senior in high school, I've been going around looking at all these different colleges, and walking through the biology departments, and I will be with my parents and I will look up at the walls and see all these posters about their human physiology experiments. I can look at my parents and point up there and whisper to them, ‘I can do that. I've done that before.’

- Ben Moreno, PLTW Biomedical Science Student Health & Science High School | Beaverton, Oregon

By preparing the students academically through AP and deepening their interests in biomedical science through the PLTW courses, our students are staying the course in challenging majors and being accepted into medical and professional schools.

- Mark Pierce, Director of Biosciences and Medicine Academy Francis Tuttle Technology Center | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

I have learned hard work and dedication from the biomedical program. ... It just goes hand in hand with all of my other work, like AP Bio.

- Jonathan Muniz-Becerra, PLTW High School Student Eastlake High School | El Paso, Texas

It's almost impossible to put it into words how much Project Lead The Way has contributed to who I am and who I want to be. ... I think that Project Lead The Way was made by dreamers for dreamers, and it's amazing to get to be a part of that. Any type of success that I've had, I think that all comes from a real strong foundational basis that I gained from Project Lead The Way.

- Kelsie O'Brien, PLTW Biomedical Science Alumna United States Air Force Academy

In addition to the explorations of biomedical science, one of the most important aspects of PLTW is the instruction in professional skills like writing, speaking, presentation, and research. PLTW has taught me skills that extend far beyond science application, but also to history, English, and math.

- Santina Cherian, PLTW Biomedical Science Student Francis Tuttle Biosciences and Medicine Academy | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Building a Strong Foundation for College and Career

By immersing students in activities like practicing suturing and constructing body structures from clay, PLTW Biomedical Science empowers students to build knowledge and skills in biomedical science, as well as in-demand, transportable skills like problem solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, and collaboration.

Principles of Biomedical Science

From design and data analysis to outbreaks, clinical empathy, health promotion, and more, students explore the vast range of careers in biomedical sciences. They develop not just technical skills, but also in-demand, transportable skills that they need to thrive in life and career.

Human Body Systems

Through projects such as determining the identity of a skeleton using both forensic anthropology and DNA analysis, students examine the interactions of human body systems and apply what they know to solve real-world medical cases.

Medical Interventions

Students delve into activities like designing a prosthetic arm as they follow the life of a fictitious family and investigate how to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.

Biomedical Innovation

Students build on the knowledge and skills gained from previous courses to design their own innovative solutions for the most pressing health challenges of the 21st century.

Virtual Computer Labs Coming Soon!

PLTW, in partnership with AWS, have collaborated with SynchroNet to virtualize software through Amazon AppStream 2.0. Software used in PLTW courses will now be accessible through virtual computer labs on laptops that did not previously meet the technology requirements. Non-Windows operating systems will require additional hardware to use USB devices featured in PLTW courses.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 is a fully managed application and desktop streaming service where you can centrally manage your desktop applications and securely deliver them to any computer.
PLTW is prioritizing the release of Amazon AppStream 2.0 based on the PLTW programs that are most affected by the inability to house software on most computers. We will continue to release access on a rolling basis starting in early 2021.
With virtual computer labs through Amazon AppStream 2.0, schools will only pay for what their students and teachers use, and any additional third-party software support schools opt into. Schools can host the virtual computer labs themselves in partnership with their IT departments or can partner with third-party providers.

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A Transformative Professional Development Experience Centered on Student and Teacher Success

PLTW Biomedical Science Professional Development is a dynamic learning experience for teachers focused on robust and flexible instructional support, on-demand resources, and a close-knit community of collaboration with fellow educators.

PLTW Biomedical Science teachers begin their professional development tracks by completing pre-requisite courses that introduce educators to PLTW and provide them with essential foundational knowledge.

Then, through PLTW Virtual Core Training, teachers are empowered to develop the skills and tools they need to inspire students. This training experience is focused on pedagogy and in-depth exploration of the PLTW Biomedical Science coursework teachers will lead in their classrooms.

Following PLTW Virtual Core Training, PLTW teachers have access to ongoing learning opportunities that help them progress and flourish through online continuing education.

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New Teacher Empowered to Help Her Students Discover Their Career Passions

How an Educator Overcame the "Largest Rut" of His Career

Teachers Experience "Revivals in Instruction"

Student-Centered, Balanced Assessment

Our assessment experts apply industry best practices and methods to design, test, and implement assessments for our network of schools.

PLTW supports a balanced approach to assessment for all programs, integrating both formative and summative assessments that allow teachers to monitor student progress and modify instruction as needed. Through a balanced assessment approach, assessment is an ongoing activity. Students demonstrate their knowledge throughout the course by completing activities, projects, and problems using a variety of assessment tools – such as such as performance rubrics, reflective questioning, and End-of-Course (EoC) assessments – to deepen and expand their knowledge and skills.

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