Big enough to make a difference ... small enough to care!
Engineering
The Engineering classrooms at FHS do not give the appearance of a typical high school classroom. When you look in the window during an engineering class, you see hands-on problem and project-based learning that is preparing our students for the challenges that await them outside our doors. Project-based learning allows our students to develop and use their critical thinking skills, hone their interpersonal skills, creativity and understanding of an engineering design process.
Fayetteville High School offers Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Pathway to Engineering classes. Students begin their elective path by taking Introduction to Engineering Design (IED), followed by Principles of Engineering (POE) and then Digital Electronics (DE). Next year’s fourth year course plan will include Aerospace Engineering (AE).
The major focus of the IED course is to expose students to a design process, professional communication and collaboration methods, design ethics, and technical documentation. IED gives students the opportunity to develop skills in research and analysis, teamwork, technical writing and engineering graphics.
POE is a high school-level survey course of engineering. The course exposes students to some of the major concepts that they will encounter in a postsecondary engineering course of study. Students have an opportunity to investigate engineering and high tech career fields.
The major focus of the DE course is to expose students to the design process of combinational and sequential logic design, teamwork, communication methods, engineering standards, and technical documentation. ( PLTW.org )
Do students enjoy the problem-based classroom? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” The hands-on learning is challenging to our students, but they are having fun while engaging in the activities. I think that they forget that they are actually at school and learning some major concepts that will benefit them regardless of their chosen college and career path.