By Eric Furth
Staff Writer
Beginning this year, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District has been implementing Costa courses on behalf of the Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering (STEM) program “Project Lead the Way.”
Project Lead the Way is a series of classes designed to give students a better opportunity to learn about STEM-related fields through “activity, project, and problem-based curriculum.”
“We didn’t really have a STEM program,” Mira Costa principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “We have the science and the math, we’ve been so-so on the tech, but the engineering has been zero.”
Project Lead the Way was introduced to Costa as a way to strengthen current STEM programs, while introducing new engineering-centric aspects to pre-existing curriculum.
“The tech we enhanced by bringing in the Project Lead the Way there,” Dale said. “To supplement what we already have.”
As for more recent STEM classes which have been or will be introduced to Costa in the next few years, such as Biotechnology, Project Lead the Way will play a relatively small role in influencing the course load.
“We already had the Biotech being implemented,” Dale said. “Ms. Bledsoe didn’t want to jump over with Project Lead the Way; she was happy with what she had already introduced.”
Project Lead the Way-intensive Costa classes will be focused on Biomedical Science, Computer Science, and Engineering. The elementary and middle school-level classes will have emphasis on the scientific process, communication skills, and designs and modeling.
Another major emphasis of Project Lead the Way is the application of skills gained through classes in fields other than science, such as teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
“To get those engineering courses is really great for kids.” Dale said, “The curriculum we have is fine… but this is a little more systematic.”
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