Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2005

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

HOUSTON, June 2, 2005 – There’s no loud drill sergeant or hikes at dawn, but the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Summer Training Institute at the University of Houston might be described as a pre-engineering “boot camp” for middle and high school teachers.

Hosted by the UH College of Technology’s Center for Technology Literacy (CTL), the institute will offer two weeks (June 6 – 20) of rigid pre-engineering curriculum training for 70 educators who will be housed on campus. The program prepares these teachers to instruct students in pre-engineering coursework. It also helps schools meet the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” legislation that aims to solve the engineering shortage and diversity issues facing the nation’s universities.

Teachers participating in this training will have backgrounds in science, mathematics or technology. They will spend eight hours a day in UH classrooms learning how to teach subjects such as “Introduction to Engineering Design,” “Digital Electronics,” “Principals of Engineering” and “Civil and Architectural Engineering.”

After long days in the classroom, the visiting teachers will typically spend their nights in UH dormitories working together on group projects and homework assignments. Teachers will be available during the evening to answer questions and offer advice.

“The biggest challenge for these teachers is learning a large amount of content in a short amount of time,” said John Hansen, executive director of CTL and chair of the College of Technology’s Information and Logistics Technology department. “The first week can seem intimidating, but after two weeks, they will have the confidence and knowledge needed to teach this material. They’ll also emerge knowing that they have support from their peers and PLTW.”

PLTW-certified “master teachers,” who are already teaching pre-engineering classes, teach all Summer Training Institute courses.

PLTW is a national non-profit program committed to increasing the number of engineering and technology students graduating from American universities. High schools and middle schools that receive PLTW certifications can offer a sequence of college preparatory pre-engineering courses. Studies of PLTW’s curriculum prove that participating students become the kind of prepared, competent, high-tech employees U.S. industry needs to stay competitive in the global market.

UH’s CTL is a PLTW affiliate and has worked extensively with Texas schools to bolster their pre-engineering programs.

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.