Project Lead The Way
2008 Summer Training Institute
NHTI in Concord

Project Lead The Way is a pre-engineering curriculum offered in high schools throughout the United States. Beginning as early as ninth grade, students follow a prescribed sequence for completing five courses. PLTW's goals revolve around providing students with knowledge and experiences they can use to make informed decisions about careers in engineering and engineering technology, and to strengthen students' preparation in mathematics and science.

A significant element of the PLTW model is professional development. In order to teach a PLTW course, instructors must complete an extensive training program that prepares them to use both the curriculum and its related software. This training program is managed by the Rochester Institute of Technology, which was the sole center for training until the summer of 2001 when the New Hampshire Technical Institute became the first PLTW training affiliate.

Each summer, during the month of August, NHTI offers two-week training sessions for PLTW teachers. Each session is team taught by a college faculty member and a PLTW master teacher. A fully operational PLTW laboratory is maintained at NHTI, an arrangement that allows participants to become familiar with the organization and operation of a lab.

Teachers training at NHTI receive the CEUs necessary for maintaining licensure in most states. Teachers wishing graduate credit have the additional opportunity to register for graduate credit with Rochester Institute of Technology.