PLTW Capstone (Officially Engineering Design and Development) is open to Seniors (12th grade) only.

Prerequisites for DE:

Algebra II required

Physics or concurrent enrollment in Physics

Successful completion of PLTW Engineering Science (POE) or

Successful completion of PLTW Introduction to Engineering Design

Successful completion of PLTW Aerospace Engineering and/or PLTW Digital Electronics is highly recommended.

NOTE:  This is not the same as Honors Scientific Research and Design (208001) nor Engineering Design and Problem Solving (206501) 

PLTW Capstone (Officially Engineering Design and Development - EDD) gives students an opportunity to exercise the skills they have developed not only in their PLTW classes, but in other classes and in their personal experiences in general.  Students will work in teams to solve a problem of their choosing.  EDD is not focused on producing a marketable process or product, though this can and does happen using the design process.  EDD is not intended to be an “invention class” or a “patent generating class” but rather a class that centers on using, documenting, and working through the engineering design process to address a problem.  The end result should always be driven by the process rather than an individual or team’s skill sets, opinions, or personal preferences.  As an example, students with an interest in electronics and aeronautics who apply the design process to address pilot errors may find that their results point to an ergonomic solution centered on organizing and displaying information in the cockpit rather than developing a new piece of instrumentation or a new control device.  Others interested in chemistry and medicine may find that redesigning the way people enter and are processed through an emergency room may be a more effective way to address the rate of disease transmission in a hospital than designing a new chemical disinfectant.  Because the focus is on the problem and using the design process, the topic choices for students are infinite.

EDD is about the journey of seeking a well-justified original solution to a real-world problem.  Some solutions will prove to have merit as a potential solution, but when tested, will prove to have little value in solving the problem, some will prove to cause as many new problems as they solve, and some will prove to have great merit toward solving the problem in the end.  No one will know the solution outcome at the beginning of the journey, but all groups will move through the problem solving process and gain skills they will be able to implement in any profession for the rest of their lives.

Because EDD is less structured than most other courses, students must take more responsibility in their learning than they are accustomed to or are comfortable with taking.  However, more responsibility should translate to more ownership and more reward.  Student’s time management will be utilized – and tested – throughout this course.  Thoroughly developing this skill now will pay dividends many times over in college and life.

This class will also be much different than other high school classes as the teacher is less the instructor, and more the facilitator and project manager.  It is important that, as we move through the course, students are aware of the fundamental differences in the student and teacher roles between EDD and most other courses.  This course will be more like a college course, than a high school class.

Because there is the possibility a problem solution may prove to be a marketable product, protection of the student’s intellectual property is stressed throughout the course.  Proper, legal use of the Engineering Notebook will be mandatory and will be assessed often during the year.

There are four major presentations made during the year.  These will mirror the presentations often made in the engineering world – Project Proposal, Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), and a Final Presentation.  All four presentations will be evaluated by a jury of up to six professional engineers or business people.  Two of them, CDR and Final, will be used as the final exam for the 1^st and 2^nd semester, respectively.

One of the requirements for the course will be the construction of a working prototype of their product.  It will be incumbent on the students to take the lead in securing funding for (as often happens in the engineering world), or donations of, materials or services for their project, as funding from the school is not always available.

In Plano ISD, all PLTW Engineering courses are rated at Distiguished, at the same level as AP courses (5.0 on a 4.0 scale).  Academic rigor in these courses are consequently at a higher, college course, level.

Parents are encourgaged to connect to Google Classroom to receive daily or weekly update e-mails on the status of their students' submission of required work.  To receive an invitation, please e-mail me at:  scott.mccleneghan@pisd.edu, and I will be happy to send you an invitation.  Also, all teachers periodically send out progress reports via e-mail.  If you have never received one, then we do not have a valid, or any, e-mail address on file.  Please e-mail me, or your student's councelor to have your e-mail address updated or entered into your student's profile.