Justin Tanner, Joey Koch and Branden Korwin-Kucznski8 used tape as a mjor element in holding their Rube Goldberg machine together. Photo by Kelly Virden

The district has swapped the ninth-grade physical science course with Principals of Engineering: a course that includes group work and problem solving.

And, other districts are taking notice.

Pequot Lakes and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo School districts are among recent visitors visiting PR-B to see the program in action. The school has designated two PLTW computer labs outfitted with enough computers for each student to use one.

Although the high school Principles of Engineering Course is new to PR-B, the district began PLTW courses for grades 6-8 in the fall of 2007.

Currently, all ninth-grade PR-B students are taking the Principals of Engineering course that includes study of physics: motion, velocity, mass and force.

And, the course incorporates thermodynamics; optics and light; fluids and hydraulic systems; electronics and electrical controls systems; and computer programming.

And, the class is offered as an elective for 10-12 graders.

Instructors Dick Larson and Chuck Plantz teach the yearlong course - the newest addition to the school's Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum.

Both instructors attended an intensive two-week summer training institute in preparation of the kickoff of the course at PR-B.

Larson said when they learned about the curriculum he kept thinking: "Where was this when we were in school?"

Each unit of the course has a project and problem-solving component.

Last week 10-12 graders in the elective class were working on refining their Rube Goldberg machines: elaborate machines designed to complete simple tasks in a decidedly complex way.

In this case, students used metal balls, slides, seesaws, paper cups, pulleys and more to lift a flag one foot from its resting position.

Some readers may remember seeing the "making toast" scene from the movie "Back to the Future" where actor Christopher Lloyd, "Doc Brown," has an extensive mechanical setup that culminates in toast popping up out of the toaster.

For another project, students calculated the insulation "R-value" of the walls and ceilings in their home.

They did sketching for the project and used formulas to derive the insulation values.

Plantz said that the course is very appealing to a variety of students. "This class incorporates all those different learning styles and learning abilities," he said. "It's opened my eyes to learning styles."

Part of the strength of the course is the hands-on project-based learning that appeals to students who are visual learners.

And, the problem-solving emphasis of the instruction "gets kids forgetting that they're learning," Larson said. "Kids that were totally disengaged don't realize that they've been sucked in (to learning)."

Another perk of the course is that it encourages students to work together.

Working together teaches the students that "engineering never happens in isolation," Larson said.