PLTW - EDD
Syllabus
2018-19
Instructor Information:
Teacher: Richard L. Vaughn Certified K-12 National Board-Certified Teacher - CTE Project Lead the Way Certified Instructor – IED, POE, CTE
Southern Regional Education Board Certified Instructor – Fundamentals of Aerospace Technology, Advanced Aerospace Technology
Room:
Battery Creek H.S. CATE building Room K102
Contact: Phone: 843-322-5500
Email: Richard.vaughn@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Required Text: N.A.
Additional Resources: www.my.pltw.org
Course Description:
The advanced Aerospace Technology course builds on the foundation of Course 1 and engages students in applying the Engineering Design Process,
using tools to collect and analyze data, exploring a deeper level of the science of aviation, and discovering how quality control systems work in the
aviation field. Students will work collaboratively to design, build, and test a wing; plot a course for a plane to take off and land; design, build, and
test a wing attachment system; test materials under stress; and design, build, and test an electric-powered plane. Students demonstrate their newly
acquired knowledge and skills by presenting their innovative ideas, techniques, and solutions to business and industry partners.
Course Objectives:
Students in Advanced Career (AC) Aerospace Course 2: Advanced Aerospace Technology do the following:
 Continue to use the Engineering Design Process to improve upon the design, build, and test prototypes.
 Use the terminology of the field that is new to them.
 Use tools to make informed decisions to create quality prototypes.
 Improve project management skills.
 Use appropriate and effective research skills.
 Demonstrate proficiency in Solid Edge, LabView, laser engravers, 3D printers, slide graphics flight computers, and orienting compasses.
 Write quality Engineering Reports to various stakeholder groups.
Essential Questions (EQ) are open-minded and though-provoking, call for high-order thinking, lead to important ideas, raise additional questions,
require support and rationale for an answer, and recur over time. They require in-depth inquiry and higher-level thinking. Essential Questions are
linked to the core of what you want students to learn; to answer it well, students will need to gain the knowledge and skills that are targeted as goals
for the project. They encompass the learning standards and are intended to aid students to focus on their learning. There is one Essential Question
for the project.
Project 1: Aircraft Wing Design/Bernoulli’s Principle
Essential Question EQ): How can a team design an aircraft wing with good flight characteristics?
Project end Products include:
Team prototype wing for future shuttlecraft
Team engineering report
Team presentation
Project 2: Basic Navigation
Essential Question EQ): How can a team design a successful flight plan?
Project end products include:
Team flight plan
Team presentation
Project 3: Making widgets work together
Essential Question EQ): How can a team make an assemble of parts so that they fit and function properly within a larger system of
parts?
Project end products include:
A team CAD model of the assembly showing the final design
A team physical model of the assembly produced using a 3D printer
A team engineering report documenting the design
A team multimedia presentation
Project 4: Material Science
Essential Question EQ): How can physical and virtual structural testing inform the design for a structural support?
Project end products include:
Individual engineering report
Samples of materials that were tested (including those that failed)
Team presentation
Project 5: Electric Motor
Essential Question EQ): How can we use existing (kit) materials to design and test a combination of electric motors, propellers, and
batteries (propulsion system) and use this information to show how it can be used to power a new series of model airplanes?
Project end products are:
Team engineering report
Functional simple electric motor
Test report for propulsion system
Project 6: Electric Powered Plane
Essential Question EQ): How do payload and mission affect the design of an electric airplane?
Project end products include:
Prototype design includes the selection of aircraft body, motor, battery, and propeller. All teams use the same camera.
Flight test of the new airplane. Students must demonstrate that their plane with the camera payload installed can meet the minimum
flight stability requirements.
Team engineering report summarizes their design, testing, and accomplishment in the aerial video surveillance test.
Team multimedia presentation.
Engineering Notebook
Each student maintains an Engineering Notebook for each project. Students document ideas, authors’ ideas, notes, data,
observations, calculations, and other information relevant to the discovery or experiment being conducted as well as reflections
of what they learn. Teachers check the notebooks periodically to check for understanding and provide feedback, to help
students comprehend the work; and to determine the need for additional teaching, clarification, or practice.
Academic Honesty:
Any work submitted by the student shall be his/her own. Work taken from others shall be deemed as unacceptable. Any doubts will initiate the
completion of an alternative assignment or a zero on the required effort, depending on the severity of the infraction.
Class Policies and Expectations:
1. Attendance: Perfect attendance is strongly recommended. Arrive to class on time. You are considered tardy if you are not in your seat when
the tardy bell sounds. Excessive tardy may result in a write up.
2. Be prepared to work – Have all appropriate tools, you will need a pen and pencil and your engineering notebook.
3. Pay attention – All lectures and demonstrations are extremely important. These concepts will be built upon. Lab demonstrations are
extremely important because they often involve your safety and the safety of everyone else in the lab.
4. Food or drink - Prohibited.
5. Electronic devices – Phones will not be used in class unless cleared by the instructor. There are laptops in the classroom, if you are caught
damaging them you will be held responsible and may have to pay for the damage. When you enter the class, you will remove your
headphones, headgear and put your phones away. If you are caught using your phone, I will take the phone until the end of class, if becomes a
problem we may have to escalate to an administrator.
6. Computers – Are available and used regularly. Students must follow internet usage policy. (see student handbook) Students caught using
computer for reasons other than associated with classroom assignment (during assignment) will fail that assignment. The school computers
will not be used for YouTube unless it is for class work.
7. Assessments – Include, but are not limited to, group and/or individual classroom assignments, tests, quizzes (on-line), portfolios, eportfolio, engineers’ book and lab assignments. Students must successfully complete a safety quiz (100%) on specific machinery that they
will use in the lab. Failure to successfully complete this assessment will affect their grade and will be prohibited from using that machine in
any lab situation.
8. Student’s responsibility – Each student is responsible for his/her actions. Each student should monitor their progress utilizing their Home
Access Center. It is the student’s responsibility to make up any incomplete assignment(s). To be successful in my class, you must complete all
assignments. Student’s also need to activate and use your school issued email via Gmail. You will be expected to work in your journal daily,
not being in class will not be an excuse for not doing your journal.
9. Follow all lab policies and procedures – Lab policies and procedures are posted throughout the lab. They are then discussed, reviewed and
tested in detail within each course. This includes (but is not limited to) machine/material/tool use, clean up procedures, behavior, lab dress
code, and the safety of the individual students and class. Violation of any of these policies/ procedures will not be tolerated. Any violations
will be reported to the office and will result in an immediate and permanent removal from class. All students will be closely supervised in
classroom and lab situations. It is extremely important that the parent/guardian emphasize, to their child, the importance of appropriate
behavior in all lab situations to support classroom instruction. Approved safety glasses, provided, must always be worn in the lab.
Course Grading Criteria:
All quizzes, tests, and projects will be graded according to the Battery Creek High School grading policy. Total points will be accumulated for all
evaluated efforts in this class rather than having letter grades per each effort. The grading scale is as follows:
The Battery Creek High School grading scale:
A----------100-90%
B-----------89-80%
C-----------79-70%
D-----------69-60%
F-----------59-0%
Semester Assignments:
Engineer’s Notebook Random Checks – Informal
Engineer’s Notebook End of Project Check – Formal
Quizzes (Key Terms) – Formal
Sketches – Informal
Projects – Formal
End Of Course Exam (EOC) – NA
TOTAL POINTS = Unknown due to nature of class *Assignments or assessments may vary due to pace of class and individualized instruction.
Academic Standards:
Students will be reacquainted with the Project Lead the Way Standards that have been adopted by the Department of Education, along with the
Common Core Standards that are in the process of being implemented nationwide. Students will be made aware of the importance of the standards
and the efforts to meet them.
Grade School:
Grades will be updated in real time online. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor and check their grade on a regular basis.
The following signatures state that all parties are aware of the preceding syllabus.
Student Signature____________________Date_______________
Parent Signature_____________________Date_______________
Teacher Signature____________________Date_______________