KC STEM Alliance offers experiences designed to inspire and motivate Project Lead The Way (PLTW) engineering and biomedical science senior capstone students toward excellence; recognize and reward a job well done; and help students with innovative projects connect with resources and mentors in the business community.
This series of videos produced in partnership with STARTLAND is housed on Startland’s YouTube Channel. The series takes students through the design process so they can make it real!
| VIDEO TITLE | Use it … |
| What does it mean to “make it REAL”? | As you begin your project! Start here : ) |
| Design Thinking 101 | To get a big picture view of design thinking |
| Finding a Problem Worth Solving | If you’re trying to figure out which problem to solve. Watch the companion video for tips from local entrepreneurs! |
| Determining Frame and Focus | To figure out the parts of a problem to solve for users. |
| Building Empathy for Users | To further understand the people whose lives you want to affect with your solution |
| Organizing Your Data | To help you decipher your findings once you have completed interviews, observation or surveys |
| How to Create a Project Management Plan | To help you and your team get organized and ready to tackle your project |
| How to Define the Problem | To break down the problem you’re trying to solve for others |
| Ideate | To come up with solutions for your problem |
| Prototype | To help you figure out what you should prototype first when you’re ready to build a first version of your idea |
| Test | To help you plan how to test with users once you’ve built your prototype |
| Iterate | To make adjustments to your idea based on feedback from your main users |
The STARTLAND team offers “Pitch it as you build it” coaching sessions to provide feedback to teams about your projects. Sign ups will be required. Teachers will receive a registration link two weeks ahead of each session date. These include:
Use this pitch flow to form your message.
This sneak peek at the judges’ rubric will help you do a self-check to see if you’ve built enough empathy around your targeted users and to see if your idea is novel, useful and viable according to the rubric’s suggestions.
More tips and tricks to consider:
KC STEM Alliance will provide a list of contacts for teacher-coordinated virtual or in-person mentoring from professionals in the engineering and biomedical fields.
The Connector, built on the Nepris platform and managed by PREP-KC, is a convenient platform for connecting industry professionals with your students via videoconferencing. Districts with access to this tool are encouraged to use for mentor connections.
Teacher Guide to Virtual Mentoring Sessions: Download this guide for ideas and resources compiled by KC STEM Alliance and STARTLAND.
Contact Teri Kriege for additional assistance with connecting to KC-area mentors.
KC STEM Alliance recognizes top PLTW design projects in the engineering capstone course through this annual competition. Competition participants submit projects online using Student Corner, a platform introduced in 2021. Practicing industry professionals then judge student works, evaluating how the projects illustrate students’ design-thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
More details to be announced in November, but plans include competitions for Engineering Design, Biomedical Research, Innovator Awards and Make It REAL scholarships, with hopes for an in-person showcase of capstone projects in spring of 2022.
KC STEM Alliance recognizes top PLTW design projects in the biomedical research capstone course through this annual competition. Competition participants submit projects online using Student Corner, a platform introduced in 2021. Practicing industry professionals then judge student works, evaluating how the projects illustrate students’ design-thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
More details to be announced in November, but plans include competitions for Engineering Design, Biomedical Research, Innovator Awards and Make It REAL scholarships, with hopes for an in-person showcase of capstone projects in spring of 2022.
Sponsored by STARTLAND, the Innovator Awards recognize innovativeness and marketability of project ideas. Applications typically are due in late spring. More details to be announced.
Graduating seniors who have completed a capstone project may apply for a Make It REAL scholarship. This is an opportunity for students to reflect on their capstone projects and Make It REAL experiences, sharing what they’ve learned along the way and how they perceive it will influence their future. Details and application link to be posted here when available.
Sustainability Challenge: In this third annual challenge from Climate Action KC, students are invited to imagine a more sustainable Kansas City region through the lens of the KC Metro Climate Action Plan, which establishes goals, strategies and priorities across nine sectors and calls for a 2050 net zero greenhouse gas reduction.
Link to the Sustainability Challenge details will be posted here when available.