SREB Advanced Career Inspires Project-based Learning

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SREB Advanced Career Inspires Project-based Learning

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We are always excited to learn how educators are implementing the Advanced Career pathways in their schools and the success their students are having with project-based learning. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) offers the Advanced Career (AC) program as part of their “High Schools That Work” initiative. This program has had great success in schools across the southern region, preparing students for more options after they graduate.

Students in schools, like Oak Hill High School in Oak Hill, West Virginia and Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas, are excited to attend their AC classes and learn important technical skills that better prepare them for the future. The OHHS Red Devils adopted the AC Aerospace Engineering pathway and have been hard at work designing their own competing rockets – from scratch. Meanwhile, the FLHS Cobras are delving into manufacturing design with the AC pathway, Integrated Production Technologies. Take a look at some of the things these students have accomplished this year!

OHHS Explores Aerospace Engineering

Advanced Career Aerospace Engineering Oak Hill High SchoolAerospace engineering has entered the orbit around Oak Hill High School. The school took advantage of an SREB grant, launching a four-year aerospace engineering course. Students taking part in the AC pathway courses aren’t just assembling their own rockets, they are also designing them. Divided into teams, the students researched how to create a successful rocket design. This included becoming familiar with common terminology, concepts from the study of aerodynamics, and the proper calculations necessary.

Kim Cortines, a math teacher at OHHS, is impressed with the course’s success in its first year. She notes that students are gaining important team building skills and proper communication techniques. The first year of the course is focused on learning the fundamentals of aerospace technology.

AC Aerospace Engineering“They are in a very real world setting,” Cortines said. “They are getting career skills. There’s debating in the workplace. They fight for different ideas.”[1]

Students have equally expressed their enthusiasm for the program. Having access to technology many of them have never seen or used before, the students were instantly engaged with the course material. The Aerospace Engineering pathway includes computer-aided design, 3D printing, wind tunnels and much more. Students reacted to this project-based curriculum with a lot of excitement.

“This is one of my favorite classes,” said Abigail Ward, freshman. “It’s unlike any other class. It’s more hands on and more than just being on a computer or looking at a piece of paper.” [1]

Ward and her fellow classmates agree that the course has afforded them more confidence and helpful technical skill sets than ever before.

“I already feel like I’ll be more prepared for college,” Jordan Massey, freshman, stated. She noted that the course has helped her develop stronger research skills. [1]

FLHS Shapes the Future with Integrated Production Technologies

SREB Advanced Career – Integrated Production TechnologiesThe Fountain Lake IPT Class is also engaging future engineers, thanks to the AC program – Integrated Production Technologies. This program consists of four advanced manufacturing courses, implemented over a two-year period. The IPT class has students work in teams and in online communities with actual industry professionals. Through various projects, students learn by applying engineering design processes to authentic, real-world challenges.

Projects become more challenging as the course progresses. As the Project Base Learning Facilitator at FLHS, Toby Craver helps students master the soft skills and technical skills required in different engineering settings. In just a few weeks, his class has used Solid Edge software to reverse engineer a project, built motors and experimented with programmable logic boards. During the AC program, students will engage in 3D computer-aided design, proper project documentation, prototyping, testing and analysis.

Advanced Career Program in ActionWith a focus on integrated technologies, students explore many aspects of engineering and production. The IPT class asks students to design modern production systems, create energy efficient cells, and explore the world of robotics with programmable logic controllers. Students that normally might not consider engineering are now showing interest in pursuing it as a course of study in post-secondary schools. These students have even expressed such enthusiasm for the class that enrollment could possibly double next year. [2]

Craver started a Facebook page to demonstrate the innovative solutions these students have come up with using the new skills they’ve learned.

“I simply give them the essential question for the project and let them run with it. I have seen these students do some amazing things. This is the reason I started the Facebook page, I wanted the public to be able to see what I witness every day.  They are an amazing group of kids,” Craver stated. [2]

Learn More About SREB Advanced Career

It’s your turn to join the project-based learning community! Learn more about SREB Advanced Career pathways and discover the difference it can have on your school, your classroom, and your students. Prepare your students for the future, while inspiring confidence and creativity.


1. Bill Fry, “The Red Devils’ Space Race,” Register-Herald, www.register-herald.com/news/the-red-devils-space-race/article_70bcee90-5fdc-5df4-a662-7ee1cf45d4ca. (April 2, 2016)

2. “Project-Based Learning – Shaping Futures,” SIEMENS, https://community.plm.automation.siemens.com/t5/Solid-Edge-Academic-Blog/Project-Based-Learning-Shaping-Futures/ba-p/321873. (November 15, 2015)

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