Plymouth Whitemarsh High School's budding engineers are the stars of a short film
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School's budding engineers are the stars of a short film
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School’s engineering classes are the subjects of a film promoting e4usa (Engineering for Us All), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the reach and impact of engineering education.
This is the second time that Plymouth Whitemarsh has been featured in an e4usa video, but it is the first time for the high school being the sole subject of the video, which is just over four minutes long. This focus is thanks to teacher Jim Muscarella, who was an early adopter of the e4usa program and has a long history with the organization.
Of special interest to the production team from SideXSide Studios was the unique collaboration between Mr. Muscarella’s classes and the Life Skills class at Whitemarsh Elementary School. Over the years, engineering students have designed and built a number of items still used in the Life Skills classroom to
help students with disabilities learn skills such as how to use different types of door handles and safely cross the street.
In December, a film crew visited Plymouth Whitemarsh and Whitemarsh Elementary for three days. They captured footage in and around the buildings as this year’s students worked on their projects in the classroom and lab.
As part of the design process, students must identify a problem they want to solve and then design a solution using engineering principles. Students build prototypes and then test and collect data to determine how to improve upon their prototype. Students are graded on a rubric for each step of the process, from start to finish.
Some of the projects being developed this year include an adaptative/cause-and-effect toy to support sensory engagement and fine motor skill development for children with disabilities, which will be used at Whitemarsh. Other projects are being developed for other clients, such as a glove to enhance grip strength and reduce pain for patients with arthritis, a surgical irrigation basin for medical professionals, and a respiratory monitoring garment or band to measure chest expansion and contraction for infants or children.
In addition to capturing student work, the film team interviewed students, PW alumni who have gone on to pursue engineering degrees, as well as Mr. Muscarella, and Dr. MaryTherese Sabatino, Speech-Language Pathologist, and Stephanie Brennan, Life Skills Support teacher at Whitemarsh Elementary School.
Check out what they had to say by using the links below:
Engineering for US All: Preparing Tomorrow’s Problem Solvers (4-minute version)
Engineering for US All: Preparing Tomorrow’s Problem Solvers (43-second version)