We need YOUR input
PLTW Research Study
We are working with John Papay of Brown University on a study of our PLTW work in Massachusetts. The first-year results were inspiring and a testament to the hard work students and educators are doing across the Commonwealth. We believe it is an important part of the work in Massachusetts as it will help us collectively to understand program impact and ways to better support and improve schools with PLTW programs throughout the state. There two critical ways schools can contribute to the study.
Step 1: Rostering your students
Step 2: Completing students & staff surveys
Step 1: Roster your students
Why rostering is important
- Ensures students can access PLTW curriculum & End-of-Course assessments
- Enables PLTW to continue partnerships with college & universities that provide college credit & scholarships
- Provides schools access to Mass STEM Hub programming
- Note: rostering is also a grant requirement
Tips for successful rostering
- Roster all students at the beginning of the year, if possible with all classes rostered separately. For example: If you will teach 3 sections of Design and Modeling each semester, you should roster 6 classes with beginning/end dates.
- End dates for PLTW courses are very important – we use them to plan programming for students & teachers — and to time the survey invites.
- Accuracy matters: students must be rostered for correct courses, matched to the correct teacher, and have accurate info (e.g., name)
Roster today
- Log in to your mypltw.org account
- Click on My Sites in the menu & select your school
- Select the Roster Students icon on the left
- Use the Student Roster Template to prepare your file and save the file as a .csv
- Once your student roster file is ready, upload and click SUBMIT
Step 2: Complete your student & teacher surveys
Survey details
- Administered by Abt Associates
- Teachers receive survey links & detailed instructions directly from Abt Associates
- Students in grades 6-12 complete one survey even if they participate in multiple PLTW classes through the year
- Surveys are intended to take 15-20 minutes for students and no more than 30 minutes for teachers.
- Note: Survey participation is a grant requirement; all schools are invited to participate (and can sign up here)
Sign up!
Participation in the student & teacher surveys provide critical information for our PLTW community in Massachusetts. The survey is not only an input into the research study, but also helps to inform our programming (student events, teachers supports, networking opportunities). The feedback and input collected also helps us to advocate for additional resources, including grant funding, for schools.