Our Goal

The Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE), a National Science Foundation Center of Excellence in high-technology manufacturing, has created educational activities and resources for middle and high school teachers. The tools range from STEM and manufacturing focused lesson plans to professional development.  Easy to follow instructions for accessing the Learning Challenges Wiki may be found here!

Made in FLORIDA Lessons Plans for Middle and High School Teachers 

These materials provide middle and high school teachers with lesson plans, complete with activities and assessments, to enrich science, technology, and/or math classes. Each activity provides a "real world" scenario using Florida based companies, and requires that students utilize science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM) in order to complete them successfully.  

sTEm-at-work Puzzles

sTEm-at-work puzzles have been developed as alternative / supplementary materials that can be used in all high school science and first level college courses.  The puzzles are short snapshots of real world sTEm scenarios, providing enough information for the reader to “puzzle” out the solution using inductive and deductive reasoning, critical reading and interpretation skills. The “yes-no” answers allow teachers to focus on either the sTEm concepts within the puzzle (that vary for every puzzle), the problem solving strategies that can be used to come up with the answer, or the theme that runs in a group of puzzles. The sTEm-at-work puzzles can be used in the classroom, tied to the specific content as an modern application, or be used as homework or extra curricula /extra credit opportunities. In addition to providing fun, applied contextual content, it is increasingly important that students gain an appreciation of the critical role that science and mathematics plays in engineering and technological advancement.  Just for fun, try our brain-teasing sTEm puzzles by visiting: http://www.fl-ate.org/projects/stem.html.

Curriculum Modules for Advanced Technological Education

Resources in this section of FLATE's wiki include ready-to-use curriculum for  educators teaching in community college technician education programs. If you are looking for materials for Florida's A.S./A.A.S. Engineering Technology Degree, you should go to http://etshare.pbwiki.com to find resources for specific Florida ET courses.

FLATE Presentations from Conferences and workshops

Resources in this section include powerpoint presentations from conferences, workshops and events in Florida and around the country. All files are in PDF format and available for download. 

Career and Education Planning 

These resources are for teachers and students. They provide a wide range of information, from degree options to career education and planning. Teachers can utilize these resources in the classroom to educate their students on the different Engineering Technology degree and certificate programs as well as career options.

Professional Development

FLATE also provides professional development for teachers. Learn how problem-based Case Studies are structured and how they are currently used in technical education from the following source:  http://www.thecasefiles.org/index.htm .  We have several workshops that provide teachers the knowledge and skills to integrate the classroom activities into age appropriate lesson plans. We welcome the opportunity to help develop or deliver professional development for STEM related subjects. If you would like more information, please contact the Curriculum Coordinator at 813.259.6575.