STEERING INVENTIONS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

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October 24, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

One of the founders of NDP's first-in-the-nation engineering and empathy course is named to prestigious steering committee at Project Invent, a national nonprofit that empowers students to invent technologies that make a difference.

When Project Invent began operations as a nonprofit in 2016, it was a weekend activity for a handful of students in the San Francisco area who wanted to learn what it takes to be an engineer. Now, Project Invent has grown into a nationwide network of young students and their teachers in schools across more than 20 states. 

One of those schools that signed on early to the concept was Notre Dame Prep. 

Currently in its fifth year, NDP's engineering and empathy course, which is based on the Project Invent academic model, remains a popular option among the school's science students. 

During a typical engineering and empathy class, students team up to create inventions that impact their communities. According to science teacher Louise Palardy, Notre Dame's STEM specialist and manager of the school's robotics center, the class involves creating an impactful technological invention, a business plan and marketing strategy.

She said NDP was the first school in the United States to use the program as an integral part of its in-class curriculum.

That forward thinking by Notre Dame Prep's leadership — along with Palardy's hard work and determination — has led to a position on Project Invent's prestigious nationwide steering committee for the longtime NDP robotics mentor and science teacher.

"I found out when Project Invent's senior program manager sent me an email a few weeks ago congratulating me on my role on this term's steering committee," said Palardy, who will share membership with seven others along with two co-chairs for a two-year term. 

Not just for science

She attended her first steering committee meeting this past Tuesday. 

"I could tell immediately that the program managers value teacher input," she added. "They are introducing a pilot artificial intelligence program, for example, and wanted our input, including advice on any changes we would make. It was a very welcoming atmosphere."

One of the topics discussed at the meeting, Palardy said, was a "whole school model."

"The idea of invention education and design thinking as a force for social good could be adapted to more subjects than just engineering and science," she said. "We discussed dipping into other subject areas as an area of exploration as well as support for a new Project Invent Fellowship."

Closer to home, Palardy recalled what led to Notre Dame Prep's adoption of Project Invent and the engineering and empathy class in the first place.

"Jocelynn Yaroch and I went to a teachers' conference in 2018 and Project Invent was presenting a session on 'invention education,'" she said. "It didn't take us long to discuss how to bring this to Notre Dame Prep."

Applying for patents

Shortly thereafter, Palardy found herself in Pittsburgh as part of the first training cohort for the program.  

"Ultimately, we had our first class at NDP in the fall of 2019 and at first it was marketed as an after-school program," she said. "But soon it also was offered as a regular science elective, the first in the U.S. to do so," she said. "Project Invent now has a model for middle school and high school classes and there are currently many schools across the country offering this as a class just like us."

Meanwhile, the restless Palardy's not content with simply waiting for direction from the national P.I. organization or its steering committee. She's considering at least one adjustment to NDP's engineering and empathy class.

"I would like to introduce to students the process of applying for a patent. We have some amazing inventions from our students over the years, including quite possibly some patentable inventions."

 

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndprep.org.