This spring, PAI Academic Project Coordinator Dr. Maggie Pedone collaborated with Lydia Parsons and Molly Reingold of District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund to design a “Healthy Sneakers” Project for The Academies at Roxborough High School.  10th grade students in the Biotechnology and Kinesiology pathways participated in this Project-Based Learning challenge with the goal of collaborating to create a sneaker that is good for both the body and the environment.  Dr. Pedone worked closely with Roxborough teachers and assisted them in implementing this innovative project.

Over the course of 6 weeks, students worked in groups engaging in a sneaker dissection to investigate the components and materials that make up a sneaker, conducting a number of labs (durability, waterproofing, insulating, etc.) to understand the properties of sneakers, and then making decisions about what materials they wanted to “purchase” using their limited amount of classroom BioBucks.

In the end, each group produced a prototype and presented their creations to a panel for feedback. The sneakers they created included products for children, the blind, people with flat feet, runners, and more.