TE Activity: Hot Problem Solving
Contributed by: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder
Summary |
Engineering Connection |
| Engineers use the engineering design process all the time, helping them to recognize a need, organize their ideas and determine the best solution to a problem. The design process can aid in re-engineering existing products, creation of new products in response to customer needs, or even development of never-before-imagined inventions that benefit society. Teamwork is an important aspect of the design process as it helps to incorporate a range of perspectives that contribute to better end products and processes. |
Contents
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| Grade Level: 5 (4-6) | Group Size: 28 |
| Time Required: 50 minutes |
Activity Dependency  :None |
Expendable Cost Per Group
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US$ 2 |
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| Keywords: brainstorming, challenge, design, engineering design, iterate, outdoors, playground, process, problem solving, team, teamwork | |
| Reviews: Read Reviews | Be the First to Write a Review | |
Related Curriculum
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| subject areas | Problem Solving Science and Technology |
| lessons | Time for Design |
Pre-Req Knowledge (Return to Contents)
A basic understanding of the steps of the engineering design process and brainstorming, as described in the Engineering Design Process unit, Time to Design lesson.
Learning Objectives (Return to Contents)
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the important steps of the engineering design process.
- Relate how engineering incorporates this design process in many applications.
- Apply the engineering design process to multiple design challenges.
Materials List (Return to Contents)
Suggested materials for the entire class to share:
- 4 baseball base plates or square pieces of cardboard (~12 inches x 12 inches, or .3m x .3m)
- String or rope, ~20 feet (6 m)
- Duct tape
- 2-4 small buckets
- Clipboard and paper to write down the problem statement and record brainstorming ideas
- Design & Brainstorming Handout (optional)
Note: Limiting the amount of materials limits the choices for solutions. So, the more materials made available to the students, the more interesting the activity.
Introduction/Motivation (Return to Contents)
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Figure 1. Students come up with the best way to get from a spot on the playground to the sidewalk, without touching the ground. click for copyright |
What do we know about the engineering design process? Remember that the design process can be used with any type of problem, and it can help us pick the best solution for that challenge. Who remembers some of the important steps? (Optional: Pass out the Design & Brainstorming Handout). Stating the problem helps us identify what we will be doing. Coming up with many ideas through brainstorming helps give us a variety of possible solutions. Picking one of the solutions is the next step. Then we explain our choice, so that everyone can understand why it might work. Next, we test the design to make sure it works. In the end, we review and decide if the design was the best solution, or if we should iterate, or start over again to make it even better. So, should we try the engineering design process ourselves and see if it works for us?
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Figure 2. This activity relates to real-world problems, such as building a bridge over water. click for copyright |
Today, we will work together as a team and use the engineering design process to solve the following challenge (see Figures 1 and 2): Imagine that the gravel (or ground) of the playground is hot lava. Everything you put in the lava will burn and sink, unless it is larger than one square foot (.3 meter). The whole class begins on the play set (or at one location on the playground). Somehow, we must figure out a way to get everyone safely to the sidewalk (or the other side), untouched by hot lava.
Wow, this activity will involve a lot of teamwork! Who can explain why teamwork is important for engineers? (Let students share their ideas.) We need everyone's ideas. So, teamwork is important because having many ideas helps engineers come up with great designs. Engineers use teamwork to work off each others' ideas.
Do you think we can do it? Let's use the engineering design process to help us come up with a solution!
Vocabulary/Definitions (Return to Contents)
| Brainstorming: | Thinking of ideas as a group. |
| Engineer: | A person who applies her/his understanding of science and mathematics to creating things for the benefit of society. |
| Engineering: | Creating new things for the benefit of society. |
| Engineering Design Process: | A structured way to help engineers come up with the best design to solve a specific problem. |
| Iteration: | Doing something again, like starting over with the design process. |
Procedure (Return to Contents)
Before the Activity
- This is an activity for the entire class.
- Decide where to conduct the activity. If your school does not have a playground or if the weather is bad, conduct this activity in the gym or classroom. Establish a starting point and an ending point, and say that the floor/ground between is lava. Define the starting and ending points by desks, chairs, mats or gym floor lines. Make the start at least 20 feet (6 m) from the end.
- Gather materials.
With the Students
- Perform the pre-activity assessment activities as described in the Assessment section.
- Problem: Come up with a problem statement as a class, and write it on the board. Suggestions: Make it a short, carefully thought-out sentence explaining the problem in a way that is open to multiple solutions. For example, instead of: "Find a way to step across the lava without touching it," a more general statement might be: "Get the class to the sidewalk (other side) without touching the lava."
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- Write on the board a list of the available materials. Remind students that in the real world, engineers creatively work within given limitations, which might be materials, budget, safety considerations and/or time.
- Brainstorming: As a class, brainstorm different ways to solve the lava challenge, keeping the available materials in mind. Remind students that in brainstorming, no idea or suggestion is "silly." All ideas should be respectfully heard and recorded. Take an uncritical position, encourage wild ideas and discourage criticism of ideas. Have students raise their hands to respond. Write their ideas on the board.
Suggestions: The most obvious way to solve this problem might be to set something down on the gravel and step on it. But what if you don't have enough materials? What if those materials sink in the lava? Are there any less obvious ways? Brainstorm to come up with creative ideas. Example answers might include: using a rope that people could swing on or making a special kind of protective shoes that everyone could take turns using. Also, have the students brainstorm the best path to use from the playground to the sidewalk. The best path may not be the shortest path. For example, if your solution were to swing by a rope, you would want to be swinging from a relatively high place on the playground.
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- Pick one: Take a class vote to determine the best method and the best path to try out.
- Explain: Write the chosen method and/or draw the path on the board. Explain the plan again to make sure everyone understands the proposed solution.
- Test: Take the class to the playground (or gym) where they can try the solution they designed.
- Review: Does it work? If not, do some on-the-spot brainstorming as a class and figure out why it's not working, or try one of the other ideas. If it does work, ask the class if they can think of ways to make their solution work even better! Remind students that engineers are constantly improving their designs. If the solution worked really well, challenge the students to find a way to re-design their method to make the process faster.
- Conclude by conducting the post-activity assessment described in the Assessment section.
Attachments (Return to Contents)
Safety Issues (Return to Contents)
- Be aware of safety on the play set, especially if there are many students crowded into a small space.
Troubleshooting Tips (Return to Contents)
If the initial plan does not work, and the class cannot come up with a new plan that works, try the following example solution: Say the materials include four cardboard squares and some string. Two students use the string to tie a piece of cardboard to each foot. With these special "boots," they can walk safely on the lava to the sidewalk. At the sidewalk, one student takes off the boots, and gives them to the other student to transport back to the play set for another student to use. As long as one student transports the materials, all of the students can safely reach the sidewalk.
Assessment (Return to Contents)
Pre-Activity Assessment
Shout It Out: Ask the class to tell you the key steps of the engineering design process, in order. Have them say the steps out loud as you write them on the board. (Answer: Find a problem, brainstorm possible solutions, select a design, explain your design, create and test your design, and review/decide if there are any design improvements, iterate if necessary.)
Activity Embedded Assessment
Drawing: Have students draw a diagram of the playground and the path they plan to take. Have them label any important materials on the design plan. Tell them that these are similar to engineering drawings that help engineers explain their design to others.
Post-Activity Assessment
Discussion Questions: Solicit, integrate and summarize student responses. Ask the students:
- What are some examples of how we used teamwork to help us get a solution? Do you think engineers use teamwork when they are developing a solution?
- Getting from the play set to the sidewalk without touching the ground is not a real life problem. What are some real life challenges that are similar to the one we solved? (Possible examples: Building a bridge over a river, walking on the moon, exploring the earth at the bottom of the ocean.)
- Engineers are always designing products to help people do something that they could not do before. For example, biomedical engineers design cool new medical equipment that helps people walk better after they have been injured. Engineers design toothbrushes that clean our teeth better. Engineers even design cool roller coaster rides to swing people upside down and go really fast. Can you think of any challenges out there for which you would like to see an engineer design?
- What steps do engineers take to solve these real life challenges? (Answer: The steps of the engineering design process.)
Re-Engineering: Ask students how they could improve their design. Have them sketch or test their ideas.
Activity Extensions (Return to Contents)
Add another dimension to the lava crossing challenge by adding a time constraint. Have a stopwatch handy to time how long it takes the students (or student teams) to get across the lava.
Have the students find a way to get across the lava by using materials they might use in lessons later in the school year. For example, make available several simple machines to help them get across the lava, such as pulleys and inclined planes.
Split the class into groups. Have each group of students work within a particular constraint to solve the problem of crossing the lava (time, materials, distance, etc.). Next, have the teams work together to develop a final class strategy for crossing the hot lava. Remind students that engineers often work in small teams to solve specific problem constraints, and then they bring all of the solutions together to devise a final solution or project.
Have students apply the design process for everyday student-relevant problems, such as crowded lunch lines, reaching something high, getting ready for school in the morning, or keeping your hand from hurting when writing too much.
Have students participate in other teamwork-based activities and discuss how teamwork is important in finding creative design solutions for engineering problems.
Activity Scaling (Return to Contents)
- For lower grades, include more materials to give the students more options for solutions. More materials also help students come up with many ideas in the brainstorming step.
- For upper grades, divide the class into two or three teams. Have each team go through the design process independently, writing down on paper everything that was written on the board in the Procedure section. Then, have each team test their design plans. You may want to make the activity into a contest to see which teams were successful, and which solution was the fastest or most efficient.
References (Return to Contents)
Abarca, J., Bedard, A.J., Carlson, D.W., Carlson, L.E., Hertzberg, J., Louie, B., Milford, J., Reitsma, R.F., Schwartz, T.L. and Sullivan, J.F. (2000) "Introductory Engineering Design: A Projects-Based Approach," Third Edition, Textbook for GEEN 1400: First-Year Engineering Projects and GEEN 3400: Innovation and Invention, Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.
Contributors
Megan Podlogar, Malinda Schaefer Zarske, Denise Carlson, Jackie SullivanCopyright
© 2006 by Regents of the University of ColoradoThe contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under a Discovery Learning Apprenticeship by the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program.
Supporting Program (Return to Contents)
Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at BoulderLast Modified: September 26, 2008