Problem Solve Your School
Students apply the Engineering Design Process to problem solve their schoolCopyright 2019 TeachEngineering
Students apply what they have learned about the engineering design process to a real-life problem that affects them and/or their school. They choose a problem as a group, and then follow the engineering design process to come up with and test their design solution. This activity teaches students how to use the engineering design process while improving something in the school environment that matters to them. By performing each step of the design process, students can experience what it is like to be an engineer.
Engineers use the engineering design process to find creative solutions to a wide range of challenges. In addition to designing consumer products, the process is also used to design solutions to infrastructure and systems that benefit society: How do we remove dirty water from homes and make it into clean water? How do we manage the resources of a river to supply everyone's' needs without destroying the natural environment? How can we efficiently and responsibly produce energy and deliver it as electricity to where people need it? How can we design a factory to optimally produce a specific product? How should we lay out the streets and traffic routes to provide access, efficiency and safety?
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 in their school setting.