Time for Design
Students explore the Engineering Design Process
Students are introduced to the engineering design process, focusing on the concept of brainstorming design alternatives. They learn that engineering is about designing creative ways to improve existing artifacts, technologies or processes, or developing new inventions that benefit society. Students come to realize that they can be engineers and use the design process themselves to create tomorrow's innovations.
Everyday, engineers use the design process to explore solutions to complex, real-world problems, enabled by brainstorming to devise creative and innovative inventions and processes. Engineers address society's needs and challenges: safe water supply, complex communications systems, development of new medical technologies, warning systems and so many more. The design process — enabled through brainstorming techniques — can be used by professional engineers to address complicated problems, or by everyday people and students exploring solutions to any kind of problem.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Relate that engineers create things to benefit society.
- List some of the components of the engineering design process.
- Compare and contrast the scientific method and the engineering design process.
- Explain why brainstorming is important to engineering design.
- List several rules of a brainstorming session.