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ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS

ENGINEERING DESIGN ELEMENTS

This lesson enables students to engage in the engineering design process through all of the engineering design elements involved in the challenge. For example, elements such as asking, imagining, planning, creating, testing, and improving (Davis et al., 2019, p. 73). Taking this into consideration, this challenge about designing accessible and inclusive spaces addresses all of these engineering design elements as discussed throughout this page. 

ASKING

The first engineering design element, which is asking focuses on how the SketchUp challenge is a good engineering design problem (Davis et al., 2019, p. 74). This challenge encourages multiple considerations and demands, it does not have to have a perfect solution, it has a material outcome, it was more than just an academic exercise, and compelled attentiveness to the context (Davis et al., 2019, p. 76). Asking is incorporated into this lesson by:

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  • Incorporating an essential question for students to focus on, which is how are accessible and inclusive spaces designed in communities for wheelchair users.

  • Multiple considerations are evident when students have the choice of how they approach this problem such as the space they plan to make accessible, features to include, how to approach their solutions on SketchUp, and present their information. 

  • The solution proposed will not be a perfect solution rather it will continue to evolve over time from the feedback that is given by peers and the teacher. 

  • The material outcome of this project is creating a rendering in SketchUp when solving the solution of the challenge. 

  • This challenge is more than just an academic exercise because students consider how accessibility is a way of building a better world. 

  • For this challenge, students are attentive as there were multiple steps involved such as researching, learning the SketchUp program, incorporating the concepts needed, improving work, and preparing for the presentation.

The second engineering design element, which is imagining focuses on how to sponsor student’s initial ideas, the tools that can be provided, what ideas does the teacher wish that students convey, how can the teacher monitor student’s ideas, and how can the teacher adapt to meet student’s needs and learning (Davis et al., 2019, p. 75). Imagining is incorporated in this lesson by:

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  • To sponsor students’ initial ideas, they are introduced to a video about wheelchair users and the challenges that they face and introduced to potential solutions that can be considered. 

  • The tools that are provided for students are the online programming environment of SketchUp and resources such as tutorials of how to navigate in and utilize the SketchUp software.

  • The teacher will monitor students’ ideas through daily check-ins with each group to ensure they are on the right track.

  • The teacher can adapt the lesson to meet students’ needs and learning by guiding students to specific resources, asking them questions to encourage deeper thinking, and answering questions to ensure clarification.

IMAGINING
PLANNING

The third engineering design element, which is planning focuses on how the design process is not linear and rather involves multiple iterations of every element (Davis et al., 2019, p. 76). Planning is incorporated into this lesson by:

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  • Students researching how to create their accessible space, the types of features they can consider incorporating, exploring real-world accessible spaces for wheelchair users. 

  • Students sketching all their possible ideas of how they could create their accessible space and then comparing between those ideas to select the most effective solution for the challenge.

CREATING

The fourth engineering design element, which is creating, focuses on thinking about materials, the workspace, and giving time to create (Davis et al., 2019, p. 78). Creating is incorporated in this lesson by:

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  • Students gathering the necessary materials to create their prototypes.

  • Students beginning to work on the SketchUp program to construct their accessible space.

  • Students gathering their content to create their presentations in any form of their choice (i.e. PowerPoint, video, etc.).

TESTING

The fifth engineering design element, which is testing, focuses on how prototypes are repeatedly tested (Davis et al., 2019, p. 81). Testing is incorporated in this lesson by:

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  • Students are able to test the SketchUp software on the first two days of the lesson where they explore how to utilize the online program and the different features that exist within it. Through experimentation, students are able to analyze and record the results of this testing so when they begin constructing their space they will be able to effectively utilize the program.

  • Students are able to explore ideas by testing throughout the challenge whether that is after receiving feedback from their peers or the teacher, or when the students themselves find loopholes in their solutions.

The last engineering design element, which is improving focuses on opportunities for students to improve by adopting and adapting ideas to further enhance their solution (Davis et al., 2019, p. 83). Improving is incorporated in this lesson by:

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  • Students are able to improve their work through peer feedback that they receive from their peers on day three during the show n’ tell.

  • Students are able to improve their work through check-ins that they receive from the teacher on a daily basis, which can further encourage exploration and revision of new ideas.

IMPROVING
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