Standards:

• ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

ARIZONA’S ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS (11-12TH Grade):

• 11-12.W.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• 11-12.W.5 -  Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

• 11-12.W.6 - Use technology, including the internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

• 11-12.W.7. - Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self‐generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• 11-12.W.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

Today you are going to become familiar with the Engineering Design Process (EDP). You will learn the 7 steps to the process and why it is so important to follow each of those steps. However, you will also learn that an engineer or team of engineers don’t stop after going through the process one time. The process or cycle is ITERATIVE (you will learn what that means in a short while).

This cycle will be used for each project assigned in this class so you need to understand it thoroughly.

Let’s get STARTED!!!!!

Watch this video…. It might make you hungry!

Watch the video and answer the question below! (Click on the word VIDEO)

What are the 7 steps of the EDP?

Engineering is about creating new things that help people in some way.

Read the article by clicking on the question below.

Why is it important??????

Summarize the article you just read. What was the main point?

But what kinds of things do you think engineers create? List them below.

 When some people think of engineers, they think of complicated spaceship designs or making tiny cell phones that are cameras, connect to the internet, and play music. But engineering can be more simple technologies, too!

In fact, you have probably acted like an engineer without even knowing it. 

Have you ever tried to make something that never existed before?

• Yes
• No

Have you ever made a fort?

• Yes
• No

What materials did you use to make it?  List below.

  You probably had to think about what objects to use and how to use them to make a sturdy fort that would stand up.

Or, have you ever been bored and wanted something to play with when there was nothing around?    yes/no?

I once crumpled the aluminum foil from my lunch to make a ball to play with and solved the problem of being bored by making a ball out of a material one might not think of as fun. Professionals are not the only ones who use engineering!

No matter how simple or complicated a challenge may be, most engineers use a structured process when trying to find a solution or design; it is called the engineering design process. At first, when trying to find a good design, there may be no clear way to go. After some thought, you might come up with many different ideas for possible designs, but you might not know which will work or which will be best. Using the engineering design process helps engineers create good designs quickly.

 Something to think about….

Do you remember the scientific method?

The scientific method is similar to the engineering design process because it guides us in a structured way through the experiments that we do.

• The1st important part of the scientific method is the question or challenge. The engineering design process also has an important first step, only it asks "What can we make to solve this?" rather than, "How can we prove this theory wrong or right?"

• The 2nd step of the scientific method is seeking background information and conducting research. In the engineering design process, the similar step is thinking of several different ways that the question or problem might be solved.

• The 3rd step of the scientific method is creating a hypothesis to test. The similar step in the engineering design process is picking one of the design alternatives that you think may be the best solution.

• Step 4th in the scientific method is describing the procedures you will use to test your hypothesis. The design process has a similar step, in which you explain how your design will work and why you think it is the best solution. After that, the scientific method leads you to an observation of the experiment and its results. In the design process, you build and test your designed product to make sure it is a solution that solves your challenge or problem.

• The 5th step of the scientific method is to draw a conclusion based on your experiment. In the design process, you review your engineered product and decide if the design that you created is a great solution, or if you can make a better solution by incorporating what you learned into a new design. Since engineers frequently decide to redesign several times — each time incorporating new knowledge in their design — the design process can be thought of as iteration, or doing something again.

Scientific method challenge:

• How can we prove this right or wrong?

• Followed by steps: background and research, hypothesis, describe procedure, observation, conclusion.

Design process challenge:

• What can we make to solve this? Steps:

• Brainstorm many different design ideas,
• select a design from your ideas,
• explain your design,
• build and test your design,
• review and decide if your design is the best one possible,
• and redesign (iterate) based on what you learned.

Looking at the steps of the design process, which do you think is the most important? 

Why?

Coming up with many different ideas is clearly an important step, because you can sometimes combine several of your ideas into one great design.

How can we think of many different ideas?

Brainstorming is the term used to describe a group of people working together to come up with a list of ideas. In a group, people can get ideas from building off of others' ideas. That is why brainstorming works so well and why professional engineers use it all the time!

These are the guidelines for a creative brainstorming session:

No negative comments are allowed. (This way, people are more likely to say more of their ideas.)

Encourage wild ideas. (Many creative solutions come from wild ideas.)

Record all ideas. (Seeing someone else's idea might make you think of a different one.)

Build on the ideas of others. (This is the whole point of brainstorming!)

Stay focused on the topic. (Keep the challenge or goal in mind.)

Allow only one conversation at a time. (So you capture ideas from everyone in the group.)

The alligator clip was an invention based on the wild idea of using a mouse to bite wires together.

By following these guidelines, engineers come up with many different, creative designs. For example, engineers at General Electric were once brainstorming to find a way to connect electrical wires temporarily. One engineer had the wild idea that a mouse could bite the wires together, holding the wires in its teeth.

This idea seems crazy at first, but in fact, it led to the idea of the alligator clip which is now often used to temporarily connect wires .

Brainstorming can help us think of ingenious new ideas, too!

Check For Understanding

Take the short quiz and you are finished.

Engineering Design Process Quiz

Remember….

Mr. Penick