8 Great Videos to Teach the Engineering Design Process PostedMay 14, 2019 UpdatedMay 14, 2019 Posted byEric Iversen http://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2019/4/3/8-great-videos-to-te... Videos about the engineering design process can make an abstract, seemingly vague topic into something interesting and fun for students to learn about and apply. These 8 videos run the gamut of approach and emphasis, but all deliver a useful, engaging treatment of the issue. There’s something here for all ages, from elementary to high school. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Collaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know PostedApril 30, 2019 UpdatedApril 30, 2019 Posted byKate Gramling https://theconversation.com/collaborative-problem-solvers-are-made-not-born-here... Evidence suggests that, for the most part, students aren’t being taught the skills needed for effective collaborative problem-solving. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Partner Resource Straw Bridges (for Informal Learning) PostedApril 16, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/sprinkles/view/cub_strawbridges_sprinkle Students design, build and test truss bridges made of straws and tape to see how much weight they can support. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Maximum Mentos Fountain PostedApril 11, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/ucd_energy_lesson03_activity1 Students play the role of engineers as they test, design and build Mentos® fountains—a dramatic example of how potential energy (stored energy) can be converted to kinetic energy (motion). They are challenged to work together as a class to optimize the design of the basic soda/candy geyser made by the teacher. To do this, three research teams each investigate how a different variable—nozzle shape, soda temperature, number of candies—affects fountain height. They devise and run experimental tests to determine the best variable values. Then they combine their results to design the highest fountain to compete head-to-head with the teacher's geyser design. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Paper Airplanes: Building, Testing, & Improving. Heads Up! PostedApril 11, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_airplanes_lesson06_activity... Students learn the different airplane parts, including wing, flap, aileron, fuselage, cockpit, propeller, spinner, engine, tail, rudder, elevator. Then they each build one of four different (provided) paper airplane (really, glider) designs with instructions, which they test in three trials, measuring flight distance and time. Then they design and build (fold, cut) a second paper airplane design of their own creation, which they also test for flight distance and time. They graph the collected class data. Analysis of these experiments with "model" airplanes and their results help them see and figure out what makes airplanes fly and what can be changed to influence the flying characteristics and performance of airplanes. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Buoyant Boats PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_boat_mary_act Students conduct a simple experiment to see how the water level changes in a beaker when a lump of clay sinks in the water and when the same lump of clay is shaped into a bowl that floats in the water. They notice that the floating clay displaces more water than the sinking clay does, perhaps a surprising result. Then they determine the mass of water that is displaced when the clay floats in the water. A comparison of this mass to the mass of the clay itself reveals that they are approximately the same. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Move It! Conservation of Energy & Energy Transfer in Crashes PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/duk_consenergy_rde_less Students learn how the conservation of energy applies to impact situations such as a car crash or a falling objects. Mechanical energy is the most easily understood form of energy for students. When mechanical energy is involved, something moves. Mechanical energy is a very important concept to understand. Engineers need to know what happens when something heavy falls from a long distance changing its potential energy into kinetic energy. Automotive engineers need to know what happens when cars crash into each other, and why they can do so much damage, even at low speeds! Our knowledge of mechanical energy is used to help design things like bridges, engines, cars, tools, parachutes and even buildings! Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Engineering the Heart: Heart Valves PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_heartvalves_lesson01 Students learn how healthy human heart valves function and the different diseases that can affect heart valves. They also learn about devices and procedures that biomedical engineers have designed to help people with damaged or diseased heart valves. Students learn about the pros and cons of different materials and how doctors choose which engineered artificial heart valves are appropriate for certain people. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Catapults! PostedApril 4, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_mechanics_lesson04_activity... Students observe the relationship between the angle of a catapult (a force measurement) and the flight of a cotton ball. They learn how Newton's second law of motion works by seeing directly that F = ma. When they pull the metal "arm" back further, thus applying a greater force to the cotton ball, it causes the cotton ball to travel faster and farther. Students also learn that objects of greater mass require more force to result in the same distance traveled by a lighter object. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Bones! Bones! Bones! PostedApril 2, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/wpi_bones_lesson01 After learning, comparing and contrasting the steps of the engineering design process (EDP) and scientific method, students review the human skeletal system, including the major bones, bone types, bone functions and bone tissues, as well as other details about bone composition. Students then pair-read an article about bones and bone growth and compile their notes to summarize the article. Finally, students complete a homework assignment to review the major bones in the human body, preparing them for the associated activities in which they create and test prototype replacement bones with appropriate densities. Two PowerPoint® presentations, pre-/post-test, handout and worksheet are provided. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics PostedApril 1, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/csm_platetectonics_activity1 Students gather evidence to explain the theory of plate tectonics. Using the online resources at the Earthquakes Living Lab, students examine information and gather evidence supporting the theory. They also look at how volcanoes and earthquakes are explained by tectonic plate movement, and how engineers use this information. Working in pairs, students think like engineers and connect what they understand about the theory of plate tectonics to the design of structures for earthquake-resistance. A worksheet serves as a student guide for the activity. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Greenhouse Effect Models: Hot Stuff! PostedMarch 29, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_air_lesson07_activity1 Students observe demonstrations, and build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect and the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Energy Transfer in Musical Instruments PostedMarch 20, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/duk_energymusic_mem_less This lesson covers concepts of energy and energy transfer, with a focus on energy transfer in musical instruments. More specifically, students learn the two different ways in which energy can be transferred between a system and its environment. The law of conservation of energy is also described. Example systems are presented (two cars on a track and a tennis ball falling to the ground) and students make predictions and explain the energy transfer mechanisms. The engineering focus becomes clear in the associated activity when students apply the concepts learned in the lesson to design musical instruments. The systems analyzed in the lesson help in discussing how to apply conservation of energy and energy transfer to make things. Read More Q&A0
Afterschool Engineering Is a Gap Ready to Be Filled PostedMarch 11, 2019 UpdatedMarch 11, 2019 Posted byEric Iversen http://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2019/2/7/afterschool-engineer... Afterschool clubs feature engineering less often than other STEM fields. Content knowledge, equipment, and learning materials can seem like big obstacles. But a wealth of resources, often free or inexpensive, can help educators get started on the right foot. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Partner Resource Operation Build a Bridge and Get Over It PostedMarch 11, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/ucd_bridge_activity1 Students act as structural engineers and learn about forces and load distributions as they follow the steps of the engineering design process to design and build small-scale bridges using wooden tongue depressors and glue. Teams brainstorm ideas that meet the size and material design constraints and create prototype bridges of the most promising solutions. They test their bridges to see how much weight they can hold until they break and then determine which have the highest strength-to-weight ratios. They examine the prototype failures to identify future improvements. This activity is part of a unit in which multiple activities are brought together for an all-day school/multi-school concluding “engineering field day” competition. Read More Q&A0
How to Season Lessons in Engineering with Infusions of Story PostedFebruary 28, 2019 UpdatedFebruary 28, 2019 Posted byEric Iversen http://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2019/2/22/how-to-season-lesso... Engineering design has become a cornerstone of STEM education, but it’s a foreign concept to teachers and students. Seasoning it with lessons already familiar from English class can jump-start learning activities and lead to unpredictable, exciting classroom experiences. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Partner Resource Egg-cellent Landing PostedFebruary 28, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_mars_lesson05_activity1 The purpose of this activity is to recreate the classic egg-drop experiment with an analogy to the Mars rover landing. The concept of terminal velocity will be introduced, and students will perform several velocity calculations. Also, students will have to design and build their lander within a pre-determined budget to help reinforce a real-world design scenario. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Automatic Floor Cleaner Computer Program Challenge PostedFebruary 21, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/wpi_empathy_activity4 Students learn more about assistive devices, specifically biomedical engineering applied to computer engineering concepts, with an engineering challenge to create an automatic floor cleaner computer program. Following the steps of the design process, they design computer programs and test them by programming a simulated robot vacuum cleaner (a LEGO robot) to move in designated patterns. Successful programs meet all the design requirements. Read More Q&A0
Teacher Responses that Foster a STEM Mindset PostedFebruary 19, 2019 UpdatedFebruary 19, 2019 Posted byKate Gramling https://www.definedstem.com/blog/teacher-responses-that-foster-a-stem-mindset/ Being mindful about the way we communicate with our students can allow them to grow in a mindset that embraces imagination and inquiry. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Partner Resource Bombs Away! Egg Drop Experiment PostedFebruary 17, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_consenergy_rde_act Students design and build devices to protect and accurately deliver dropped eggs. The devices and their contents represent care packages that must be safely delivered to people in a disaster area with no road access. Similar to engineering design teams, students design their devices using a number of requirements and constraints such as limited supplies and time. The activity emphasizes the change from potential energy to kinetic energy of the devices and their contents and the energy transfer that occurs on impact. Students enjoy this competitive challenge as they attain a deeper understanding of mechanical energy concepts. Read More Q&A0