While you might be familiar with the traditional scientific method’s series of steps, are you familiar with the engineering design process? The traditional scientific method follows a linear path of actions, including stating a hypothesis, experimenting, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. While the engineering design process is much more flexible. Set your junior engineers up for success by introducing them to this awesome way of thinking and try out these engineering challenges or projects as well.
What is the Engineering Design Process?
Engineers often follow a design process. There are many different design processes that all engineers use, but each one includes the same basic steps to identify and solve problems.
An example of the process is “ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve.” This process is flexible and may be completed in any order. let’s encourage problem solving skills in both the classroom and at home with these lessons.
It is considered a cycle with no real starting point or endpoint. It may even loop out and expand into parallel design processes that return to the original problem or run on a tangent.
The engineering design process has a specific task as its focus and is important as it allows the engineer to reproduce results. Also, communicate those results with other engineers once the goal is reached.
CLASSROOM ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
Using the engineering process in the classroom can be done with a variety of grade levels and lesson plans. Encouraging creativity and problem-solving through a hands-on approach is essential for understanding the engineering design process steps. Using our questions for reflection sheet is a fantastic tool for self-evaluation and even a redesign if needed.
Students can work together or individually to develop the best solution for several engineering challenges or projects. Criteria such as constraints on time or different materials can help get students thinking fast!
While many of our engineering challenges or projects come with step-by-step instructions, you can also let the kids design their final product and come up with new ideas if applicable to your classroom situation or skill level. Otherwise, the instructions are a helpful jumping-off point for those who need more assistance.
STEPS OF THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
Remember, the engineering design process steps do not always need to be followed in order. However, it makes sense to start with the problem and create your first design or prototype, which you then test and improve.
Often you will start on one path, learn something new or find that something doesn’t work the way you hoped, and you will start over. This is called an iteration and is likely to happen more than once!
Here are the steps of the engineering design process explained for kids. Make sure to also download the printable engineering design process worksheets at the end for you to use on your engineering projects.
You can even use our super simple (everyone must try) classic egg drop challenge as an example. With minimal materials needed, this is a fantastic way to spend 15 mins (or as long as you want) getting kiddos warmed up to the engineering process.
1. Ask
Define what the problem is. Write down your thoughts or discuss them with others.
- What is the problem (or the challenge)?
- Why is it important to find a solution (note that not every challenge or problem will solve a real-world problem as kiddos are starting)?
2. Imagine
Brainstorm as many ideas as you can think of without judging whether it is a good idea or not. Sometimes your best idea will not be the first or second thing you think of.
Although not applicable (or practical) in every situation, you can aim to learn from the experience of other people. Talk with people about their ideas and research what similar projects have been done before.
- What are possible solutions?
- What information do I need to know?
3. Plan
Decide which possible solution you want to use from your brainstorm above. Think about what might be difficult about the design and what would make it the best idea to try first.
Write out a plan for your design project. List what materials you want to use and draw a diagram of what you want to make. Make sure to label your diagram. The planning face can sneak in a little math with taking measurements and weights and such!
- What materials do I need?
- What tasks do I need to do?
NOTE: You may only be able to dedicate 2-5 minutes to the imagine/plan phase and that’s perfectly fine! If time allows, you can always go back and retry other plans!
4. Create
Build a prototype and test it out. A prototype is the first version of your solution. Testing it out will help you learn what you want your final design to look like. It’s ok if the prototype isn’t perfect or you need to cycle back around and rethink the plan!
NOTE: This is an area where you can limit the time to 15-20 minutes if needed and use the questions below as a talking point for 3-5 minutes.
5. Improve
Once you have tested your design, think about what improvements you need to make. These last few steps may be repeated several times until you come up with your final design.
The following questions are great for reflecting on the experience and encouraging kids to communicate what they have done and get them thinking about what they could do better next time.
- What worked and what didn’t work well?
- What changes can I make to improve my design?
- Have I solved the problem?
- If I could do it over, what would I do differently?
- If I had more time, I would like to…
Get your FREE 8-Page Engineering Design Process Pack
EXAMPLES OF THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
Let’s practice the steps of the engineering design process with one of these fun and easy engineering activities below. Click on each project for the full activity!
EGG DROP PROJECT
Protect your eggs from breaking when dropped from a height. What ideas will you come up with? See our variations that make this the perfect engineering project for younger kids as well as older kids.
PAPER PLANE LAUNCHER
Design and build a device that will launch a paper airplane. How far can you launch your paper plane? Create a prototype and test it out!
PAPER BRIDGE
How strong can you make a bridge using only paper? Test it out by seeing how many pennies it can hold. Evaluate your design and make improvements.
STRAW BOATS
Design a boat made from straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.
MORE HELPFUL ENGINEERING RESOURCES
WHAT IS AN ENGINEER
Is a scientist an engineer? Is an engineer a scientist? It might not be very clear! Often scientists and engineers work together to solve a problem. You may find it hard to understand how they are similar yet different. Learn more about what an engineer is.
ENGINEERING BOOKS FOR KIDS
Sometimes the best way to introduce STEM is through a colorfully illustrated book with characters your kids can relate to! Check out this fantastic list of teacher-approved engineering books, and get ready to spark curiosity and exploration!
ENGINEERING VOCAB
Think like an engineer! Talk like an engineer! Act like an engineer! Get kids started with a vocabulary list that introduces some awesome engineering terms. Make sure to include them in your next engineering challenge or project.
Click on the image below or the link for more engineering activities for kids.
