MikeCroly

DanielMills
NolanHostetler

LessonPlanforCMFK

OverviewofLesson

Studentswillbetaughttheengineeringdesign
processthroughahandsonexample.Thestudents
willgeta5minutelectureonbuoyancyandboats
andthenbegivenaprompt.

Acompanyislookingtobuildanewinstant
emergencyraftforhikerstobeabletofitinsidetheir
packs.Theywouldliketoaskyoutomodelthisraft
withthatmaterialsprovided.Youneedtomodela
raftthatcanhold15golfballsinordertotesta
material(AluminumFoil)forthecompany.Theraft
thatcanbothhold15golfballsandbethemost
aestheticallypleasing(looksthebest)willgeta
letterofthanksfromthecompany.Youhaveto
designaboatmadeoutoftinfoilthatcanfloatand
hold15golfballswithoutsinking.

Studentswillthendesignaboatoutofaluminum
foilandtestitinacratefullofwater.Oncetheyare
donewiththeirfirsttesttheywillredesigntheirboat
withanewsheetofaluminumfoil.Thesecondtest
willserveasourcriteriaforgradingtomakesure
thestudentshavelearnedwhatthelessonwas
tryingtocover.

DescriptionofLearnersandLessonContent

DescriptionofLearners:
Atriskyouth
Afterschool.Studentsareburntoutalready.
Thislessonneedstobeengagingsothey
dontfeelliketheyareinschoolanymore.
Middleschool.(6th8thgrade)
1520studentsintheclass.
ClasshostedatPurdueUniversity
Mentorswillbeguidingtheirbuddytohelp
themfindthebestpossiblesolution.
Focusingonhowtodesignsomethingand
thentestit.
Oneoftheclosetgoalsforthislessonisto
showthestudentsthatfirstdesignsalmost
neverwork.Youneedtodesignandthenre
designtogetthebestpossiblesolution.
Gaintheskilltodesignsomethingandthen
executeitwhenaskedto.


MikeCroly
DanielMills
NolanHostetler
LearningGoals

Throughoutthislessonwewantourstudentsto
understandtheengineeringdesignprocessand
whyitisimportant.Underlyingthemainlearning
goalofthislessonaremanysmallerones.Wewant
ourstudentstobeabletoworkwellingroupsand
communicatetheirresults.Youarenevergoingto
getthecorrectdesignthefirsttime.Youneedto
design,redesign,andthenredesignagaintomake
sureyouhavethemostoptimaldesignofthe
productyouaretryingtocreate.Failureshouldbe
embraced.

Ifound99waystonotmakealightbulband1way
tomakealightbulbThomasEdison

LearningObjectives

Givenashortlectureonbuoyancy,boats,andthe
engineeringdesignprocessstudentswillbeableto
designaboatoutofaluminumfoil.Thisboatmust
beabletoholdatleast15golfballsbeforesinking
forthemtosucceed.

Standards

NextGenerationScienceStandards(NGSS)
EngineeringDesignProcess:
Atthemiddleschoollevelstudentslearnto
sharpenthefocusofproblemsbyprecisely
specifyingcriteriaandconstraintsof
successfulsolutionstakingintoaccountnot
onlywhatneedstheproblemisintendedto
meet,butalsothelargercontextwithin
whichtheproblemisdefinedincludingto
limitstopossiblesolutions.Studentscan
identifyelementsofdifferentsolutionsand
combinethemtocreatenewsolutions.
Studentsatthislevelareexpectedtouse
systematicmethodstocomparedifferent
solutionstoseewhichbestmeetcriteriaand
constraintsandtotestandrevisesolutionsa
numberoftimesinordertoarriveatan
optimaldesign.(NGSSAppendix1,Page4)

RequiredMaterials

AluminumFoil(40*30cm)
50golfballs
Toycratefilledwithwater.
1. Startoffclassbyshowingthefirstslideofthe


MikeCroly
DanielMills
NolanHostetler

Procedures

Powerpoint.Theshortstoryabouthow
Archimedesfiguredoutbuoyancybysittingin
hisbathtub.Beenergeticandinvestedinthe
story.Ifthestudentsarehookedfromthe
beginningthelessonwillbemuchmorefunand
engaging.
2. Continuebyshowingtherestoftheslidesinthe
presentation.Askthemwhichofthefollowing4
boatsisthefastest,whichseemstohavethe
mostsurfacearea.
3. Describewhattheengineeringdesignprocess
is.Howitworksandwhyitisimportantthatthey
useit.
4. Whentheslideshowiscompletetellthe
studentstogetintogroupsof4.Thismeanstwo
mentorsandtwostudentswillbeineachgroup.
5. Aftertheyaresittingintheirgroupshandoutthe
worksheetthatdetailstheassignment.Ithasthe
promptonitfromthecompanyandtheproblem
challenges.Italsohastwoblankpagesforthe
grouptodesignanddrawtheirsketches.
6. Givethestudentsaminutetoreadoverthe
assignmentsheetandthenpassout1sheetof
aluminumfoil.
7. Tellthestudentstodesigntheirboatonthe
sheetofpaperbeforetheydoanythingwiththe
aluminumfoil.Afterabout3minutesofletting
themdesigntellthemtheyhave57minutesto
createtheirboatwiththealuminumfoil.
8. Makesureyouastheteacherarecircling
throughtheroomandcheckinginoneach
group.Thestudentswillhavequestionsand
wanthintsonhowtocreatethebestboat.
9. Afterthe57minutesisuptellthegroupsto
bringtheirboatsovertothetoycrate.Groups
willgo1by1andputtheiraluminumfoilboatin
thetoycrate.Theteacherwillthenstartfillingup
theboatwithgolfballs.Onceitsinkstheirturnis
overandthenextteamgoes.Makesureyou
movethispartalongbecauseifyoudontitwill
takeaverylongtimeandyouwontgettotest
theseconddesignoftheboats.
10. Whileeachgroupisgoingmakesuretogive
thempraiseandfeedbackontheirdesign.Ifone
groupisreallystruggledwiththefirstdesign
makesuretospendtimeattheirtablewhilethey
designthesecondboat.Theywillneedsome


MikeCroly
DanielMills
NolanHostetler
tipsonhowtofixit.
11. Onceeveryoneisdonewiththefirsttesttell
themtofillinhowmanygolfballstheirfirst
designheldontheassignmentsheet.Theynow
have5minutestocompletetheirseconddesign
andcreateit.Againifagroupishavingtrouble
makesuretostopattheirtableandmakesure
theyareontherighttrack.Wewantstudentsto
passthisformalassessmentof15golfballsat
theendoftheseconddesigntest.
12. Makesuretogivethegroupsa2minute
warningsotheycangettheirboatcreatedand
readytobetested.
13. Oncetimeisuptocreatetheseconddesigncall
everyoneoverandrepeatthetestingprocess.
Makementalnotesinyourmindofwhichgroups
passedtheformalassessmentandwhichones
didnot.Remembertheboatneedstoholdat
least15golfballsforthestudentstopass.
14. Attheendofthefinaltestcongratulateall
groupsonajobwelldoneandwrapupthe
lessonwiththefinal2slidesofthepowerpoint.
Thefinal2slidesconsistofwhyengineering
designisimportantandhowitisusedinreallife.
Assessment

ReferencesandReferenceMaterial

FirstDesign:(InformalAssessment)
Groupsactivelyparticipateand
createadesigntotest.
Studentssharetheanswerstothe
classduringthegroupdiscussion.
SecondDesign:(FormalAssessment)
Groupssuccessfullyredesigntheir
boatandcomeupwithabetter
solutionthenthefirstone.
Thisassignmentiscenteredaround
astraightpassfailmarking.Iftheir
boatheldatleast15golfballsthen
theypass.Ifnot,theyfail.

Lewis,T.(2005).Comingtotermswithengineeringdesign
ascontent.JournalofTechnologyEducation,16(2),3754.

Dym,C.L.,Agogino,A.M.,Eris,Ozgur,E.,Frey,D.D.,&Leifer,
L.J.(2005).Engineeringdesignthinking,teaching,andlearning.
JournalofEngineeringEducation,95(1),103120.


MikeCroly
DanielMills
NolanHostetler

ReferenceMaterial:

Lewis,T.(2005).Comingtotermswithengineeringdesignascontent.JournalofTechnology
Education,16(2),3754.

Wefoundthisarticletobeveryinterestingandinsightfulintoengineeringdesignas
contentinaclassroom.Rarelyisengineeringdesignmentionedascoreclassroomcontent
eventhoughithasbeenprovenasaveryimportantskilltohave.Onethingthatwereallytook
outofthisarticlewasthefactthatLewisstates,Thedesignprocessitnotlinear.Hinrichs
(1992)pointedoutthatconstraintsmaychangeinthecourseofthedesign,requiringthe
engineertoswitchproblemspace(Page6)Thedesignprocessisnotlikethescientific
method.Thereisno5stepmethodonhowtodoit.Youcanapproachanyproblemhowever
youwantdependingontheconstraints.Thisfreedomalsoallowsyoutochangemid
experimentifyourealizethereisanothervariable(anotherconstraint)affectingyourresults
thatyouneedtotakeintoaccount.

Dym,C.L.,Agogino,A.M.,Eris,Ozgur,E.,Frey,D.D.,&Leifer,L.J.(2005).Engineering
designthinking,teaching,andlearning.JournalofEngineeringEducation,95(1),103120.

Thissecondjournalarticlewasveryinterestingaswell.Thefirstarticlestatedthatyou
needtothinkoutsidetheboxtosolveproblems,butthisarticleemphasizesdivergentand
convergentquestioning.Foryoutosolveaproblemyouneedtoapproachitfrommany
differentangles.Startbyquestioningtheproblemandtryingtofigureoutwhyyouneedto
solveit.Whodoesthisproblemaffect?Whatisthebestwaytogoaboutfixingit?Dowehave
anymonetaryconstraintsrelatedtofixingthisproblem?Foryoutobestsolveaproblemyou
needtocompletelyunderstandit.Sometimesthatinvolvesquestioningthepromptandwhyit
isimportantthatwesolvethis.Ifyougetinvestedintheproblemyouwillworkhardertofixit.


MikeCroly
DanielMills
NolanHostetler