Chapter 4 Engineering Better Projects.pdf

Chapter 4 Engineering Better Projects April M. Moon Jim Morgan Luciana R. Barroso TX Director of School CSU Engineering Zachry Department of Civil Engagement Charles Sturt University an...

Chapter 4 Engineering Better Projects April M. Moon Jim Morgan Luciana R. Barroso TX Director of School CSU Engineering Zachry Department of Civil Engagement Charles Sturt University and Environmental Project Lead The Way Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Aggie STEM Engineering Texas A&M University Aggie STEM Texas A&M University With the ever-changing technological advances and new problems and demands arising in our world daily, we must prepare our students for jobs and challenges that possibly do not even exist today. Therefore, students must be equipped with problem-solving skills that enable them to work effectively and efficiently with others to find solutions regardless of the specific type of problem they face. In addition, the internet has made information easily and quickly accessible, which has caused a shift away from the importance of memorization and towards new skills, such as learning how to acquire valid information and create new information based on observations, analysis, and metacognition. Automation through machines, algorithms, and robotics has also decreased the need for people to carry out routine, repetitive tasks, making it vital that our students know how to demonstrate and apply knowledge and skills to form new ideas instead of merely reproducing concepts or duplicating standard problem solutions. Furthermore, virtual environments introduce unique challenges and opportunities with projects both in education and in the workplace. These new demands are the reason engineering, project-based learning (PBL), and the design process are now a focus in 21st century curricula. Engineering Better Projects 49  Chapter Outcomes When you complete this chapter, you should better understand and be able to explain the importance of the use of a design process in today’s curricula the steps of the engineering design process how the engineering design process relates to the 5E Model the essential elements needed to define a project an educator’s role in a project-based learning classroom challenges, opportunities, and tools available to tackle projects in a virtual environment When you complete this chapter, you should be able to define, facilitate, and assess projects more efficiently and successfully guide students with real-world methods that will enable them to design better solutions adapt projects for different proficiencies and different environments equip your students with essential skills for the workplace Chapter Overview This chapter pulls together the engineering design process and a widely used instructional model, the BSCS 5E model (Bybee & Landes, 1988), while providing tips on the application of both in differing classroom environments. Furthermore, this chapter will explain how an instructional model provides a structured sequence of learning steps, the engineering design enhances the learning process, and diverse classroom environments provide challenges as well as opportunities. The learning that results from engineering processes fits well with accepted learning cycles and instructional models. Table 1 summarizes the steps of the BSCS 5E model and ties them to steps in the engineering design process. This comparison also could be extended to the Science Curriculum Improvement Study learning cycle (Karplus, 1964; Karpus & Their, 1967) or other models. Table 1 Alignment of 5E Model with Engineering Design Process 5E Step Design Process Step Engagement Identify problem, criteria, and constraints Exploration Research; Ideate Explanation Research; Ideate; Analyze ideas Extension Build; Communicate and reflect Evaluation Test and refine; Communicate and reflect 50 Engineering Better Projects Opportunities (and challenges) with implementing PBL into curricula vary based on the mode of delivery (i.e., face-to-face, virtual, synchronous or asynchronous, or a blended approach). We will address some of these opportunities and challenges towards the end of the chapter. What is Engineering? “Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was.” — Theodore von Karman, co-founder of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Engineering applies knowledge and experience to create solutions that improve our world and the quality of our lives. Engineers are always looking to identify new patterns or relationships or imagine new or better ways of doing things. Engineering uses and integrates concepts from mathematics, the sciences, and technology, as well as social science and humanities concepts, to create solutions to complex problems in a systematic manner such that the result behaves in a predicted/expected manner. While the process is systematic, engineering design is open- ended and requires creativity and extension beyond merely the application of scientific principles in order to achieve an optimal solution. Because engineering addresses real-world problems, it provides an excellent context in which to illustrate concepts that otherwise may be difficult for students to visualize. Moreover, because engineering problems are relevant to students and society, students are likely to be more motivated to learn the basic knowledge and skills in their core classes when they are given the opportunity to apply and combine what they are learning to create open-ended solutions. Successful engineering depends just as much on personal skills as it does on knowledge, which makes engineering design even more valuable in the classroom than one may initially realize. For example, engineering relies on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication (also known as the “four C’s), which together make up the 21st Century Learning Skills—skills that are important to all students independent of their future career path (Stauffer, 2020). Engineering design is an iterative process of optimizing solutions by teams boldly thinking “outside-of-the-box” and then building, testing, and refining their design as many times as it takes until the best solution is achieved under the defined constraints. As such, failure is expected and even embraced during the engineering design process, creating a safe environment for exploration and innovation. This type of environment not only fosters the development of 21st Century Learning Skills but also directly builds students’ 21st Century Life Skills, such as flexibility. The practice of engineering design in the classroom builds grit and teaches students how to fail well because it requires them to try something new, learn Engineering Better Projects 51 through trial-and-error and reflection, immediately apply what they learn to refine their design, and then try again. According to Serrat (2017), Successful individuals, groups, and organizations fail much more than they succeed. However, their larger success derives from the fact that they fail well [emphasis added]. The difference lies in their perception of and their response to failure. In a word, they treat it as a process. (p. 919) What is the Design Process? Importance of Design Process The design process is an iterative and systematic approach followed when developing a solution for a problem with a well-defined outcome. There are many variations in practice today, but most of them include the same basic steps. Following a well-structured design process when solving problems is important because it provides the structure needed to efficiently formulate the best solution possible, and the act of following a design process builds problem-solving skills and logic. Benefits The benefits of incorporating a design process in the classroom include: requires higher order thinking provides a realistic context for the application of math and science provides a structure for breaking down complex problems teaches students to embrace failure as part of the learning process builds 21st century skills, such as problem-solving and creativity makes connections between mathematics, science, technology, social sciences, and humanities to real-world products and processes increases business sense, identifying connections between industries promotes ownership based on discovery learning and development of unique solutions cultivates skills required for successful collaboration and teamwork develops a stronger interest in science, technology, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities concepts provides an environment where metacognition and journaling are of great importance so the purpose of these activities are therefore better understood and appreciated 52 Engineering Better Projects Steps of Design Process Figure 1. Seven-Step Design Process Engineering design can be represented utilizing a seven-step process. The process is, by nature, iterative in that engineers almost never work linearly through these steps but instead alternate between the various steps until the final design solution is identified. The seven steps, illustrated in Figure 1, are outlined to the right. Step 1: Identify Problem Although this task may seem minor, it is of great importance. By accurately identifying the problem, constraints, and criteria, design teams can clearly and concisely define the scope, goals, and limitations of the planned design work. Design Problem. In the classroom, all projects should be introduced to the students with a project design brief (also known as an entry document) that defines the design problem, constraints, and criteria. Typically, design problems are defined by the teacher but presented in a personal way that excites the project team about taking ownership. A real-world problem with a well-defined outcome should be provided, but keep in mind that the path to achieving that outcome must be determined by each student team. TIP: Constraints and Criteria. Successful Teachers should plan a “kick-off” event when they first launch a project. This event (e.g., engineering solutions must satisfy multiple guest speaker, field trip, video, experiment) constraints while optimizing criteria. Balancing the helps to grab the attention of the students. In addition, when a project is introduced, a project importance of each criterion, while honoring all design brief and a rubric should be presented constraints, can be challenging, especially if team with time for students to ask clarifying members have different priorities. To make things questions and identify “need to knows.” Sample rubrics can be found in the appendices (see even more challenging, many projects now involve Appendix B [Ideation Rubric], Appendix C stakeholders from different countries and diverse [Oral Presentation Rubric], Appendix D [Presentation Rubric PT1: Individual], & cultures, adding complexity to both constraints Appendix E [Presentation Rubric PT2: Group]. and criteria that need to be considered. Engineering Better Projects 53 Each project will have constraints, or limitations, which will often create conflict. For example, two common project constraints, low cost and a short implementation timeframe, may be mutually exclusive. Constraints are often focused on the process used when designing a solution or on the limited resources and conditions for the project. Defined criteria focus on the desirable characteristics of the final design. For example, it may be desirable that a product is visually appealing or small in size (the smaller, the better). Remember, criteria are typically evaluated on a scale, whereas constraints are simply met or not met. It is possible for a product characteristic to be both a criterion and a constraint depending on how it is presented. For example, a low production cost may be a criterion and can help the design team identify the best solution out of multiple acceptable solutions. A maximum production cost of $100 is a limitation on the previous criterion (low production cost). Therefore, it is a constraint. All proposed solutions must meet this constraint, or limit, to be even considered as an acceptable solution. For example, we may have three proposed solutions that are going to cost $150, $90, and $75 in production costs, respectively. The proposed solution with a production cost of $150 is simply thrown out and no longer considered as a possible option, and the other two proposed solutions will be further evaluated to see how they compare across all criteria. Another example of a product characteristic that can be both a criterion and a constraint is the longevity of a product based on its durability. If there is a minimum period of time, such as one year, that the product must operate without defects, that is a constraint, but maximizing longevity beyond that first year may be a criterion. In the classroom setting, criteria and constraints are typically provided by the teacher when they introduce the design problem via the project design brief. However, student project teams can and periodically should be required to define or identify constraints and criteria on their own, making explicit decisions as to how the different criteria will be weighed when analyzing their solution, as trade-offs between criteria are inevitable. For example, a solution may be slightly more reliable at a corresponding higher cost; it is important that the students explicitly address those trade-offs. As an example of possible criteria and constraints, specifications for the design of a pill dispenser are given in the section of the design brief provided in Figure 2b. (design problem is provided in Figure 2a.). Notice that the elements under criteria can all be assessed on a sliding scale. For example, although all pill dispenser options should be safe and secure to use, some designs may be safer and more secure than others. 54 Engineering Better Projects As previously discussed, design teams may need to research in order to more fully define the criteria listed. Deciding on the target consumer and identifying what may be affordable for that person may be part of the project. In the classroom, this can be particularly useful in cross- curricular projects; for example, the teacher can potentially integrate parts of the pill dispenser design project in a sociology, economics, health science, or mathematics course. Figure 2a. Example: “Medicine Manager” — Figure 2b. Example: “Medicine Manager” —- A Pill Dispenser Design Problem Criteria and Constraints Problem Criteria In March of 2020, a new problem, the COVID Affordable for target consumer pandemic, demanded innovative solutions to be Easy to use designed quickly under changing constraints and Safe and secure to use criteria. Every industry was affected, including, but not limited to, healthcare, business, Reliable (consistently dispenses correct transportation, entertainment, and even medication: type of pill, amount, and time) education. New processes, products, and services Longevity were needed worldwide all at once, and our lives, Visually appealing jobs, and livelihoods depended on it. Our elderly Adjustable (accommodates a variety of pills population and people with compromised [number and size] and time increments) immune systems were affected the most. Their Optional: Multifunctional (works for a variety of best chance at not getting sick was to stay medication forms, dispenses water) isolated from others, including their families and Optional: Incorporates useful “smart” functions caretakers, which was a difficult demand considering our elderly and immunocompromised Product Constraints populations are typically the ones that need the Total weight of empty dispenser must be most assistance from others in their family under five pounds and/or community. Total size of dispenser must be under one cubic foot The need to administer medication accurately, safely, securely, and without the assistance of Longevity must be at least one year another person became more important than (guaranteed to operate without defects for ever. A reliable pill dispenser was needed that one year) could store and distribute medicine safely, Project Design Process and Implementation Constraints accurately, and on time without outside Must complete detailed drawings of assistance. prototype design for manufacturer within 20 calendar days and under 300 man-hours Although some pill dispenser solutions exist in the market today, there is still not one that truly Two or more people must work together on the optimizes the criteria while meeting all project constraints. However, some people have nobody All meeting minutes and preliminary to consistently rely on for daily help, especially sketches, calculations, and notes must be during a pandemic, so a better solution is high in recorded and dated in engineering demand. Therefore, our state governor is notebook/journal challenging our young innovative students to Business Constraints design a solution. The winning design will be Production cost versus net sales revenue patented and marketed at no cost to the student, must generate a minimum 30% profit but most importantly, the young engineer that margin develops the best solution will save many lives in Must use negotiated suppliers only the years to come. Is that young engineer you? Engineering Better Projects 55 Project constraints and criteria can include advanced targets for student design groups, allowing for learning differentiation or accommodation to different available resources. One such option for the pill dispenser is the incorporation of smart functions, which can be done through Arduino designs and cell phone apps. For example, a desirable and effective solution to this pill dispenser criterion could be an app that triggers a cell phone notification to take the medication at a prescribed time. Wi-fi could be incorporated if smart-home devices, such as Alexa or Google Home, are present. Then notifications could be shared with those systems as well. Other useful notifications and features may include a low battery warning, a sounding alarm or flashing light (for hearing impaired consumers) when the supply is running low, or automatic notifications to emergency contacts if two or more doses are missed. User-Centered Approach. Keep in mind that some project stakeholders do not have a direct voice in the process. For example, consumers may not be a part of the design team and yet will have a critical role in determining whether a product succeeds. Also, communities are often impacted by solutions and products developed, particularly in large-scale projects, such as infrastructure development. Therefore, design teams must find a way to identify the needs and desires of a variety of stakeholders, possibly through focus groups, surveys, research, or town- hall meetings. Step 2: Research Background research provides information necessary to formulate and critically analyze design ideas. It is most efficient for design teams to investigate prior work on the specific topic of their design in an attempt to avoid duplicating effort. In addition, the team needs to be familiar with applicable laws, rules, ordinances, local customs, and appropriate industry design standards. They must research how to best assess and consider the perspectives, needs, and wants of all stakeholders. Finally, environmental impacts related to the project must be researched so negative effects can be minimized. Design teams must also fully understand the properties of the materials being used in the manufacturing of products that are part of their design solution. Thorough research must be conducted, and material tests are often needed to better understand these properties, followed by 56 Engineering Better Projects analysis of collected data. Local access to suppliers, shipping processes and fees, contract terms, negotiated bulk pricing, reliability, and political issues all need to be investigated when selecting a supplier. In addition, if foreign suppliers are included, import taxes must be considered. Although the selection of a supplier is almost always a step in the design process, it is important to note that design teams are often restricted to materials available from pre- approved or local vendors and suppliers. Step 3: Ideate Effective design involves the generation of multiple solution ideas, and creativity is an essential part of this process. To this end, design engineers often employ brainstorming techniques. Brainstorming is particularly useful for attacking specific (rather than general) problems where a collection of good, fresh, new ideas is needed. Therefore, brainstorming techniques should be used to develop a thorough list of ideas for solving the problem and to identify all risks and benefits associated with each idea. Although many believe they know how to brainstorm, they often have not truly developed it as a skill or realized the value added from proper brainstorming. Brainstorming should be performed in a relaxed and nonjudgmental environment. If participants feel free to relax and take risks without being criticized, they will stretch their minds further and therefore generate more contributions to later analyze. To increase the team’s synergy during brainstorming, a facilitator role should be designated to ensure all members participate, and team members should be allowed to comfortably move about during the session. Finally, conducting creativity or relaxation exercises before the session can enhance the creativity of members within the design team, which in and of itself further promotes creativity and productivity amongst the group. When a team brainstorms, all members must embrace the understanding that the quantity of ideas is more important than the quality of ideas at this point in the process. It is important that the team does not focus on perfecting or TIPS: developing their ideas or evaluating whether or The flexibility of being able to organize, move, and add post-it notes on large surfaces make not the proposed ideas are even possible. They them a popular choice during brainstorming are simply recording every thought that comes sessions. The freedom for participants to use color, font to mind. Thoughts that may be captured in attributes that show emphasis, and blended words, sketches, or pictures during the communication methods and strategies often brainstorming session and later presented in enhance the synergy of brainstorming sessions. different formats, including, but not limited to, Brainstorming is often performed in “Think- thinking maps, lists, tables, online generated Pair-Share” activities, which work well for spiraling a new idea from a previous one word clouds, graphs, and videos. (Johnson et al., 1991). Engineering Better Projects 57 The final idea is often a conglomeration of all previously shared thoughts, and sometimes a seemingly impossible idea ends up being the best one after some amount of refinement. By permitting and encouraging the team to think outside the boundaries of ordinary thought and by requiring all members to contribute, listen, and collaborate during the session, brilliant new solutions can arise. Step 4: Analyze Ideas After preliminary ideas have been identified during the ideate step, they need to be refined and more fully developed. The design team applies cross-disciplinary principles for this purpose. Mathematical and scientific models or simulations are often generated that can be used to predict the performance of the different solutions being considered. The results of these models must be analyzed within the context of the project criteria and constraints in order to identify the viable alternatives so that the design efforts may be concentrated in refining and improving those options. Creating unique solutions to difficult problems requires design teams to grapple with complex systems. Because design problems are audience-specific and context- specific, there are typically many feasible solutions that need to be analyzed in order to select the best one. To sort through and negotiate possible solutions, the design team is required to consider multiple goals, criteria, and constraints that frequently conflict. Keep in mind that design projects do not result in a single correct answer; rather, the design team must aim to identify the best solution out of several possibilities. Identification of the best solution for a design problem requires careful, objective assessment of the top alternatives. This type of exercise requires students to critically evaluate and communicate the various benefits and drawbacks of each design alternative and should be carried out using a systematic process. A decision matrix table, as shown in Figure 3, is therefore often used to evaluate viable options (those that meet all design constraints) for a set of defined criteria. 58 Engineering Better Projects Figure 3. Example: “Medicine Manager” — Decision Matrix The best solution can be identified through a function of how each proposed solution ranks under each criterion as well as how the criteria are weighed. Although two different teams may have identical problem criteria, they may decide to give greater weight to different items. For example, although two teams both have product reliability and adaptability as criteria, one team may value reliability more than adaptability whereas the other might place higher value on adaptability. Neither choice is necessarily wrong, and the weight given to a particular criterion is unlikely to remain constant across different projects. Step 5: Build After applying cross-disciplinary concepts and ideas to fully develop the best design idea, an attempt at building a full-size working model, or prototype, should be undertaken. Materials, suppliers, and assembly processes must be finalized in order to build physical prototypes. In cases where an exact prototype cannot be created according to design specifications or a prototype’s performance cannot be tested under the actual environmental conditions, a 3- dimensional modeling program may be used to simulate the prototype in a virtual environment. Remember, products are not always physical. For example, the goal of a project may be to define a new process that will increase the efficiency of a team. The build step is still applicable in these instances, as processes need to be built and tested as well. In these types of projects, a process flowchart or training is often the final deliverable instead of a physical product. Engineering Better Projects 59 Step 6: Test and Refine The prototype’s performance will be experimentally evaluated and tested under all possible conditions. For each evaluation, thorough documentation should be recorded, including predictions, testing conditions, observations, and results. Although testing conditions should emulate the actual environment of the finished product, these conditions are sometimes not known at this point in the project. In addition, exact simulation of the actual environment is often not possible. Any deviation, as well as factors that may vary from one test to another, must be identified and recorded. Photographs or videos of the prototype from different angles are beneficial in most cases. A common item of known size (so as to provide a sense of scale), a time stamp, the designer’s signature, and the reviewer’s signature should be visible in all shots. In addition, certain situations may require an external, independent witness or reviewer signature, such as when filing for a patent. Finally, during tests, the design team should ensure that detailed observation notes are recorded. For example, in a classroom project where students design houseboats, students must test assumptions that they made about the viability of their design, such as its ability to remain afloat based on the materials that were used. These results, as well as the limits under which the design meets the purpose, such as the boat being able to float and remain stable under a maximum weight limit, should all be part of the observation notes. After testing and observing a prototype, new information will be identified that may improve the design. At this point, it is important to go back to the start of the ideate phase to brainstorm alterations, analyze and select an updated or alternative design, build a new 60 Engineering Better Projects prototype, retest, and refine again. It is possible that the design team will need to revisit problem constraints and criteria based on the new data or that additional research and ideation is needed. This refinement process is cyclical until the final design is selected. However, deadlines and budgets typically limit the extent of the refinement process, so the design team must not get stuck in this iterative phase trying to perfect the quality or performance of their product beyond what their resources allow and what the scope of the project demands. Step 7: Communicate and Reflect Creating design solutions requires effective communication. The days of project members working independently in cubicles with little or no interaction with others are a thing of the past. Now, finding solutions to complex design problems requires at least four styles of communication: interpersonal, oral, visual and written. Even virtual teams are required to define and use methods for collaborating effectively for each type of communication. (See the section below titled “PBL in a Virtual Environment” for more information on virtual collaboration.) Engineering design is most often done in teams to facilitate broad ideation, share workload, and draw from individuals’ diverse strengths. This teamwork setting requires significant interpersonal communications and an emphasis on the importance of constructive and professional interaction. Oral communication is often required to receive validation, approval, and funding for projects. Good engineers must develop the skills to explain their design in layman’s terms while being able to back it up with technical concepts and terminology. Many great designs go undeveloped simply because the designer cannot gain the trust of investors or customers based on their technical explanations. Keep in mind that body language is an important part of oral communication when gaining the trust of others. The use of illustrations, sketches, working drawings, diagrams, graphs, animations, and other visuals are beneficial throughout the design process. They help communicate difficult concepts and ideas, and they serve as input for the build phases of the project. If a physical product is being designed, detailed working drawings and a bill of materials are also required. Standard dimensioning practices should be followed to avoid confusion and to allow products to be produced with precision. Written communication and documentation are essential to the design process. Engineers typically record all their thoughts, research, rough drawings, detailed sketches, test results, and interactions in an engineering notebook/journal. The format of a journal varies some with personal preference, but there are some norms that should be followed. For example, all Engineering Better Projects 61 physical journals should be bound to ensure pages are not removed or added. Proper journaling with timestamps of each entry will prove ownership of ideas, which may be needed for obtaining patents. It is important to keep documentation in chronological order to accurately represent the progression of design ideas. Reflection on the processes and results throughout each step of the design process will help develop the best design possible, but it may take time for everything to come together; thus, recording these thoughts in a journal is critical to the success of a project. More importantly, reflections will improve metacognition, and thinking about thinking leads to deeper learning. The Engineering Design Process and the BSCS 5E Model Engagement – Identify Problem, Criteria, and Constraints You must capture a student’s interest in the design problem prior to introducing the details of their student project. Issues and solutions affected by the human element and the relevance of the design problem are especially important. Any connection that makes the design problem personally relevant to students can enhance their engagement in the learning process. Video clips, role-play, podcasts, field trips, and guest speakers are also effective methods used to engage students and help them connect the elements of the design problem with the real world. Students typically relate to the problem easier when it is presented via these methods rather than through a traditional lecture. In addition, these approaches have the added benefit of satisfying diverse learning styles. The engagement process is also important as students start to think about how they will create a solution to the problem. Brainstorming sessions in combination with class discussions based around what the students already know are a great way to kick off a project. Be thoughtful of the fact that you will likely have a mix of introverted and extroverted students in your classroom and provide space for both methods of processing knowledge and information. While extroverted students like the immediacy of quickly sharing their preliminary ideas, 62 Engineering Better Projects introverted students need time to internally process their thoughts before sharing. Furthermore, extroverted students sometimes get caught up in just trying to come up with new ideas without evaluating and trying to integrate different ideas and points of view, so it is important to use strategies that open up a space where thoughtful processing of ideas is encouraged for all students. Following this, instructors should then encourage the active participation of all students in idea-sharing activities in which integration and evaluation of ideas is valued. Some strategies that can help introverted students become more active participants and help extroverted students engage all members of the team during brainstorming and discussion sessions include: giving advance notice to allow timid students additional time to develop ideas they are comfortable sharing creating norms to ensure that everyone has a voice during the session pausing before reacting to ideas and providing ample time for team members to respond when their input is requested Exploration - Research & Ideate During the research phase, it is vital that a purpose is provided behind all activities. In addition, activities must model real-world tasks and allow discovery learning and exploration of multiple topics. During this phase, tasks should be designed so that students have common experiences upon which they continue formulating concepts, processes, and skills. Students must consider the “big picture” when creating and communicating their designs. For example, cultural diversity, local environmental issues, and legal requirements may need to be considered. It is particularly important to recognize and encourage creative thinking at this stage. Students typically do not associate creative solutions as part of the math and science curricula and may be initially uncomfortable that there is not one “correct process or solution.” Explanation – Research & Analyze Ideas In addition to validating data, assumptions, and project designs, teachers must guide the processes being used to carry out the project, including technical approaches, communication methods, and the approaches teams are using to work together effectively. As teachers assess a student’s progress, they should provide guidance where needed, but it is important Engineering Better Projects 63 that they do not lay out specific procedures for the students to follow. Often, the best guidance comes in the form of open-ended questions a teacher poses to the student team. Finally, ensure students are following the design process, and always allow, demand, and reward creativity and rigor! TIP: Extension – Build & Communicate Design project learning approaches can easily Discovery learning, or problem-solving be adapted to meet various levels of through hands-on tasks, is a “must’” at every proficiencies while still holding students accountable for high levels of rigor. Examples phase of the design process. The development of how a project’s approach can be adapted in of prototypes provides a tangible connection the classroom for different students include: to abstract scientific and mathematical ○ Breaking down tasks of long duration. Some concepts. students can lose their motivation when tasks are of long duration, as they do not Many students learn best when they: have a sense of accomplishment. By breaking down long tasks into smaller have opportunities to acquire ones, students more readily see their information in a contextual way that progress towards meeting the project allows them to see how course goals. content relates to the real world ○ Creative partnering (Group Projects). Team projects take advantage of the different (example of concrete learning) strengths of team members. Although process information in an you do not want to partner students of environment that allows them to fail such different abilities that the stronger safely (example of active learning) members feel like they need to do all the work in order to achieve the grade they A key component of PBL is effective and desire, balancing different abilities can lead to deeper learning for all students. continuous written and oral communication. Students will be required to communicate to both technical and lay audiences. In addition, they must communicate within a team, as a team, and on an individual basis during the different steps of the design process. The project team must discover the best means of transmitting ideas and, in the process, discover or be introduced to domain-specific communication mechanisms. For example, Gantt Charts are typical in engineering management as a mechanism to visually organize and keep track of schedules and major project milestones. Evaluation – Test and Refine & Reflect Based on testing results, students will refine their design solution. This process requires that they analyze the results based on the problem criteria and objective. In comparing the results of different tests with their predictions, students should critically think about both the 64 Engineering Better Projects strengths and weaknesses of their designs. This is one of the most critical parts of the design process. Students’ comprehension level tends to increase when making discoveries based on their own unique experiences. Keep in mind that students need to be encouraged to revisit previous design process steps, such as ideation and research, when they are refining their design solution. Initially, students may consider this a step- back in the process, or even a failure in their part. Teachers need to be conscious of reinforcing that the design process is iterative and not a straight path through the basic steps. Additionally, students should be encouraged to consider the following: How would a design change if the audience or context were different? How would changing the priority of design constraints or criteria influence the final design solution? Key Components to Successful Implementation of a Design Project in the Classroom Teachers must continually assess student progress, provide feedback, and plan for how to guide the creative problem-solving process without telling the students directly what to do (see Chapter 3 for an extensive explanation of how to design a successful STEM project-based lesson). Throughout the project, teachers should ask themselves questions, such as: Can students adequately justify decisions made related to design constraints, criteria, and the scoring in their decision matrix? Can students appropriately apply requisite mathematics, science, technology, social sciences, and humanities concepts that are related to their designs? Are the tools and resources used to gather information valid and accurate? Are project teams following the design process? What are the dynamics of the team? How can we improve efficiency? Are the project teams staying on schedule? Is detailed documentation being maintained and dated? Engineering Better Projects 65 Explicit Discussion of Transferable Skills Students may not appreciate the development and assessment of transferable skills as readily as they do the course-specific knowledge and concepts associated with a project. An explicit discussion with students on how these skills are a vital part of the process can help students appreciate and master transferable skills, which strengthens their learning of course-specific content as well. Teamwork can be particularly challenging. Some students think teams provide a way to split up the work but don’t actually work together throughout the project. This can lead to problems, as not only the final product suffers from the lack of collaboration, but some students may also resent that their grade depends on the work of another student that didn’t work “as hard” as they did. By explicitly considering developing and improving teamwork skills as an outcome of their project, these problems can be mitigated. It is also important that transferable skills, such as teamwork and creativity, are assessed by the teacher to hold the students accountable for practicing and developing these skills. In a project rubric, course knowledge and concepts should make up the majority of the grade, but transferable skills should be part of the rubric as well. Communication The teacher is responsible for providing feedback during all phases of the project and should require the students to communicate to a target audience as much as possible. Peer evaluations, presentations open to the community and school officials, and presentations seeking approval to move forward on the project are a few motivators that a teacher may want to consider when having the students present. Due to the significant time requirement and complexity of each project group conducting presentations, it is vital that learning continues for all students, including the students in the audience. Therefore, when student teams are presenting, the audience must have an active role too. This may include taking notes, preparing valuable feedback or questions for the presenters, and/or assessing the project and related presentation using the appropriate rubric(s). To hold the audience accountable, the teacher may want to consider assessing what the students learned from the other groups via a quiz or assess the notes that students took during their peers’ presentations. With a little guidance beforehand on best practices related to providing constructive criticism, it may be especially beneficial to require each student to add value through meaningful feedback and/or valid questions during the Q&A time following each presentation. This can be easily assessed with the teacher simply placing a tally mark (that carries a certain weight) by a student’s name each time they offer an insightful response to another team’s presentation. For example, if the teacher required at least four meaningful 66 Engineering Better Projects responses from each student in the class by the time all presentations were complete during that grading period, each tally mark would count as 25 points. Finally, communication components must be an explicit part of the project (and project grade), and students must discover the value of effective communication. Feedback should be provided not only on the project design/artifact but also on the project’s delivery and students’ communication skills. In addition, an open discussion and/or time for reflection should be allowed at the conclusion of each project to identify and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the communication skills and methods reflected throughout the project. Rubrics for this purpose are found in the appendices (see Appendix C [Oral Presentation Rubric], Appendix D [Presentation Rubric PT1: Individual], & Appendix E [Presentation Rubric PT2: Group]). Assessment At each phase, milestones or progression points should be assessed, and successes should be celebrated. As such, both formative and summative evaluations must be part of the process. Formative assessment should focus on the design process and whether the students are conscious of the decisions being made and understand the basic principles being applied. Teachers should ask students to: explain the technical, mathematical, and scientific principles used in the development of their product discuss the connections and implications of humanities and social sciences to their project justify or explain decisions related to design constraints, criteria, and alternatives analyzed during the design process discuss various solution alternatives and how well they meet the selected design constraints evaluate their progress in both completing project tasks and developing new knowledge and skills reflect on how they would alter their design solution if more time were allowed These self-evaluations and discussions not only provide a basis for the formative assessment, they also can guide students into explicitly developing their metacognition skills. Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is a vital part of all projects. Metacognition is also important for students at the conclusion of each project phase, especially at the end of the project. Considering what they learned throughout the design process, they should identify what changes they would make not only to their design but also within their journey. Keep in Engineering Better Projects 67 mind that it is important to reflect individually and within a team setting throughout the project. It must be done incessantly, and all reflections should be well documented. Summative assessment includes the evaluation of how well the final product meets all the problem criteria and if it meets all defined constraints. The oral, written, or graphical artifacts prepared during the course of the project are also evaluated. A target audience should clearly be defined by the teachers for all communication artifacts, and the students must format their presentation for that audience. A presentation that would be suitable for a technical audience would not be the same as that for a lay person. It is beneficial if students are asked to present their work to different audiences so as to develop a broad communication skill set. This can be accomplished without having the students duplicate their efforts. For example, the written report should be geared towards a more technical audience, allowing the teacher to fully assess the rigor of the approaches used by the student team. The in-class presentation can be geared towards a lay audience. The presentation to a lay audience facilitates assessments when students are asked to role-play and sell their idea to potential customers, who can be represented by their classmates. PBL in a Virtual Environment PBL is equally powerful in a virtual environment as it is in face-to-face meetings. Adaptations may be required in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes, but those adaptations also present different learning opportunities. For example, project deliverables in a virtual environment cannot include a physical prototype created by the group. However, it is still possible to incorporate small physical prototypes created by individual members and a final virtual model, such as one created using a solid modeling program, that is created by the team. Another option would be the generation of the input file for a 3-D printer that the teacher could run. As pointed out earlier, the first step of the design process is the most important. After all, if the problem is incorrectly defined or important constraints or criteria are overlooked, the design team may get to the end of the design process before realizing their designed solution is not even valid, feasible, or competitive. Therefore, considering that critical input from all team members, negotiation, and a clear vision are needed right from the beginning of the project, the very first task for a virtual team must be to identify effective methods and norms for collaborating within their team and as a team (see Chapter 6 for a more detailed discussion of classroom management techniques). 68 Engineering Better Projects Establishing a Creative and Interactive Virtual Team Environment Purposeful effort is needed upfront to establish a virtual environment where every team member feels safe to speak up. In addition to establishing norms, such as balancing speaking time during team meetings, it is especially important for virtual teams to consider software applications and features that promote creativity and voice across the team, such as online real- time polling, word cloud generators based on entries submitted by team members, and cloud- based documents that allow multiple people to edit and contribute to the same document simultaneously (Note: Many common virtual meeting applications have functionality that allow polls to be instantly conducted during a live meeting and the results to be immediately seen by all.) Finally, for ideation tasks, project teams may want to consider using virtual whiteboards that do not mandate a specific communication style but instead allow color pictures to be drawn and stamps, text, and/or embedded images to be added anywhere on the shared document. Virtual Communication and Checks for Understanding It is of utmost importance that virtual teams define expectations around the frequency and format of communications as well as the tools that will be used to communicate informally and formally across the team. For example, Microsoft Teams may be used on a daily basis for file sharing and informal collaboration between team members, but scheduled meetings that include all team members and possibly outside stakeholders may be conducted using applications, such as Zoom, that allow invitees to participate from any internet browser or phone without having to use a downloaded software. When some or all design team members are remotely working towards a common goal, additional checks for common understanding must be strategically scheduled. These checks serve to ensure project information and decisions have a shared understanding by all team members. If remote members work independently under different assumptions or interpretations, it is likely that the project pieces will not come together in the end, and to make matters even worse, one misunderstanding may affect multiple dependent tasks and therefore can quickly have a catastrophic domino effect on the project. Checks may be conducted in many ways, including, but not limited to, open-ended questions, polls, or built-in opportunities that allow all participants a designated time to ask questions or clarify their understandings. The manager/teacher often assigns a project with the problem, constraints, and criteria already defined. They have a vision, and they guide and direct the design team to ensure that all design work moves towards that vision. In a virtual environment, most of the informal moments of guidance that “walk throughs” allow have to be replaced with planned meetings/reports where Engineering Better Projects 69 all team members provide updates on their work, after which the team may discuss the alignment of their work. Additional time may need to be factored into the front the project timeline for communication across virtual teams. All virtual communication must be clear and detailed (and possibly include additional embedded videos or visuals that provide further clarification). Furthermore, additional meetings may be needed, frequent checks for understanding must be conducted, and delays may occur between responses during informal collaboration, and instructors must be prepared for potential technical problems with hardware, software, or internet services to slow progress. However, some aspects of virtual collaboration, such as the ability to record meetings for absent team members and the fact that virtual teams typically have a stronger “paper trail” to reference throughout the project, save time by allowing remote team members to move forward independently after being brought up to date when absent or in need of clarification. Body Language and Synergy in a Virtual Environment Body language and the synergy that is created when people interact with each other face-to-face play a vital role in successful projects, especially during pivotal project tasks, such as brainstorming, identifying and clarifying project goals, and negotiating proposed solutions. When a team is remote, they may lose some synergy from their lack of physical presence with one another. However, with sophisticated meeting applications now readily available, remote teams can still meet “face-to-face” virtually. Therefore, design teams may want to make it a norm that everyone must be on camera when the team is remotely collaborating, negotiating, or finalizing decisions. Once a norm is created, it needs to be posted somewhere that ensures the team is frequently reminded of it. For example, norms could be shared in every meeting’s calendar invite or posted on the screen at the start of each online meeting. Break-out rooms, which allow smaller groups to collaborate during a virtual meeting and then rejoin the larger group, are often offered as a functionality in virtual meeting software applications, such as Zoom. These “virtual rooms” can be used to increase the synergy of the group by allowing more opportunity for each member to contribute and communicate on a more personal level with other team members. In addition, voice, accountability, understanding, and personal relationships are often strengthened across the team during small group collaboration. Virtual break-out groups can typically be assigned strategically, such as teams being assigned to their own room, or randomly, such as when a whole-class brainstorming session is being conducted. Both options have a purpose in project collaboration depending on the goal(s) of the different break-out sessions. 70 Engineering Better Projects Advantages of a Virtual Environment One of the advantages of using a virtual environment is how familiar current students are with that environment. They have a multitude of different applications available to them that they already use to keep in touch with their friends and family. Teachers should encourage students to find and utilize what makes the most sense for them to facilitate their team’s communication and collaboration. The virtual environment also can help reinforce good behaviors. For example, as students interact with the virtual environment, they come to learn the potential pitfalls, such as unstable internet connections and need for clarity in communicating ideas. As a result, students will frequently be better prepared for a final presentation in a virtual environment than they would be for a face-to-face presentation. They see the need to practice the presentations and time their duration accurately, as online time is precious. They also see the need to prepare back-ups in case one of their members cannot connect that day; for example, they can prerecord their presentation to serve as a backup. Conclusion Discovery learning, or problem solving, is the best way to prepare our students for jobs that do not even exist today (Resnick, 1999). As technology and problems evolve at an ever-increasing pace, students need to develop the skills to creatively apply fundamental principles to new challenges. Although knowledge of language arts, social sciences, science, and mathematics have traditionally been the fundamentals of the U.S. educational system, students in the 21st century require an expanded set of basic skills that emphasize thinking and problem solving. In particular, students must be able to connect knowledge and skills learned in one topic area to another topic area as well as make connections to real-life applications of that knowledge. Engineering PBL inherently addresses these needs, though it is complex in nature and spans multiple disciplines. The design process provides a structure for approaching complex problems while encouraging creativity in achieving project goals. Students with diverse learning styles all benefit from and add value to the project, as different stages are more directly related to different learning styles. This allows students to operate within their comfort zone at least part of the time and can provide an environment that allows them to learn from their mistakes safely. The questioning and analytical elements of the process also serve as self- assessments on the state of each student’s own learning and understanding. Additionally, projects emphasize 21st century skills, such as teamwork, communication, and problem- solving skills, that will be important to all students regardless of their future educational or career goals. Finally, virtual PBL experiences offer unique opportunities and challenges for teachers and students during the different steps of the design process. It is vital that Engineering Better Projects 71 communication norms are established, student teams identify ways to increase team synergy and creativity, and the teacher ensures frequent checks for understanding are conducted. Reflection Questions and Activities 1. Compare and contrast the engineering design process with the scientific process. How are they similar? How are they different? 2. Consider a current challenge or problem you or your students are experiencing. What would you include in a design brief (also known as an entry document) for a project addressing this challenge to interest/excite/engage the students in the project? 3. Think of a product characteristic for the design problem above that can be a criterion or a constraint depending on how it is presented. What is the appropriate specificity of the demand/request? 4. This chapter discussed how the engineering design process aligns with the 5E Learning Cycle model. Discuss how it might align with the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (Karplus, 1964) learning cycle model. 5. This chapter discusses some considerations when utilizing PBL in the classroom. Think of specific challenges you have seen (within virtual environments or in general), either as a student or a teacher, and develop a specific strategy for that situation. How can you turn a perceived drawback in delivery method into a strength? References Bybee, R.W., & Landes, N.M. (1988). What research says about new science curriculums (BSCS). Science and Children, 25, 35–39. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. (1991). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Interaction Book. Karplus, R. (1964). The science curriculum improvement study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2(4), 293–303. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660020406 Karplus, R. & Their, H. D. (1967). A new look at elementary school science. Rand McNally. Resnick, L. B. (1999, June 16). Making America smarter. EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-making-america-smarter/1999/06 Serrat O. (2017). Embracing failure. In O. Serrat (Ed.), Knowledge solutions: Tools, methods, and approaches to drive organizational performance (pp. 917–924). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10- 0983-9_104 Stauffer, B. (2020, March 19). What are 21st Century Skills? Applied Educational Systems. https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-are-21st-century-skills 72 Engineering Better Projects