Engineering Design Process

Elementary learners engage with a simple, five-phase process.

Ask: Students define the problem, identify the requirements for the design (criteria) and how their choices may be limited (constraints). This includes considering the needs of users and implications of the solution. They explore materials and consider which are best suited to the challenge.

Imagine: Students creatively brainstorm ways to solve the problem.

Plan: Students share and select their best ideas to generate one design. They sketch their plan and list the materials it uses.

Create: Groups work together to make the solution they designed.

Test: Each group tests its solution against the performance criteria. Groups share and analyze data to determine where improvements might be made.

Improve Cycle: Students improve their design by going through another iteration of the process.

Middle school-aged learners engage with a seven-phase process.

Frame: Students examine a problem from multiple perspectives to identify the requirements for the design (criteria) and how their choices may be limited (constraints). This includes considering the needs of users and implications of the solution.

Investigate: Students explore scientific phenomena, materials properties, and other relevant questions through experiments, model construction, and research.

Brainstorm: Students creatively generate a number of possible solutions to the problem independently and in teams.

Plan: Drawing on evidence from the Investigate phase and their teamwork skills, students combine their best ideas to decide on one design. They sketch their plan and list the materials they will need.

Create: Teams work together to make the solution they designed.

Test: Teams test their solution against the performance criteria. Teams gather quantitative and qualitative data to determine how their design performed.

Evaluate: Teams analyze their data and identify opportunities for improvement.

Iterate Cycle: Teams iterate their designs by going through the Engineering Design Process again. This enables them to compare multiple designs and consider how to further improve their technology.