Learn/Engineering design
Engineering design
Engineering begins with a question: how can we make this work? Students define a task, build a prototype, test it and improve their design using what they discover.
Who it is for: Every project, with a full design cycle from age 12
It involves
- Name the task
- Build the smallest version
- Change one thing
- Present the failure and the fix
A task in one sentence
Students say what the robot must do and how the group will know it did it.
A record of the change
A later session can see why the second robot differs from the first.
A presentation
A parent at the end of a term hears the task, the failure, and the fix from the student.
A prototype the kit can hold
Projects use classroom robotics kits to practise designing, building and testing. Admissions can help match a project idea to the available equipment.
The cycle, in class language
Name the task
One sentence: what the robot must do, and how we will know it did it. “Make it cool” is sent back.
Build the smallest version
The first test uses the fewest parts that can fail in an interesting way. Extra decoration waits.
Change one thing
Students record the change. A later session should be able to see why the second robot is different from the first.
Explain it
The project is presented to the group. A parent visiting at the end of a term should hear the task, the failure, and the fix from the student, not from the instructor.
Practical prototyping
Students work with classroom kits to turn an idea into a testable prototype. The available parts give each project a practical starting point, while repeated testing helps learners improve the design. Admissions can advise whether a proposed project suits the current equipment.
Questions
Do you run a 3D-printing or drone course?+–
Not as its own course. If a part cannot be made with the kit, the class says so and keeps the prototype at a scale the kit allows.