I have a good understanding of the Engineering Design Process when it comes to competition teams and customizing robots, but what about in the classroom when students are simply following build instructions?
For example, I find the Tug of War to be a great series of lessons when getting started, but what should be in the notebooks when just following instructions (e.g. testing batteries, controllers, Basebot build instructions, etc.)?
In a later lesson, they add mass and customize their robots, so the Engineering Design Process is helpful, but when just following instructions, the notebook doesn’t make sense - they don’t know what to include in the notebook.
What should the notebooks contain for this type of classroom activity? A well constructed example would be great, but I haven’t found any resources.
Define the problem;
Make a design brief. Provide the problem statement (the game for this year), design statement (using the build instructions), client (None, or they can be silly and say that it’s some made up person), designer (the team), criteria, constraints
Generate concepts:
Research the problem (the game) and learn about the robot that you’re using build instructions for
Design a Solution:
Brain storm ideas and THEN make a decision matrix (this will have all the figuring out of mass or customization)
Build and test:
Build the robot and test to see if it’s functional (leave photos along the way)
Evaluate solution:
Fix mistakes, figure out what you can do better and write about it.
Present solution:
Maybe write a little about it, and a few photos of end result.
If I run across a camera (cause I don’t have a phone) I’ll send over some of my old pages where I show these steps, not the same exact topic but close enough