Although numerous products have emerged, from something as simple as a cup to something as complex as a helicopter, the design and construction process engineers use remains consistent and simple in process. Therefore, we can adopt this in a simplified form for primary or primary school classes. In the next section, we lay out the model of the engineering design process (EDP) and describe the purpose, thought processes, and activities encountered at each stage.

Just like EDP used by engineers, the children’s version of EDP starts with a need. Engineers work to respond to an issue or problem for which they need to find a solution. It is an engineer’s job to figure out what needs to be done in response to this problem and provide workable solutions. Giving children a problem to solve is a spark that will make them think and ignite their ideas.

Similarly, engineering challenges are all based on problems where children must design and build a product to find solutions. These problems are set in the context of a story, using everyday situations that will be familiar to children in your classroom. These challenges are set by fictional characters who are the same age as children in the primary or primary school stage of their education, to make them more relatable to children and to help children empathize with the needs of the respective characters.

However, just like in the real EDP, the needs and requirements presented at this stage are general and open-ended.

In this phase of the EDP, we encourage children to transform the initial needs of the characters in the challenge story into a set of engineering requirements, similar to how engineers transform their challenge into a design specification. In the classroom, this is done by helping children ask questions about circumstances, needs and the purpose of the challenge so that a more concrete and measurable set of criteria can be met.

Illustrative engineering challenge: A cold drink on a hot day

Cery plans to visit the beach on a hot summer day. He wants to take his drink with him, but all he has is a disposable plastic bottle that won’t keep his drink cold for very long. Can you design something reusable that will keep his drink cold for him?

In our beach cup problem, children may need to know the answers to the following questions in order to design and make a suitable product.

● How much drink does the glass need to hold?

● How long does the glass need to keep the drink cold?

● Will the cup be reused?

● How much money do you need to spend on the trophy?

● What materials and tools/equipment are available?

By asking questions like these, children develop their understanding of a more focused set of requirements and therefore capture everything needed for the product.

When you begin working with EDP in your classroom, children may need support in formulating appropriate questions at first. However, with more practice, children will learn exactly what they need to learn at this stage of the EDP and thus become more adept at asking appropriate questions.

As we learned before, engineering is a creative subject that welcomes thinkers who can look at problems from different perspectives and produce creative solutions. Just like real engineers, at this stage of the engineering process children are encouraged to use their imagination and consider various potential solutions where anything is possible. For example, for our beach cup problem, kids might consider designing a hat that holds a drink bottle and straws, liquid ice containers, or even a drinks transport drone to carry a cold drink directly to them from the café fridge! New and original solutions can only be achieved by considering wild and crazy ideas.

Once kids have let their imaginations run wild, it’s time to look elsewhere for inspiration. Just like real engineers think, here we encourage children to do simple research on things that already exist, which can provide potential ideas and inspiration for the design and product they will produce. Children sometimes have difficulty with this stage because they may think this is cheating or cheating. To answer this, children must be helped to understand that this is how real engineers work: No one designs a bridge from scratch!

At this stage, children may also need to make some preliminary examinations. For our beach glass example, this might involve testing the thermal insulation or waterproofing properties of potential materials.

Again, at this stage, like real engineers, children will create engineering drawings (designs or plans) for the final product, using the information they have gained from the ‘idea development’ stage. Ideas in designs should include:

● Views of the sides, top and bottom of the product

● Separate drawings of any fixture or component

● Mechanisms for fixtures and combinations

Children should be encouraged to produce around three main ideas or plans. Using these three ideas, we can mimic the work engineers do when downselecting (i.e., evaluating) which of these designs is best. This is done by looking at the original need identified in the ignition phase and the set of criteria developed in the discovery phase and evaluating which ideas best fit those needs. It is vital that teachers remind children of the initial problem at this stage. Did they meet what was expected of them in terms of solving the initial problem? Is what they plan realistic and achievable within the constraints set?

making: This is the hands-on part where kids can make their products. At this stage, children may need to be taught certain skills, such as how to use tools correctly; Even something as simple as scissors for young children. It is important that children are taught how to properly use the right tool for the job. Imagine trying to cut a raw carrot with a butter knife you use every day; It would be both dangerous and difficult! It will be safer and easier to teach children how to hold and use the shaping knife safely; Therefore, take the time to teach the children you work with how to properly and safely use the tools they will need.

Test: Engineers don’t just present their finished product and then walk away. They evaluate, test and improve, sometimes going back to the drawing board and starting all over again! However, children may tend to make their own product and often view this as the final and completed version. It is important to challenge this idea and encourage children to evaluate and improve their work, just as a real engineer would with a prototype. One way to do this is to create scenarios that test the products being made. For example, can the beach mug withstand being left on damp sand for 10 minutes? How cold will the drink inside be after 10 minutes when heated? Clarifying errors as areas for improvement is possible through testing processes.

Improvement: Some kids may view finding faults in their products as criticism and may give up if their product isn’t perfect right away, while others may struggle to suggest ways their product could be improved. A great way to help with this is to encourage the sharing of ideas, but children may see this as copying. Teachers need to re-emphasize that engineers do not work on their own; They constantly share ideas and develop ideas together. Try to actively encourage this through the following activities:

● Ask groups of children to display their own products or organize a product carousel where children can examine the work of other groups.

● Ask children to share with the class a problem, issue, or victory they have had with their product (for example, how to make a cap that will fit on a beverage bottle). The rest of the class can then share how they overcame the same problem or use the developed knowledge themselves.

● At this stage, children may encounter common difficulties such as the product not being stable or strong enough to support the designated weight. This means going back to researching other products and how to make them more stable or stronger etc. It provides a great opportunity for reflection.