Unit 2 — The Engineering Design Process
Description
This unit covers the systematic steps of the Engineering Design Process and introduces Computer Aided Drafting as a design tool. Students participate in a poster or multimedia project highlighting the parts of the design process. Using TinkerCAD software, students design and create items such as cities, vehicles, bridges, or other structure pieces. Students conduct research reports on building structures and bridge structures, including information about successes and failures. The unit emphasizes the difference between metric and English rulers, how designs are evaluated, and what constitutes a good problem statement. Teacher guidance helps students rank example problem statements and develop group criteria for quality statements.
Essential Questions
- What are the necessary steps to efficiently solve a design problem?
- How does CAD improve engineering design and accuracy?
- What makes a good problem statement?
- How are engineering designs evaluated for success?
Learning Objectives
- List and explain the steps involved in the engineering design process
- Understand how to use CAD programs to facilitate accurate design and creation
- Produce a digitally created design using basic mechanical drawing techniques or CAD program
- Evaluate and rank problem statements based on quality criteria
- Understand the difference between metric and English rulers
- Research and analyze building structures for success and failure patterns
- Research and analyze bridge structures for success and failure patterns
- Students will identify patterns in structural successes and failures across different bridge and building types, applying CCC: Patterns to recognize repeating design features that contribute to structural integrity or collapse.
Suggested Texts
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Supplemental Resources
- Chart paper for multimedia project on design process parts
- Rulers (both metric and English) for measurement activities and practice
- Printed examples of different problem statements for ranking activity
- Graphic organizers for documenting design evaluation methods
Engineering Design
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Geometry
Standards for Mathematical Practice
Students engage in collaborative discussions with diverse partners, build on others' ideas, and express their own thinking clearly and persuasively during design challenges and project presentations.
Students make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, use appropriate tools strategically, attend to precision in measurements, and apply geometric concepts including scale drawings and spatial relationships when designing and constructing engineering solutions.
Students follow precisely multistep procedures when carrying out investigations and technical tasks, and apply engineering design processes to define criteria and constraints, evaluate competing solutions, and test modifications to optimize designs.
Formative Assessments
- Participation in poster/multimedia project on design process parts
- TinkerCAD design and creation exercises for cities, vehicles, and bridges
- Group development of criteria for good problem statements
- Class discussion on design evaluation methods and ruler measurement systems
Summative Assessment
Research reports on building structures and bridge structures including analysis of successes and failures
Benchmark Assessment
Mid-trimester benchmark assessment evaluating student understanding of the Engineering Design Process steps, CAD fundamentals, and measurement systems
Alternative Assessment
Students design and present a TinkerCAD model (city, vehicle, bridge, or structure) that demonstrates application of the Engineering Design Process, evaluated through peer critique and self-reflection
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students with IEPs may benefit from visual supports such as graphic organizers or step-by-step reference cards that outline the stages of the Engineering Design Process, helping them navigate both the conceptual content and the TinkerCAD environment. For the research report summative assessment, consider allowing alternative output modes such as oral presentation, voice-recorded responses, or a teacher-scribed draft, so that writing demands do not obscure the student's understanding of structural analysis. Breaking the research report into smaller sequential checkpoints with frequent feedback can help students manage the multi-step nature of the assignment, and providing sentence frames or partially completed outlines supports organization without reducing the rigor of the content expectations.
Section 504
Students with 504 plans should be given extended time on both the TinkerCAD design exercises and the research report to ensure that pacing does not become a barrier to demonstrating understanding of the Engineering Design Process. Preferential seating near the instructor during measurement and problem statement ranking discussions supports focus and access to verbal instruction, and a printed reference sheet summarizing the difference between metric and English measurement systems may reduce cognitive load during design tasks.
ELL / MLL
Multilingual learners benefit from visual glossaries or word walls that highlight key domain-specific vocabulary from this unit, such as 'criteria,' 'constraint,' 'iteration,' and terms related to structural engineering, paired with images or diagrams where possible. Directions for multi-step tasks like the TinkerCAD exercises and the research report should be provided in written and oral form using clear, concise language, and students should be encouraged to organize their research notes or draft problem statements in their home language before translating key ideas into English. Visual models of completed design process posters or annotated examples of strong and weak problem statements can help make abstract expectations more concrete and accessible.
At Risk (RTI)
Students who need additional support should be connected to the Engineering Design Process through familiar, real-world structures and examples that activate prior knowledge and make the content feel accessible and relevant. For the research report, reducing the scope to one structure type — either building or bridge — with a provided organizational framework can serve as a manageable entry point that still honors the analytical goals of the assignment. During TinkerCAD sessions, pairing these students with a peer or providing a simplified task with fewer design variables allows them to build confidence with the tool before increasing complexity, and frequent check-ins during the problem statement ranking activity ensure they understand the criteria being applied.
Gifted & Talented
Students who demonstrate early mastery of the Engineering Design Process steps and TinkerCAD fundamentals can be challenged to explore more sophisticated structural engineering concepts, such as how load distribution, material properties, or environmental conditions contribute to real-world design failures. Their research report can be extended to include a comparative analysis across multiple structure types or historical time periods, requiring them to synthesize patterns of success and failure rather than simply reporting them. In the problem statement ranking activity, these students can be encouraged to draft and refine original problem statements for a self-selected engineering challenge, then defend their quality criteria to peers, pushing into higher-order evaluation and argumentation.