Intro to the Engineering Design Process - AgTech

Instructor directions are listed below:

1. Ask students to record the IoT area that most interests them on their whiteboard or in their Thinkabit Lab Notebook.
    
2. Explain to students that now that they have learned about the Internet of Things, they will have the opportunity to work in groups to invent a new IoT solution.
    
3. Share with students that they will be using the engineering design process to help invent their IoT solution.  The Thinkabit Lab engineering design process has 7 steps, listed below, explained in the video on the Video tab, and displayed in the Thinkabit Lab Notebook:
   1. Define the Problem
   2. Brainstorm
   3. Design
   4. Build
   5. Test
   6. Iterate
   7. Share
4. Emphasize to students that before they can invent a solution, they need to start with a problem.   As a team, they will work to identify a problem and then brainstorm ideas of IoT solutions for that problem.
    
5. Explain to students that they will use the remainder of the engineering design process later when they have completed the engineering activities and are making their robotic creation.

We understand that many schools have their own design process that they use, and you may be more comfortable using that process than the steps listed here.

At the Thinkabit Lab, we find it helpful to have the engineering design process visible for students so that they can see the entire process throughout the experience.  You may want to create a poster or display in your classroom to help students refer back to this process easily.

We also emphasize that a key component of the engineering design process is working in a team.  Collaboration and teamwork are identified as the top key competencies of 21st-century skills. They are also rated as the number one skills that employers seek. They are essential skills for learning, work, and life. We encourage teamwork as a primary pedagogy for learning during students' time in the Thinkabit Lab. As a team, students share their ideas as they work through the steps of the Engineering Design Process. If students have not worked in teams before, it is a good idea to have them develop team norms at this point.