Page 138 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

APPENDIX B 123

Standard 10. Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and
development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.
Grades Asking questions and making observations helps a person to figure out how things work.
K–2 All products and systems are subject to failure. Many products and systems, however, can be fixed.
Grades Troubleshooting is a way of finding out why something does not work so that it can be fixed.
3–5 Invention and innovation are creative ways to turn ideas into real things.
The process of experimentation, which is common in science, can help solve technological problems.

Grades Troubleshooting is a problem-solving method used to identify the cause of a malfunction in a
6–8 technological system.
Invention is a process of turning ideas and imagination into devices and systems.
Innovation is the process of modifying an existing product or system to improve it.
Some technological problems are best solved through experimentation.
Grades Research and development is a specific problem-solving approach that is used intensively in business
9–12 and industry to prepare devices and systems for the marketplace.
Technological problems must be researched before they can be solved.
Not all problems are technological, and not every problem can be solved using technology.
Many technological problems require a multidisciplinary approach.
Standard 11. Students will develop the abilities to apply the design process.

Grades Brainstorm people’s needs and wants and pick problems that can be solved through the design process.
K–2 Build or construct an object using the design process.

Investigate how things are made and how they can be improved.
Grades Identify and collect information about everyday problems that can be solved by technology, and generate
3–5 ideas and requirements for solving a problem.
The process of designing involves presenting some possible solutions in visual form and then selecting
the best solution(s) from many.
Test and evaluate the solutions for the design problem.
Improve the design solutions.
Grades Apply a design process to solve problems in and beyond the laboratory-classroom.
6–8 Specify criteria and constraints for the design.

Make two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations of the designed solution.
Test and evaluate the design in relation to pre-established requirements, such as criteria and constraints,
and refine as needed.
Make a product or system and document the solution.
Grades Identify the design problem to solve and decide whether or not to address it.
9–12 Identify criteria and constraints and determine how these will affect the design process.
Refine a design by using prototypes and modeling to ensure quality, efficiency, and productivity.
Evaluate the design solution using conceptual, physical, and mathematical models at various intervals of
the design process to check for proper design and to note areas where improvements are needed.
Develop and produce a product or system using a design process.
Evaluate final solutions and communicate observation, processes, and results of the design process, using
verbal, graphic, quantitative, virtual, and written means, in addition to three-dimensional models.

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