Engineering Problem Solving for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education
by Ellen Frye
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A resource book for teachers guiding students through project work using an engineering problem-solving framework.
Copyright © 1996, 1997 Trustees of Dartmouth College
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Dartmouth College.
Cover graphic by Ben Moore.
Cover design by Ellen Frye.
Printed in the United States of America
Dartmouth Project for Teaching Engineering Problem Solving
Thayer School of Engineering
8000 Cummings
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755-8000
The Dartmouth Project for Teaching Engineering Problem Solving is particularly grateful to Marian Miner Cook, Greg Cook, Cia Cook, and Leo McKenna of the John Brown Cook Foundation who had faith in our vision and understood the need for this book.
Table of Contents
Foreword, by Myron Tribus, former dean of Thayer School of Engineering, discusses the development of the engineering problem-solving model from the late 1950s and recommends the model for teachers who want to prepare their students for the world of work.- Preface, by Carol B. Muller, former associate dean of Thayer School of Engineering, traces the development of the Dartmouth Project for Teaching Engineering Problem Solving which introduced the Dartmouth/Thayer model to high school mathematics, science, and technology teachers.
- Introduction presents an overview of the need for engineering problem solving in the high school classroom and how it differs from traditional problem solving. You'll see how it is in alignment with the national standards for mathematics and science reform, how it works with all levels of students, and how teachers experience it as an "idea in motion."
Part I. A Roadmap For Success
- Chapter 1. The Engineering Problem-Solving Cycle takes you through the basic steps of the Dartmouth/Thayer problem-solving cycle, including the decision-making matrix and the idea of iteration. You'll follow a model problem through each step of the cycle and see how the problem and the solution evolve through four iterations.
- Chapter 2. Getting Ready tells how different teachers who have been trained at Thayer School have approached the task of integrating problem solving into their high school classrooms. You'll find tips on how to prepare for problem-solving projects, what kinds of goals can be reasonably set, and how to set up mentoring networks for students and teachers.
- Chapter 3. Creating an Environment for Problem Solving continues to detail ideas for successful problem solving. You'll read about teamwork — how to select successful teams, how to structure the groups, and how to do teamwork with socially limited students — and project timelines.
- Chapter 4. Guiding Students Through the Problem-Solving Cycle focuses on the specific steps of the problem-solving cycle. You'll learn about what kinds of problems work for introducing the model, how to transform lab cookbook recipes into discovery opportunities, and how to present open-ended problems, including Requests for Proposals. The need for problem redefinitions is explained, as are the processes of developing constraints and brainstorming potential solutions.
- Chapter 5. Research, Documentation, and Testing details the kinds of research students must do in order to successful solve their problems. You'll learn about patent searches, market research, surveys and interviews, test protocol, and how students and teachers can keep track of the work they do.
- Chapter 6. The Review Process tells about the review process. You'll read about students presenting demonstrations of their solutions to external review boards and how to make the transition from evaluation by professional from outside the school to assessment of teams and individual students that is aligned with school standards.
Part II. Success Stories
- Chapter 7. Inventing Devices describes projects in which students have learned their subject matter through invention — including California physics students who invented devices to help vehicles navigate the thick fog that is part of their winter environment, Ohio geometry students who designed and manufactured crackers and packaging employing tessellations, pre-calculus teams in Indiana who created safety devices, and two schools, one in New Hampshire and one in Tennessee, that offer full-year courses in engineering problem solving.
- Chapter 8. Projects Without Tools shows how teachers who have no access to shop tools use the Dartmouth/Thayer model to frame design work — including Pennsylvania physics students who applied their understanding of kinematics to redesigning traffic intersections, physical science students who patented new molecules based on the chemistry of carbon compounds they learned, and New York physics students who tackled a real environmental problem in their school and outdid professional engineers in their solution.
- Chapter 9. Problem Solving in the Work World moves from schools to the business and professional worlds. You'll read about how six Thayer School alumni — engineers, CEOs, a financial consultant, a lawyers, an environmentalist — continue to use aspects of the problem-solving model in their daily lives.
- Appendix: Patent Information provides addresses for patent searches including government offices, patent and trademark libraries, and Internet sites for electronic searches.
- Bibliography lists books and articles related to engineering problem solving.
- Acknowledgements lists those involved in the Dartmouth Project for Teaching Engineering Problem Solving, including the teachers whose ideas and student work are featured in the book.