Thinking Like Engineers

Students in kindergarten through third grade are embarking on an exciting learning journey of developing their "thinking like an engineer" skills. Through hands-on activities and creative problem-solving challenges, your students are engaging in the engineering design process. 

The engineering design process consists of these steps: identifying problems, imagining ways to solve the problem, making a plan, creating their ideas, testing their creations, making improvements, and the last step is sharing their ideas and creations. We have learned that the process is a cycle and you can bounce to different steps in the cycle throughout this process, but that each step plays an important role in the journey of thinking like engineers. 

This process and approach help to foster critical thinking, teamwork, and a growth mindset, all while encouraging curiosity and exploration. Whether they’re building simple structures, designing solutions for everyday problems, or experimenting with materials, the students are becoming little engineers in their own right, and they are enjoying the process as it plays out. They understand that it will take more than one try to get their final products, and they are beginning to understand that it is ok not to get something perfect on our first try. 

I have told your students that it is my goal as their teacher to help them to continue to strengthen their imaginations, and for them to easily begin and continue to use it in their everyday lives. It has been rewarding to watch their imaginations grow this school year. I am eager to continue to build together and to see where their imaginations will lead us this year. 

To check out more photos from our fun together please go here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-ppmmQH