Total: 20 Hours

The engineering design process is one of the wide-used problem-solving methods in STEAM education, especially in the “Engineering” element. The engineering design process is a series of steps that lead to the development of a new product. It encourages students to learn from trial-and-error, and it allows students to reflect on their works and make continuous improvement. “Confusing the Wind” aims to teach students to think like engineers by going through the engineering design process in the context of aerodynamics.

This module will use design and make approach to solve the real-life problem, in particular, determine the drag coefficient of an automobile, design and build paper airplanes that aim to travel a long distance. Through the design and make approach, students will go through the engineering design process shown as following.

1. Define a problem and brainstorm solution;
2. Design and make the prototype of the solution and test the prototype;
3. Communicate the result and improve the solution

The three-step engineering design process covered in this module is the simplified version of a typical seven steps process. In this module, two defined problems with scope will be provided to students to solve by using the engineering design process. For each problem, students will design and make the prototype that addresses the problem, and then they will test the prototype. Lastly, students will prepare a presentation to report the test result to their peers.

The first problem is to design a paper airplane that aims to travel a long distance in a classroom setting with a piece of A4 paper and a paper airplane launcher. Students will have the autonomy to design their paper aiwindrplane such as its shape and size, and select the launching setting such as the launch angle and launching force. The characteristic of the paper airplane, launching setting and landing position will be recorded for evaluation and result reporting to peers.

The second problem is to design a prototype of rocket car that aims to have low drag coefficient. To test the drag coefficient, a wind tunnel testing system will be implemented. Students will study the concept of drag force and its formula, and they will design and make the prototype of rocket car, and test the prototype using the wind tunnel testing system. Students will apply the substitution method to solve for the drag coefficient of their prototype, and they will also learn the various kinds of sensors of the wind tunnel testing system.

The module has three units total and the duration of each unit is an hour and a half to two hours. The first unit is to design a paper airplane that aims to travel a long distance. Students will have hands-on experience in practising engineering design process. The second and third units are to design a prototype of a rocket car, to test the drag coefficient of the rocket car, and to present the completed prototype for peers review. By the end of the module, students will learn about the procedure of testing and certification and practice engineer design process. Students will also learn to communicate their test result effective and how to seek peers-review for improvement.