Teaching the Basics of Engineering

WGBY Intern and recent UMASS graduate, Jonathan Daly, writes:

Engineers play a key role in our society as creators, designing things that we could not do without — from the pencils that students jot down notes with to the computers that mechanical engineers use to design various products.  All have gone through some form of the engineering process.

Design Squad Nation is a useful resource

 

available on PBS LearningMedia.  It provides students in grades 3-8 with a plethora of materials and activities that teach them the basics of engineering. The “Force/Energy” section, for example, gives students a basic understanding of physics and allows them to practice them in action. If you’re interested in using DESIGN SQUAD NATION resources in your afterschool program, check out the DESIGN SQUAD NATION website.

There are plenty of other categories, ranging from technology to structural design to sounds and music. With the large demand for engineers in our society, Design Squad introduces students to these concepts as well as to the importance of engineering to our world.

 

One thought on “Teaching the Basics of Engineering

  1. Thank you for posting information about the resources from the Design Squad Nation collection on PBS LearningMedia! The project has expanded over the last several years to DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL, with the aim of connecting kids from around the world through engineering activities, games, videos, and design challenges focused on solving real-world problems. A new collection on PBS LearningMedia now provides additional resources for Design Squad Global Clubs, an outreach initiative that connects out-of-school time programs around the world through collaborative engineering projects.

    Check out the resources here: http://pbslearningmedia.org/collection/dsgclubs/

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