Engineering with 6th Graders: Week 2

I started this week by reviewing the engineering cycle and teaching communication skills. I reminded them that part of working together is to wait until your teammate is done speaking and to not interrupt each other. This week I introduced the collaborative concept of consensus. I explained that when working in a group, voting to make a decision is often the most effective way to get things done. I also explained that one of the problems with consensus is that the team may vote against your idea and that being part of a team means you don't get upset or withdraw if your idea isn't chosen.

We spent the rest of the time using Tinkercad to create their bridge designs. Their teacher had already made sure they all had Tinkercad accounts. And she helped them with login issues while I showed the students how to use the software.

I modeled and had them practice the following controls:
dragging shapes to the plate, resizing them, moving the around, changing the camera view, and making shapes "holes". After practicing those skills, I showed them how to Group objects to create their finished designs. The originally used rulers to try to measure the bridge templates I provided each group, but then I showed them how to use Tinkercad's search feature to find the actual bridge template I shared publicly:

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/fYQxIPnLAwV-bridge-gap

Once logged into Tinkercad, you can "Copy and Tinker" any designs that are shared publicly.

I had the students do that and then use my template for designing their bridge designs.