Thinking Prompts & Frameworks
Support your learners to think as an engineer
Engineers solve problems and innovate solutions by thinking carefully about what is needed, by whom and what has already been created. They work collaboratively to review products and prototypes, evaluating to ensure the highest quality outcome is fit for purpose. Thinking as an engineer benefits from support and practice.
Which EngEd Thinking Prompt will be your favourite?
Engineering Design Cycle Sort
This way of thinking is fundamental to the engineering process. Having learners understand the terms and the way the different activities form a process is useful to provide overarching understanding of how engineers think and work.
Design Specification Support Template
These are vital to design process, ensuring that particular details of a design are clearly communicated to makers from the outset. They are a guides to help your design, helping to maintain consistency and focus. They typically include product dimensions, colours and various other elements.
Design Specification Support Template using ACCESSFM
What is ACCESSFM? This is a thinking tool to support design engineers to consider key features related to a design specification.
Mind Map Prompt Cards
Getting ideas flowing and discussing ideas collaboratively can benefit from thinking about key questions. The 6 Mind Map Prompt cards inspire learners to think about a range of questions to support idea generation and planning.
S.C.A.M.P.E.R
This tool supports learners to think about a range of ways a product can be adapted. Adapting is when you make something suitable for a new use or purpose.
It was developed by Bob Eberle, an educational administrator and author, who introduced it in his book SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development in 1971.
Engineering Evaluator
Evaluation is a key part of any engineering process and can lead to further questions, problem finding and improving. This template provides a stimulus for evaluation aligned to the design specification.