Learning Targets
- Describe the engineering design process as a flexible cycle.
- Apply the cycle to a paper-airplane distance challenge.
- Use test evidence to revise a design.
IED Unit 0 • Lesson 0.4
Engineering Design Process
Focus Question: How do engineers use testing and revision to improve a design?
Mission Briefing
Today’s Plan
Complete a fast, measurable design cycle and create the first numbered notebook artifact.
Learning Targets
Success Looks Like…
You can explain what changed between Version 1 and Version 2 and support the change with test data.
Core habit: A revision needs a reason, and the reason should come from evidence.
Opening prompt
Design cycle
Challenge briefing
Version 1
Version 2
Compare evidence
Exit
Opening Prompt
Is the first design supposed to be the best?
Engineers use early versions to create evidence—not to prove they were right immediately.
Quick class share: Why might a first prototype be useful even when it does not perform well?
Reveal the design-process idea
The design process is a flexible cycle.
Engineers define, generate, develop, construct, test, evaluate, revise, and communicate—often moving backward and forward as evidence changes.
Design Cycle
A flexible process—not a rigid checklist
Different projects may repeat or combine stages.
Define
Clarify the goal, criteria, and constraints.
Generate
Create multiple possible solutions.
Develop
Select and plan a promising approach.
Construct + Test
Build a prototype and collect evidence.
Evaluate + Revise
Compare results and improve the design.
Present
Communicate the design and next steps.
Design Sprint
Paper Airplane Distance Challenge
Complete one fast cycle with measurable evidence.
- Create one individual concept sketch.
- Choose one team Version 1 concept.
- Build with one sheet of paper.
- Complete one official distance test.
- Record the distance to first ground contact.
- Study Version 1 evidence.
- Choose one deliberate revision.
- Build with one new sheet of paper.
- Complete one official distance test.
- Compare the two results.
Measurement: Record distance from the launch line to the first ground contact in feet and inches.
Decision Challenge
Which revision is evidence-based?
Vote before revealing the answer.
Version 1 curves sharply left and lands after 18 ft. Which Version 2 decision is strongest?
- AChange several folds at once because more change is better.
- BAdjust the uneven wing fold, keep other features the same, and retest.
- CDecorate the airplane so it looks faster.
- DBuild a completely different airplane without recording Version 1.
Reveal the evidence-based revision
Best answer: B
The observed left curve points to an asymmetry. Changing one likely cause makes the next test easier to interpret.
Strong revision: observed problem → targeted change → new test.
Evidence Check
Leave with a complete design-process artifact
Your worksheet becomes the first numbered notebook document.
Mission Debrief
What You Submit
Submit the evidence from the full design cycle.
Design Process Evidence
Paper Airplane Design Process Worksheet
Lesson 0.5
Engineering Notebook & Documentation Basics
Open Lesson 0.5Resources
Lesson 0.4 Resources
Use only the files and references that support today’s work.
Lesson 0.4 Student Presentation
Google Slides-friendly 16:9 lesson deck with question slides followed by separate answer-reveal slides.
Paper Airplane Design Process Worksheet
Use this worksheet for concepts, test data, revision notes, and comparison evidence.
STEMonstrations: Engineering Design Process
A short visual explanation of defining, testing, and improving engineering solutions.
Introduction to Engineering Design
Return to the IED course hub for units, resources, certifications, and current course information.