Engineering design cycle is a iterative process of solving a problem, especially in engineering. The process is usually less linear, often going from later steps in the cycle back to earlier steps as new information is gathered. There are many variations of engineering design cycle. The basic structure is 1) identify problem, 2) explore solutions/ideas, 3) design, 4) test and evaluate, 5) re-design, and 6) presentation of solution.
Published in Chapter:
Educational Robotics as a Learning Tool for Promoting Rich Environments for Active Learning (REALs)
Amy Eguchi (Bloomfield College, USA)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 29
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8363-1.ch002
Abstract
In our ever-changing society where new technological tools are being introduced into daily life more rapidly than ever before, more and more innovative and creative people are needed for the work of advancing technology. However, current educational practice in schools seems to be moving away from helping to educate our future innovative and creative workforce. With the extensive focus on assessments through standardized testing, the concern is raised that more and more teachers are forced to teach to the test. In this chapter, educational robotics is introduced as a transformational tool for learning, which promotes learning of computational thinking, coding, and engineering, all increasingly being viewed as critical ingredients of STEM learning in K-12 education. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of integrating educational robotics as a technological learning tool into K-12 curriculum to promote Rich Environments for Active Learning (REALs) to prepare students for the technology-driven future.