A Transportation Problem for Moving Companies: An Example Activity with an Engineering Design Focus

Abstract

This study aimed to present an example activity in which the engineering design process was used. The activity was carried out in an out-of-school learning environment in 12 periods of 40 minutes. Twenty-four students who were in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade, participated in the activity. Students were presented with a design problem in which moving companies must carry out transport operations in high-rise buildings without using the lifts of the buildings. They were then requested to make a design at a scale of 1/20 that can be used to carry goods to the fourth floor of a building. The students used technology (the Arduino program) for developing a solution. This activity enabled integration of the disciplines of technology, engineering, science, and mathematics. Students expressed positive opinions about the activity. The difficulties that students experienced and the suggestions for how to support them are discussed in the paper.

Keywords

• engineering design process
• STEM
• middle school students
• out-of school learning