Waconia High School students enrolled in Engineering Development and Design don’t have to read any textbooks, take any quizzes or tests, or even write any papers. But, ask them what they think of the rigor of the class and they all agree it’s among the hardest they’ve taken.
“It’s the most work I’ve ever had to do in a class,” Jacob Thompson, a junior, said. “But it’s fun, it’s really fun.”
Classmate Joe Lewis, a junior, added, “What I like about this whole experience is it teaches us not to drive into the solution right away. There is no written test. We don’t start brainstorming how it should be solved. Because that’s not what science is. The science of this class is to look at the problem, analyze it, find out what really is the source of it, and just drive at that.”
Jacob Thompson, Joe Lewis, along with senior Andrew Lindstrom are working on solving a big problem here in Minnesota: how to stay protected from the cold. Teachers Mike Jensen and Dave Aeling act more like consultants in this unique model of teaching.
“This mimics what engineers are doing every day,” Dave Aeling, industrial arts teacher, said. “When engineers go to work, they know where they left off but they’re not sure where tomorrow is going to carry them. That’s where this whole thing ties together and is such an awesome curriculum.”
“We started with wanting to find a solution for wet boots but, upon doing our research and going through the engineering process, it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Jacob stated.
Students are working with engineering design software to guide them through the entire process. The research phase included numerous hours of online work. The group also conducted several in-person interviews. At UFC Farm Supply they learned how clothing technology has changed over the years. Students also interviewed Waconia Fire Chief Mark Morse. He gave them old and new gear to test, compare, and contrast in the elements.
“We discovered that every couple of years there has been a breakthrough in clothing technology,” Jacob said. “That proves to us that, if the problem had been solved, people wouldn’t be spending so much money on researching new technology.”
The important thing to note, according to the students, is they are not necessarily going to create a better way to protect against the elements—but they might.
“The whole goal is we don’t want to put a final product in our head yet,” Jacob explained. “If you do that, you’re going to develop everything around it to make it work. We might just end up making a presentation to inform people how to prevent frostbite. Or, we might come up with some sort of clothing article as well. We just don’t know the answer to that yet.”
Whatever they do, they will have put in an entire year. They’re also receiving input from experts in the field, as the software program allows for engineers to comment on their ideas and processes.
“This becomes theirs but they can invite others to collaborate and comment on their designs,” Mike Jensen, science and engineering teacher, said. “The end game for them is not what comes out of their design process but the fact that they have a concrete example of how they actually have real engineering experience.”
They started with wanting to find a way to prevent boots from getting wet on the inside and, now, are looking at potentially creating new technology to fight the bitter cold. Such a goal could be an overwhelming concept for a high school student, but this group doesn’t concentrate on the magnitude of the end result.
“I heard a saying that I often think about,” Joe junior, said. “It’s like climbing a mountain, you don’t always look at the peak. You glance at it once or twice but you keep your head down, look at the trail, and watch for the rocks that are right in front of you.”