ENGINEERING
Engineering is a systematic way of designing solutions to problems. These solutions can be new or improvements on existing solutions.
Engineering for young children (birth–5) is a continuous process of figuring things out through play and exploration. Children investigate how materials and objects work, create ideas by building or arranging things, test what happens when they try their ideas, and evaluate the results by noticing what worked and what they might change next. These actions happen together and repeat many times as children explore, problem solve, and improve their ideas. Rather than focusing on a single correct answer, early engineering is about curiosity, persistence, and learning through trying, observing, and trying again.
Please note, this content is regularly refined and updated.
Progression Steps
Early Investigator
Children use any of their senses to explore materials and their environment and begin to investigate how their actions can create change.
Examples:
1. Child mouths toys and eating utensils to learn about them.
2. Child doesn’t come up with an idea and then builds but may ‘discover’ problems in the process of creating.
Problem Investigator
Children try out various materials and strategies to reach a goal they’ve set or to solve a problem. They make attempts without considering the constraints of the problem and may not keep the same goal in mind for very long.
Examples:
1. Child is challenged to make a noise maker that is really loud. When asked how to do it, says “I don’t know” and dives into trial/experimentation.
2. Child works on building a bed for toy bear from a pile of materials. Child tries one thing after another until happy with the bed.
Guided Engineer
Children continue to try out materials and strategies to reach a specific goal or solve a problem, paying attention to given constraints. They develop solutions that work, but need support to consider, evaluate, and revise one or more parts of their design (materials, strategies, or tools).
Examples:
1. Child is making a loud noise maker and fills hers to the top. Tries to fit top on but notes she can’t close it because there’s too much rice. She shakes it. Adult notes it doesn’t make any noise at all. Child says that’s because it’s too filled up. Adult asks what we can do to fix it. Child responds “we can get some out”.
2. With help from an older sibling, child tests out small sections of the domino run they are building to see where the dominoes get stuck.
Independent Engineer
Children plan one or more possible designs before creating. They implement and test their plans, evaluating how well their choices of materials, tools, and strategies support desired outcomes. Using information from these tests, children compare options and revise their designs through an ongoing plan–try–reflect–revise process.
Examples:
1. Child designs and builds a marble run, going back and forth adjusting the creation until the marble successfully travels from the launch point until it reaches the catch bin at the end.
2. Children work together to build a safe place to keep a toy cat away from a bird’s nest. One child suggests that they take away a block they put there for support because the cat can use the block as a step, so they need to remove it.