ENGINEERING DESIGN TUTORING

FOR  MIDDLE SCHOOL AND 

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Are you looking for an engineering design tutor or tutoring for your middle or high school student? Does your tween or teen want to explore engineering and/or STEM careers? Themba Tutors can help.  

Themba Tutоrѕ offers in-home and online engineering design tutoring for 6th through 12th-grade students. Themba Tutors can support your child in their science/engineering academics or supplement the engineering design studies at your child’s school.

Looking for Engineering Design Tutors? Contact us!

en·​gi·​neer·​ing | \ ˌen-jə-ˈnir-iŋ  \

Definition of engineering from Webster’s dictionary: 

• the activities or function of an engineer; and

• a) the application of science and mathematics by which the properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature are made useful to people, or

1. b) the design and manufacture of complex products (ie, such as software engineering).

Engineering is a broad term that covers a wide range of industries. It combines mathematics, science, and technology. Engineers create solutions to our world’s problems.  There are six major branches of engineering including Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Management, and Geotechnical. But there are literally hundreds of different subcategories of engineering under each of them.

• Acoustic Engineering
• Aerospace Engineering
• Agricultural Engineering
• Applied Engineering
• Architectural Engineering
• Audio Engineering
• Automotive Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Marine Engineering
• Materials Science Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechatronic Engineering
• Mining and Geological Engineering
• Molecular Engineering
• Nanoengineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering
• Software Engineering
• Structural Engineering
• Telecommunications Engineering
• Thermal Engineering
• Transport Engineering
• Vehicle Engineering

In 2013, The Next Generation Science Standards k-12 (NGSS) raised engineering design to the same level as scientific inquiry across all levels, from kindergarten to grade 12.  Engineering is now integrated into the science curriculum in public schools across the country and in many private schools. It is a core subject along with Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth/Space Science.

There are many reasons for including engineering design in science education. 

• It helps define “engineering” more broadly. It used to be referred to as “applied science” which is a misconception.
• Engineering is a field that is critical to tackling the world’s challenges in energy, diseases, clean water, food supply, and climate change.
• Students can also explore possible careers in engineering and STEM. 

In education, there’s another reason for including engineering design in the science curriculum.

In some ways, children are natural engineers. They spontaneously build sandcastles, dollhouses, and hamster enclosures, and they use a variety of tools and materials for their own playful purposes. …Children’s capabilities to design structures can then be enhanced by having them pay attention to points of failure and asking them to create and test redesigns of the bridge so that it is stronger. (NRC, 2012, p. 70).

From K to 12, students learn the valuable practice of engineering design. By the time, high school students graduate, and enter college, they can be part of designing solutions for local to global problems either as citizens or engineers in the field.

Looking for Engineering Design Tutors? Contact us!

What is Engineering Design? 

Engineering design is the process that engineers use to identify and solve problems. It is a method of problem-solving and works in many situations. 

The core idea of engineering design includes three component ideas:

• Defining problems clearly with the criteria for success, and constraints or limits.
• Designing solutions by generating many solutions, then evaluating and testing them based on the criteria and constraints.
• Optimizing solutions that involve systematically testing, and refining. The final design solution is improved by trading off less important features for those that are more important.
• Note that there is no order. At any point, the engineer can redefine the problem or generate new solutions to replace an idea if the solution doesn’t work out.

REFERENCES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS