The Engineering Process: A Great Way to Learn Problem Solving
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What is the engineering process and why should my children know about it? There is a short answer to that and a long one. Today is Raye Montague’s birthday! Happy birthday Raye! Raye Montague was a mathematician and an engineer. She was the first person to ever design a Navy ship via a computer. She succeeded using her wits and the engineering process.
The engineering process
The engineering process has another more common name: problem solving. So that’s the short answer: the engineering process is the same as problem solving, and that is why our children should be familiar with it! Problem solving is a crucial life skill. The engineering process helps us organize our thoughts in order to solve our questions or problems. There are 5 steps to the engineering process and they can all be used interchangeably, unlike the scientific method, it is not necessarily linear.

Ask
The first step, even in a non-linear process, is to identify your problem. Start by asking what the problem is, what the desired end result would be and keep asking questions regarding the problem. What is it? What does it do? Why does it do that? What could be changed? How can I change it? Having an end goal in mind of what you would like to achieve will be essential to solving your problem. If you have a rough idea of what the end result could be, then you will be able to go through the process a little faster. If you do not know what the end goal should be, that’s ok. Just start by identifying the problem and slowly work your way to a solution.
Imagine
Imagine… Now that’s the fun part! How can I solve the problem? What will I need to know? What are some solutions? Again, a lot of questions but as you answer each one you will slowly move towards solving your problem. And some questions might take a minute to answer while others might take a lot longer, no matter, do not get discouraged. Persevere through asking questions and answering them.
Plan
Once you start having answers to your questions, start planning your process and what you will need. Mapping it out your process step by step will make sure that you do not miss any steps and that you have all the tools and materials you need on hand to be able to work. Planning can take a long time but it is time well spent. It is so frustrating when you’re in the middle of a project to have to stop to go get another tool or another supply. Ask any man working on a car, and he’ll tell you how frustrating that is.

Create
The fun part! Follow your plan, test it out. Does it work? Yes! Wonderful! You are ready to move on! No?, no worries, ask more questions, find more answers and persevere. Review your plan, review your previous answers to questions. Make a new plan and start creating again. This is probably the most time consuming part of the process, but it is also the most exciting!
Improve
The plan worked! There is a solution to the problem! Now is the time to work on making the solution even better? Does it need to be better? How can it be improved? We can reach for the moon here and start our process all over again.
Problem solving
The beauty of the engineering process is that it can be applied to solve any type of problem, not just engineering ones. I use it in quilting, in blogging, while arranging my family’s schedule. It is a most useful skill that comes in handy everyday. We apply it without even thinking about it, but I have found that my children benefit greatly from having it spelled out for them often before it becomes a habit. I have created fun notebook pages to help implement it in a more rigorous academic fashion. Problem solving is worth spending quite a bit of time on.
Engineering picture books
Oh my goodness where to start with this? The list could really be endless, therefore instead of giving you a list, here is what I look for in picture books that promote the engineering process.
All biographies of scientists and inventors will display the engineering process, not overtly but hearing about it over and over again helps us to absorb it and make it ours. Many non-scientific historical figures have faced great questions and have had to find solutions for them. As I said earlier it is really everywhere. Identifying it and pointing it out to our children is one thing that can be helpful to them, but even without doing that they will pick up on it.

Picture books
Here are a handful of some of our favorite picture books that highlight the engineering process.
- How to fly?: Miss Todd and Her Wonderful Flying Machine: The True Story of the First Woman in the World to Design and Build an Airplane, by Kritina Yee, illustrated by Frances Poletti
- How to build a ship with a computer?: The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague, by Julia Finley Mosca, illustrated by Daniel Rieley – Find out more about how to enjoy this picture book through our January Booklover Booklist.
- How to keep composing music while going deaf?: Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Barbara Nichols
- How to have the same result with a recipe, every time?: Fannie in the Kitchen: the Whole Story from Soup to Nuts on How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements, by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
- How to bring the colors of Tahiti to life in a painting?: Paul Gauguin: A Journey to Tahiti, by Christoph Becker
And your best resource for picture book biographies of great inventors, musicians, painters, cooks and other masterminds is the monthly booklists. Every month I present you with the biographies of people who had a problem, found a solution and changed the world in a small or big way.

Engineering Resources
Engineering Resources
Of course, there are kinds of fun engineering resources out there, K’nex being my favorite! But here are some curriculums that include living books and wonderful materials, creating rich and worthy engineering adventures without being dry and boring.
- Harbor and Sprout is truly one of my favorite resources for curriculums, they have performed over and over again and I love the unit study format. They have a Primary Level Unit Study (6+) and a Secondary Level Unit Study (12+). We have not used it, yet, but it looks fantastic.
- Jen Mackintosh has designed a wonderful hands-on curriculum, using picture books and other books called Simple Machines with Fantastic Physics. I very highly recommend it! I am about to embark on round 2 of this great curriculum with my 10 and 12 years old. Updated resource list and lesson plans. The son she created it for is now an engineer!
- A Daily Picture Book Memberships drop a list of picture book titles accompanied by enrichment activities and yummy recipes in your inbox every month. Explore great historical figures on their birthdays and historical events on their anniversaries! Come join the adventure!
Enjoy putting the engineering process to work and solving some problems, it is so rewarding!I hope this helps!
Love,
Mattie