Distance learning and design challenges go hand in hand. Introduce the challenge, then students work offline (and away from the screen!), record their process and share artifacts asynchronously or via a group video call. Our educator guide has even more tips for student engagement. With distance learning parents are your teaching partners! Our parents guide and lessons on The Tech at Home and The Tech en Casa are great for continuing education at home. Orient yourself to Design Challenge Learning with our short online course or our webinars.
Lesson Plans and Tools
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Design Challenges During Distance Learning
What is Design Challenge Learning?
Design Challenge Learning is a dynamic way for learners to become creative problem-solvers. Design challenges use real-world problems to engage learners in an iterative and collaborative process to build innovator mindsets that are key to future success. These challenges are ideal for augmenting learning in ELA, math, science and social studies, making content relevant through a student-centered approach.
Meet some educators who love using Design Challenge Learning with their students!
Design Challenges and Lessons
Our lessons integrate Design Challenge Learning and engineering, and are adaptable to fit your learners needs while aligning with NGSS Standards. To help, we’ve created this guide that teachers can use to adapt our STEM and design challenge activities to their individual distance learning needs.
Tech Challenge 2021
Engineering Journals
Practice writing and documentation skills, whether in-person or virtual, with this journaling lesson.
Duration: 60 min
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Video
Paper Engineering
Practice and improve the precision of learners' journaling skills by having teams build a paper table based on another team's engineering journal.
Duration: 60 min
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan
Design Challenges
Engineering for Earthquakes
Create a structure that can withstand the ground movement of an earthquake!
Duration: 60 minutes
Grades: 3-5
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Just Dropping In
Explore how expansion is related to movement by designing a device that controls the movement of a dropped ball.
Duration: 65 minutes
Grades: 4-12
PDF Video
Brainstorming Ideas
Teams brainstorm and conceptualize a device that expands.
Duration: 60 minutes
Grades: 4-12
PDF
Hover Design
Build, test and modify hovering devices in a wind tunnel to expand knowledge of design and aerodynamics.
Duration: 50-60 minutes
Grades: 3-12
Lesson Plan Video
Solve the Fall
Design and build a device that can survive a drop in order to deliver emergency supplies.
Duration: 50 minutes
Grades: K-12
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Cupcake Delivery
Create a wind-powered vehicle to transport cupcakes to hungry customers.
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Grades: K-12
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Circle of Pong
Explore forces of motion, potential and kinetic energy in order to place a ball in the center of a six-foot circle.
Duration: 45 minutes
Grades: 3-12
Lesson Plan
Balloon Astronaut
Design spacesuits that can withstand the hazards of high velocity impact from space debris and meteoroids.
Duration: 45 minutes
Grades: 2-8
Lesson Plan
Energy at Play
Build a device that can move a ball to a target while exploring energy transfer.
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Grades: 3-6
Lesson Plan
Engineering
Save the Fruit
Create a device that will harvest fruit from a tree and examine points of failure for iteration.
Duration: Five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 3-5
Lesson Plan
Energy Madness
Design a machine that can deliver a remote control to an immobile friend.
Duration: Six 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Bridging the Gap
Build a bridge over a variety of terrains to determine how different designs affect stability and strength.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
English Language Arts
Shaky Shelves: Exploring Cause and Effect
Write a proposal to the mayor for a device that prevents product and profit loss caused by earthquakes.
Duration: Four 45-minute sessions
Grade: 6
Unlock Resources
Coastal Erosion: Designing and Debating Solutions
Make an argument supported with evidence for a solution to the environmental issue of coastal erosion.
Duration: Five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan
Weight Distribution and Flight
Conduct weight distribution experiments with paper airplanes to gather information for a short presentation.
Duration: Two 60-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan Tech Challenge PDF Video
Engineering Takes Flight
Explore the different flight characteristics of materials while designing an aircraft.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Escape the Lava
Design a device to rescue researchers from a lava flow.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Animal Rescue
Teams gather information and scientific evidence to design a device that will help move endangered animals from one protected area to another.
Duration: Eight to ten 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Social Science
Looking to the Past to Build the Future
Apply knowledge of homes from the past to design and construct a home that can withstand a windstorm.
Duration: Five to seven 50-minute sessions
Grades: K-2
Unlock Resources
Math
More Plastic, More Problems: Using Ratios to Get Real
Design a device that removes garbage from the ocean while minimizing the number of animals collected.
Duration: Five to seven 50-minute sessions
Grade: 6
Unlock Resources
Aim High!
Explore angles and trajectories to determine optimal angle and height to launch a paper rocket through a target.
Duration: 75 minutes
Grades: 4-12
PDF
Catch It, If You Can
Build and develop a scale drawing of a rain catchment system that will help conserve water. Explore challenges associated with drought in California and how water conservation can be part of a solution.
Duration: Five to six 60-minute sessions
Grades: 4-7
Lesson Plan
The Math Behind Circuits
Build and explore different types of circuits and make calculations to gain practical skills in building, visualizing and understanding circuits.
Duration: Two 55-minute sessions
Grades: 4-6
PDF
Mayday on Mars
Use line plots to compare the trajectories of balloon-powered Mars vehicles.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Traverse the Terrain
Design a Mars terrain navigation test using coordinate planes to help NASA prepare for the next rover mission.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Science
Storm Shield: What Living Things Need
Design and build a shelter to keep animals safe in severe weather.
Duration: Five 45-minute sessions
Grade: K
Unlock Resources
No Soil, No Problem
Using scientific evidence and knowledge, develop arguments on what plants need for growth.
Duration: Three to five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Investigating Lift
Build a device to explore the force of lift in a hovercraft.
Duration: 65-80 minutes
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan
Save the Hiker
Build a device that will deliver life-saving treatment to someone in a hazardous situation.
Duration: Six 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Go Rover Go
Learn how modifying building materials can convert potential energy into kinetic energy.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Green Pennies
Experiment with different oxidizing compounds to turn pennies green…and back to copper.
Duration: 30 minutes of set-up, 5 days of observation
Grades: 5-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Cooking with the Sun
Engineer a solar oven and use solar energy and radiation to warm a chosen food item.
Duration: 40 minutes to build, 1 hour to "cook"
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Computer Science
Computer Science Education Principles
Key principles for teaching computational thinking and computer programming in any setting
PDF
Computational Thinking Posters
Classroom visuals that define computational thinking and its elements. These foundational skills support computer science education for students of all ages.
PDF (English) PDF (Español)
Get in the Game
Use computational thinking (decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms) to design your own board game!
Duration: 90 minutes
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Puzzling Procedure
Create an algorithm (instructions) for others to solve a jigsaw puzzle using computational thinking.
Duration: 40 minutes
Grades: 3-5
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Demonstrating Change Over Time
Apply computational thinking to create or modify a computer program in Scratch that shows how the moon appears throughout the lunar cycle.
Duration: 180 to 240 minutes
Grades: 3-5
Lesson Plan
The Tech for Global Good Design Challenges
The Tech for Global Good Design Challenges engage your students in taking a systematic and empathetic approach to addressing social and engineering problems faced around the world. Each challenge includes background videos booklets, lesson plan and standards connections. Challenges are designed for Grades 7-12 and can be done in a single four-hour session or multiple shorter sessions.
Vaccine Challenge
Consider the complexities of infrastructure, public health and sociocultural landscapes in designing a solution to distribute a life saving vaccine.
Lesson Plan Standards connections
To see how this design challenge can be organized review these slides.
Videos:
Student Booklets:
Save the Species Challenge
Develop a solution that assists governments in protecting species in designated areas.
Videos:
Student Booklets:
To see how this design challenge can be organized review these slides.
Distance Learning Resources
Guides and videos that are helpful, educational and distance-learning friendly.
Educator Guide: Remote STEM Learning
Educators are teaching their students with varying access to technology, from almost none to full online platforms. We created these tools to assist educators in this new normal.
Our Educator Guide will help you to effectively present hands-on design challenges to your learners with no, some or full access to technology.
This NGSS Engineering Chart lays out the grade-level standards that engineering design challenges meet.
Watch our Unpacking Design Challenges video for a step-by-step guide to each element of Design Challenges.
Virtual Field Trip to The Tech Interactive
Visit The Tech Interactive online with this 25-minute Virtual Field Trip featuring scientists in fun fields across Silicon Valley. It even comes with its own educator guide!
IMAX Educational Films
A selection of the educational documentaries from our IMAX Dome Theater can be streamed online. A guide for educators is included to get the most out of these compelling and beautiful films.
America's Musical Journey
A cross-country journey celebrating the unique diversity of America's musical heritage.
Available for streaming on: YouTube (free) (as well as Apple TV and GoUSA TV via Roku).
An educator guide is also available.
Cost: Free
Coral Reef Adventure
Two filmmakers travel the world documenting the planet's coral reefs and the creatures that call them home.
Available for streaming on: Amazon Prime
An educator guide is also available.
Cost: $3.99
Dream Big
This inspiring celebration of innovations big and small and the amazing engineers behind them will change how you think about engineering.
Available for streaming on: Vimeo on Demand
An educator guide and educational videos are also available.
Cost: $6.99
National Parks Adventure
The ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation’s untamed wilderness in places like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and many more.
Available for streaming on: Vimeo on Demand
An educator guide and educational videos are also available.
Cost: $3.99
Tech Tips: Guides and Videos
Created by educators, these short guides are excellent references for anyone looking to incorporate Design Challenge Learning into a classroom or informal learning environment.
Tech Tips
Innovation Design Process
Learn about the power of the Innovation Design Process.
Innovation PDF Video
Innovator Mindsets
Tools for fostering collaboration, perseverance, curiosity, empathy and boldness with engineering design.
Mindsets PDF Video
What is Engineering?
Where design and innovation meet.
Engineering PDF
The Language of Engineering
Vocabulary that builds confidence in engineering.
Language PDF
Materials Strategies for Engineering Design
Managing low-cost, accessible materials for engineering design.
Materials PDF Video
Framing the Challenge
Essential elements to engage all learners in design challenges, including narratives, criteria and constraints.
Framing PDF Video
Brainstorming
Methods for inspiring innovation at the start of a challenge.
Brainstorming PDF Video
Prototyping - Test, Reflect, Iterate
Encourage iteration and perseverance throughout the design process.
Prototyping PDF Video
Data Collection - Reflecting on your Design
Using quantitative and qualitative observations to refine designs.
Data PDF
Sharing Solutions
Create a classroom culture that supports communication, constructive feedback and iteration.
Sharing PDF Video
Designing a Design Challenge
The essential elements and tools for creating your own design challenge.
Designing PDF Designing Template Video
Computational Thinking
Learn the four elements of computational thinking to solve problems big and small.
Computational PDF