engineering the reduction of food waste: teaching problem framing and project management through culturally situated learning

摘要

This article presents a culturally situated and socially relevant lesson for intentionally teaching secondary students the fundamental engineering concepts related to Problem Framing and Project Management. This lesson includes: (a) class discussions to engage students in a socially relevant problem (food waste and sustainability) within a culturally situated context (connection between food and culture) and (b) an experiential, team- based design activity to provide students with opportunities to learn and apply two fundamental core concepts of engineering design (Problem Framing and Project Management). At the end of this lesson, students are expected to be able to develop a problem statement by identifying explicit and implicit goals, determining the constraints involved in a given problem, and considering multiple perspectives regarding the design scenario to help eliminate any perceived assumptions that unnecessarily limit the problem-solving process. Additionally, students will be able to plan and manage a design project by applying a variety of project- management strategies.