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Constructive student roles for authentic collaboration in engineering design challenges

The Science Teacher—May/June 2024 (Volume 91, Issue 3)

By Andrew Kipp and Gustavo Perez

Student roles can promote collaboration and individual accountability in groups during engineering design challenges. However, student disengagement may occur if students do not perceive value in their roles. We introduce four distinct roles—quality inspector, market researcher, advertiser, and coordinator. These roles introduce meaningful tasks that contribute to addressing engineering design challenges in group settings and offer differentiated opportunities to address the science and engineering practices. The quality inspector conducts peer reviews of designs from different groups. The market researcher collects and analyzes consumer feedback for product improvement. The advertiser creates engaging illustrations of their work for consumers through media like flyers, reports, or videos. The coordinator organizes, supports, and facilitates their group members and acts as a liaison between teammates and the teacher. The teacher facilitates, supports, models, and guides students in their new responsibilities. Collectively, each student role presents opportunities for meaningful collaboration toward product innovation by emphasizing the importance of each role in achieving the design goal.

Engineering Science and Engineering Practices STEM High School

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