[This is the first post in a series about Engineering Practices — why they matter and how teachers can bring them into the classroom. Stay tuned for the series!]
“Ohh… oh. Oh no.”
”What is it?” the teacher asks. The students peer closely at their design. No water is making it through the membrane models they constructed.
”We definitely have to improve it.”
When the students in this clip test their ideas and revise their plans, they’re doing more than completing an activity. They’re engaging in authentic Engineering Practices.
Students test their membrane model design.
Teaching Ways of Thinking and Acting
When we talk about Engineering Practices, we’re not referring to teaching strategies or classroom routines. We mean the way that students will think, collaborate, and make decisions as they solve problems.
Every discipline has its own set of professional practices—specific skills, behaviors, and ways of thinking and acting that lead to success in that field. As teachers, we go beyond the basic facts of a subject to help students develop the practices of that discipline: revising their essay to behave like a writer, or following a defined method of inquiry to think like a scientist. With instruction, exercises, and reflection, students absorb these skills and mindsets and begin to see themselves as capable participants in each discipline.
Engineering is no different. And just like other disciplines, Engineering Practices can be taught deliberately in the classroom. You don’t need to be an engineer to help students understand how engineers think and work. The secret is noticing what kids are already doing and naming it clearly as they plan, test, revise, and explain their decisions.
Why Focus on Engineering Practices?
At YES, we spend a lot of time thinking about these practices because they help ensure that the STEM activities we create will lead to authentic, deep learning that lasts. Rather than following a set of given steps to complete an activity, we want to see students wrestle with real problems, consider tradeoffs, work together, and think about who they might help with their solution.
These are also moments when teachers can pause, listen, and name the engineering practice that’s taking place. For example, engineers persist and learn from failure every day. When students test an idea and realize it doesn’t work the way they expected, something important is happening. They’re gathering evidence, revisiting the criteria, and deciding what to try next.
“You’re using what you observed to decide what to change.”
A simple comment like “You tested your idea and learned something from the result” or “You’re using what you observed to decide what to change” helps students connect their actions to the ways they are thinking like engineers.
Awareness of these practices also helps learners build skills like flexible thinking, communication, and persistence that are useful across all subjects, while the realization that they are thinking like real engineers can help solidify their identities as problem solvers.
Blog Series: Engineering Practices in the Classroom
Throughout this series, we’ll take a closer look at Engineering Practices like this one — what they look like in real classrooms, how they support deep learning, and how you can make them visible to students through everyday interactions.
Up first in the series, we’ll explore a foundational engineering practice: Using a structured problem-solving process. We’ll talk about what this process looks like for engineers, and how it helps students plan, test, and refine their ideas.
In the meantime, try this:
The next time your students test an idea that doesn’t work as planned, pause and name what you see. Describe how they’re using evidence, revisiting criteria, or deciding what to change. As time goes on, listen for how that language starts to show up in their own explanations.
