Content uploaded by Greg J. Strimel
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Greg J. Strimel on Sep 25, 2023
Content may be subject to copyright.
March 2023 technology and engineering teacher 15
engineering
in action
engineering
in the wild:
using current
environmental
concerns to teach
engineering
practices
By Deana Lucas and Greg J. Strimel, DTE
Introduction
This Engineering in Action article presents an example lesson that
leverages a current environmental issue to intentionally teach mid-
dle school students important concepts related to the engineering
practices (i.e., Engineering Design and Quantitative Analysis). The
context of this lesson is centered on how engineering practices can
be used to address environmental concerns. More specifically, this
lesson is created to engage students in addressing a current issue
related to the disappearing kelp forests o the shore of California.
The lesson activities are structured in a way to assist students in
learning and applying a core concept related to the practice of
Engineering Design, which in this case involves exploring Design
Methods such as biomimicry. In addition, the other main focus is
the engineering practice of Quantitative Analysis, which involves
the core concept of Data Collection, Analysis, and Communication
used in making engineering estimations (see Framework for P12 En-
gineering Learning, 2020). At the completion of the lesson, students
will have developed a conceptual model of a device to address the
kelp forest issue that is inspired by nature (biomimicry) and a pre-
sentation of the validity of their concept that highlights their ability
to make engineering estimations of large numbers. The lesson also
situates learning within the contexts of agricultural and biological
technologies (TEC-8) as described in Standards for Technologi-
cal and Engineering Literacy (2020) and addresses the standards
focused on assessing dierent approaches to design (STEL-7P),
evaluating tradeos (STEL-5G), and identifying the positive/nega-
tive eects of technology (STEL-4K).
Figure 1. Kelp Forest (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kelp_Forest_(12801115735).jpg)
16 technology and engineering teacher March 2023
Environmental Contexts for
Engineering Learning
Engaging all students in engineering learning can be a challenge as
they each have dierent interests, backgrounds, and motivations for
learning. Using current environmental issues can be one way to con-
nect with students, especially if the issue is locally connected, and
allow them to build personal relationships with engineering prac-
tices. This approach can also help to highlight the social relevance
of engineering and allow students to exercise informed engineering
practices with increased sophistication in ways that are meaning-
ful to them and the world around them. As mentioned earlier, the
context of this lesson is the disappearing kelp forests, which can be
of particular interest for those living in coastal regions.
The disappearance of the kelp forests o the coast of Northern
California is a relatively new concern that has been attributed to a
series of potentially interconnected events with our natural ecosys-
tems (Rogers-Bennett & Catton, 2019). Rising ocean temperatures
have been linked to a decrease in the sunflower starfish population.
The sunflower starfish is one of the only predators of the purple sea
urchin. The other predator, the sea otter, has also had a decline in
population over the years. The decline of these purple sea urchin
predators has been connected to the increase in the urchin popula-
tion. The main food source for these urchins is kelp. As a result, the
purple sea urchins have been linked to the disappearance of the kelp
forests. So why does this matter? The kelp forests are just as im-
portant as the forests on land, as they help absorb carbon emissions
and provide the habitat and food sources for a variety of species.
Currently, divers have been working to address this issue by manu-
ally scraping urchins o the bottom of the ocean using knives. The
harvested urchins can be eaten by people. You may have even eaten
these in a sushi restaurant under the title of uni. However, in some
places there are pre-existing rules that limit harvesting urchins from
the ocean. For example, in Oregon urchins must be between 2” and
3 ½” in diameter to legally remove. This can contribute to challenges
associated with addressing this problem.
This environmental context can oer a great opportunity to show-
case how engineering can help mitigate environmental concerns
and provide an opportunity to practice engineering estimation and
designing through biomimicry. Students can be given the task to
work in teams to leverage ideas from biomimicking the urchins'
predators to design, build, and test a concept of a device that could
be attached to a boat to automatically remove and sort purple
sea urchins from the ocean without harming additional wildlife. In
this scenario, the student teams that are able to obtain the most
legal-sized sea urchins without touching the other wildlife within
the least amount of time will have the most successful design. After
testing their design concepts (see the design challenge provided in
Figure 2), teams will evaluate the viability of their concepts based
on the estimate of the impact that their device has on controlling
the urchin population. This is where engineering estimation can
come into play. Engineers often need to solve open-ended prob-
lems, where insuicient information is provided to design or ana-
lyze a solution. Therefore, engineers must be able to make accurate
estimations or rough calculations. Using logical thinking and math-
ematical computation, engineers determine the critical information
that is missing and decide whether a particular solution is reason-
able. The student challenge is then to estimate the impact of their
design concepts by answering the following questions:
1. How many acres of ocean floor could your device help protect
if it were to be attached to 10 boats for two months operating
for 12-hour days (based on the size of the testing pool and the
total points received)?
2. In the same amount of time, estimate how much revenue
could be generated based on the harvest (Urchins are selling
for $0.74 a pound. 1 urchin = 1 ounce)?
The full lesson for this activity is provided in Tables 1 and 2. This
lesson is intended for students to engage in problem solving while
exploring the concept of biomimicry and how engineers can learn
techniques from nature in order to develop new technology. Addi-
tionally, students will use engineering estimation to determine the
impact their device could have on the ocean floor if implemented.
The timeline for this lesson is meant to occur over multiple days,
though the timing is up to the teacher’s discretion. At the end of
this lesson students will analyze how their design performed and
consider the theoretical impact it could have on the sea urchin
population. The lesson plan uses the modified 5E model that con-
tains sections of Engage, Explore, Explain, Engineer, and Evaluate.
In the first section, Engage, the teacher will set up an oil spill
activity, where students try to brainstorm a solution to the problem
with a partner. This introduces students to problems environmen-
tal engineers may encounter. The teacher will then transition the
students to think about another problem that is facing the environ-
ment by displaying a news clip focused on the kelp forest issue.
March 2023 technology and engineering teacher 17
Following the activity and video clip, students will discuss the main
sources of the problem. Next, students will enter the Explore part
of the lesson. This section will introduce the students to the concept
of biomimicry as they dive into learning about the sunflower starfish
and the sea otter, which are the sea urchin’s predators. Students will
use the knowledge they gained from understanding these preda-
tors to produce a proposal, similar to how environmental engineers
would submit a proposal for one of their projects. The next section
of the lesson is the Explain portion. At this point, every group
would have turned in their proposals and there will be stations set
up for other groups to review the other proposals. The students will
leave comments, questions, and/or feedback for the other students
about their proposals. The teacher will go around and discuss each
proposal and the comments/questions provided to make sure the
students are on the right track. Afterwards, students will enter the
Engineer phase of the lesson where they will be given the design
challenge. The students will create a prototype of their design and
test it in “the ocean.” After building and testing, students will Eval-
uate their design by using engineering estimation to predict how
successful their device would be if implemented.
Table 1
Lesson Overview
Lesson Purpose
In this lesson students will learn about the importance of kelp forests in the world’s oceans and how predator populations' decrease of
purple sea urchins aects the well-being of these natural carbon filters. Students will develop new knowledge of biomimicry and engi-
neering estimation in order to develop a device that can remove sea urchins from the ocean floor and ultimately help protect the kelp
forests. This lesson includes student-centered activities that will lead to the development of a prototype to address this environmental
issue. The students will accumulate knowledge on engineering environmental solutions and collaboratively work to assess whether a
solution concept is viable.
Engineering Concepts from the Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning (2020):
• EP-ED-3: Information Gathering is the process of searching for the knowledge necessary to develop an informed resolution to a
design problem. This process includes (a) identifying the specific areas to be researched/investigated, (b) collecting and synthe-
sizing data from multiple sources, and (c) assessing the quality of information available.
• EP-ED-7: Design Methods are the processes that people apply to devise novel solutions to a broad range of problem scenarios
that have an identified goal and one or more reasonable pathways toward resolution.
• EP-MP-2: Measurement is the process of comparing the qualities of an object, such as the size, shape, or volume, to an estab-
lished standard in order to describe, analyze, or plan to modify the object.
• EP-QA-3: Data Collection, Analysis, and Communication are the processes of gathering, recording, organizing, examining, in-
terpreting, and sharing data from a variety of sources, such as experiments, design calculations, economic analyses, and statistical
procedures, throughout an engineering project. Sophistication in these processes requires knowledge related to (a) data collection
techniques, (b) using data to inform decisions, (c) data visualization, (d) estimation, and (e) appropriately reporting data to the
designated audience.
STEM Standards
• Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy (2020): The lesson situates learning within the contexts of agricultural and
biological technologies (TEC-8) and addresses the standards focused on assessing dierent approaches to design (STEL-7P),
evaluating tradeos (STEL-5G), and identifying the positive/negative eects of technology (STEL-4K)
• Next Generation Science Standards (2013): MS-ESS3-2: Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast catastrophic
events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their eects.
Learning Objectives
• Students will be able to identify the problem facing kelp forests and brainstorm possible solutions.
• Students will be able to engage in conversation about their design proposal.
• Students will be able to create a prototype influenced by what they learned about biomimicry.
• Given data from testing a design solution, students will be able to accurately estimate how eective their solutions would be if implemented.
18 technology and engineering teacher March 2023
Enduring Understandings
• Information gathering is important to the engineering practice of Engineering Design because it allows engineering/technology
professionals to understand the data surrounding their task more deeply, rather than guessing or assuming.
• Design Methods are important to the practice of Engineering Design as engineering professionals take a more disciplined, in-
formed, and organized approach to solve problems rather than general trial-and-error tactics. This makes it important to know and
understand what design methodologies are available and how to use them.
• Measurement is important to the engineering practice of Material Processing because engineering/technology professionals use
measured data to produce an informed working design. For example, the data for a prototype can help one determine the impact
of a device using engineering estimation and the power of ten.
• Data Collection, Analysis, and Communication are important to the practice of Quantitative Analysis because producing results,
explaining why the results occurred, and relaying that information in a mode people understand is beneficial for product success.
For example, a company could create a product for consumers, and tell consumers to buy it, but it will not be successful unless the
concerns understand why they should buy it, and that is dependent on how well the data and analysis is communicated.
Driving Questions
• How can I develop a plan to manage an engineering project through the appropriate application of a specified design strategy?
• How can I use engineering practices to mitigate environmental concerns?
• How can I use biomimicry to influence my design?
• How can I deduce a conclusion through the use of estimates and provide support using quantitative data?
Socially/Locally Relevant Context
The disappearance of the kelp forests o the coast of Northern California is a relatively new concern that has been attributed to a series
of potentially interconnected events with our natural ecosystems. The increase in the purple sea urchin population has been linked to a
decrease of kelp forests. This is related to the sunflower starfish, one of the only predators of the purple sea urchin. The other predator,
the sea otter, has also had a decline in population over the years. The decline of these predators has been connected to the increase in
the purple sea urchin population. The main food source for these urchins is kelp. As a result, the purple sea urchins have begun to deci-
mate the kelp forests. So why does this matter? The kelp forests are just as important as the forests on land as they help absorb carbon
emissions and provide the habitat and food sources for a variety of species. Now it is important to explore how engineering practices
can be used to address environmental issues such as this.
Required Prior Knowledge and Skills
• Students participating in this lesson should have the prior knowledge and skills listed here:
• Understanding criteria and constraints
• Prototyping skills
• Prior knowledge of climate and life sciences
• General mathematical literacy
Career Connections
Environmental engineers work on projects to sustain ecosystems and protect the environment. This lesson provides students with an
introductory experience to environmental engineering through problem solving. Environmental engineers work on projects to protect
the oceans similarly to how the students will be hypothetically protecting the ocean.
March 2023 technology and engineering teacher 19
Table 2
Engineering Design-Based Learning Lesson Plan
Engage: Sets the context for what the students will be learning in the lesson and captures their interests in the topic by making learn-
ing relevant to their lives and community.
• Students will start the lesson with an oil spill activity.
o The oil spill activity will require students to be in pairs or in groups. The students will enter the classroom to find a small pan
with water and oil spilled on top. Students will than engage in a small problem-solving activity, where they are tasked with
removing the oil from the water.
o Ask students to think about how engineering practices can help address environmental issues.
• Introduce the current issue related to the disappearing kelp forests by playing the news video about the kelp forests and pur-
ple sea urchins: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/northern-california-s-undersea-kelp-forests-decimated-purple-sea-ur-
chins-n1067906 (Dong, 2019).
• Ask students what they think the main sources of
the kelp forest problem are, why they think there is
a problem, and ideas they have to fix the problem.
Students should brainstorm with a partner, where all
answers should be accepted. This can be done using
a whiteboard or a Google Jamboard (see image at
right). Students will begin to think about how they
can engineer a solution to this issue.
Explore: Enables students to build upon their prior knowledge while developing new understandings related to the topic through
student-centered explorations.
• Students will explore the design method of biomimicry to understand how they can leverage the ways in which the sunflower
starfish as well as the sea otter prey on the purple sea urchins. Students will think about how they can mimic that process for a
technological device.
• Students will develop a proposal for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on how they plan to help harvest the legal-size
sea urchins. Their plan needs to be approved before they move onto the design challenge. The template for their environmental
engineering proposal can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pp9bxqbPRA5o0qb62TccYjTV3UgM3C6JaDScIn-
PvYIM/edit?usp=sharing
Explain: Summarizes new and prior knowledge while addressing any misconceptions the students may hold.
• Each group’s proposal will be set up at a dierent station (if there are seven groups there will be seven dierent stations) where
other groups will rotate around and read the other groups’ proposals and leave comments, questions, or feedback.
• The teacher will go around and read each group’s idea and go over common questions and feedback drawing on the class for
answers and suggestions.
• This class discussion is facilitated by the teacher, but it will be the students who control the conversation. The teacher will make
sure the students are on the right track and guide them with questions when needed.
Engineer: Requires students to apply their engineering knowledge and practices, as well as their engineering habits of mind, to define
a problem and develop, make, evaluate, and refine a viable solution.
• Each group of students will now be given the design challenge (Figure 2) and be tasked to use the information they learned to
create a well-informed prototype to remove as many sea urchins as possible from the ocean floor.
• Students will be engineers by staying within the given criteria and constraints to develop a solution to the problem.
Evaluate: Allows students to evaluate their own learning and skill development in a manner that empowers them to take the necessary
steps to master the lesson content and concepts.
20 technology and engineering teacher March 2023
• Introduce engineering estimation to students through this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YzvupOX8Is
• The students will estimate the magnitude of urchins on the ocean floor using the Design Evaluation worksheet (See Figure 3).
• Teams will be evaluated based on the estimate of the impact of their device on controlling the urchin population and saving the
kelp forests.
• After the students test their prototype, they will use their final score to calculate the impact of their device on controlling the urchin
population and saving the kelp forests. The students will use engineering estimation in order to calculate how many square acres
of ocean floor their device could save.
Note: lesson format adapted from Grubbs & Strimel (2015)
Engineering in the Wild Design Brief
Protecting the Ocean’s Kelp Forests
Teams will need to “get into the wild” and help the ecosystem by designing, creating, and testing a device to remove legal purple sea
urchins from the ocean without harming other wildlife. In this scenario, the goal is to design a device that would be attached to a boat
to automatically remove as many purple sea urchins from the ocean (represented by a 5-foot diameter baby pool as a testing sta-
tion) as fast as possible with as few errors as possible. For this challenge you will be manually operating the device but at a specified
distance from the edge of the baby pool. The sea urchins will be simulated by two dierent size spheres (the smaller one represents
illegally removable urchins and the larger one represents legally removable urchins). These will be located within a 5’ diameter pool.
The pool, which will not hold real water, will also include other wildlife, which must not be harmed by the device (the wildlife cannot
be touched or caught by the device, and if it is touched by the device, it must be done with some type of protective safety measure). If
other wildlife is touched or caught by the device, points will be deducted. Each team will be given a set of supplies to use for building
a device that removes the appropriate sea urchins from the pool. Being able to obtain the most legal sea urchins without touching the
other wildlife and within the least amount of time will be provided the most points.
Testing Process:
Teams will have the opportunity to test their device at least once and up to twice. To do so, teams will bring their device to the testing
site. They will be given 30 seconds to remove as many legal sea urchins as possible. As the device would essentially attach to a boat,
the operator of the device must not cross the edge of the testing pool (testing voided). After removing the urchins from the pool, the
operator must drop them into a bucket. Each legal urchin will count as +1 point, but each non-legal urchin removed will result in a
reduction of 1 point. Each unsafe contact with other species will result in a half-point deduction. When the team is ready to go, they will
notify the teacher who will start the timer. After 30 seconds scores will be tallied. Anything outside the bucket at the end of the allotted
time will not be scored.
Materials:
Items supplied to each test site:
Pool
1 beach pail
30 large balls
30 small balls
Random sea life
Items supplied to each team:
2 18x24 sheets of corrugated cardboard
5 brass fasteners
8 toothpicks
4 ¼” dowel rods, 12 inches in length
2 pieces of card stock
6 pipe cleaners
1 roll of string
4 balloons
10 craft sticks
10 twist ties
duct tape
Figure 2. The Engineering in the Wild Design Brief
March 2023 technology and engineering teacher 21
Design Evaluation Worksheet
Description of Design Decisions including any biomimicry examples:
Annotated Sketch of Device Design:
Design Performance:
Number of urchins removed:______________
Number of deductions: ___________________
Total:________________
Calculate the theoretical Impact of Your Device:
Part 1: How many acres of ocean floor could your device save if it were attached to 10 boats for two months operating for 12-hour
days? (The pool is 5’ in diameter with 30 sea urchins).
Part 2: In the same amount of time, estimate how much money could be generated based on the harvest (urchins are selling for
$0.74 a pound. 1 urchin = 1 ounce).
Design Analysis: (How well did your device perform?)
Figure 3. Design Evaluation Worksheet
Conclusion
This lesson has been designed to allow students to develop com-
petence in engineering practices while exploring ways in which
these practices can be used to address current environmental
concerns. The students are provided the opportunity to think like
environmental engineers to help solve the depletion of kelp forests
within oceans. But, regardless of career interests, these engineer-
ing practices will be beneficial in resolving any challenges students
may face in their lives and the context may provide a connection to
relevant topics that could engage students with mitigating environ-
mental concerns that their communities are working to address.
References
Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education & American
Society of Engineering Education (2020). A Framework for
P-12 Engineering Learning: A defined and cohesive educational
foundation for P-12 engineering. American Society of Engineer-
ing Education. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-100-1153-1.
Dong, S. (2019, November 30). Northern California’s undersea kelp
forests decimated by purple sea urchins. NBCNews.com. Re-
trieved September 29, 2022, from www.nbcnews.com/news/
us-news/northern-california-s-undersea-kelp-forests-deci-
mated-purple-sea-urchins-n1067906
Grubbs, M. E., & Strimel, G. (2015). Engineering design: The great
integrator. Journal of STEM Teacher Education, 50(1), 77-90.
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
(2020). Standards for technological and engineering literacy:
The role of technology and engineering in STEM education.
www.iteea.org/STEL .aspx.
Rogers-Bennett, L., & Catton, C. A. (2019). Marine heat wave and
multiple stressors tip bull kelp forest to sea urchin barrens.
Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-
51114-y
Deana Lucas is a master’s student at Purdue
University in the Technology, Leadership and In-
novation department. She received her Bachelor
of Science degree from The College of New Jer-
sey in Technology and Engineering Education.
She can be reached at lucas158@purdue.edu.
Greg J. Strimel, Ph.D., DTE is an Associate
Professor, Technology Leadership & Innovation,
and Program Lead, Design & Technology Minor
at Purdue Polytechnic Institute in West Lafayette,
IN. He can be reached at gstrimel@purdue.edu.
This is a refereed article.
