All of the Materials World Modules are based on the pedagogical principle of “inquiry through design.” More specifically, they are designed to engage students in scientific inquiry that helps them discover how materials science concepts and skills are applied to everyday design problems.
One of the fundamental premises underpinning the modules is the notion that doing scientific inquiry and addressing design problems can work together in a synergistic manner to help students to better understand science principles and develop scientific habits of mind. The authors believe engaging students in scientific inquiry helps them to uncover the important scientific principles that they need to address their design problem. Inversely, engaging students in design activities creates a genuine need to explore the scientific principles that will inform their solution to the design problem. This approach unites the abstract, quantitative methods of scientific inquiry with the concrete methods of technological design, helping students develop and integrate these complementary skills in a unique way.
The design problems are presented to students in scenarios that are typically framed in the context of a fictitious company that has a problem that needs to be solved. The teachers are given specific and detailed lists of the tools and materials that need to be available for the students to address the problem. Some of the design problems require students to develop multiple solutions to the problem, to test each prototype against the design criteria, and use the results to develop the optimal solution. Each design problem culminated with some form of reporting the thought processes, design, and testing results.
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