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Error processing SSI file			User Feedback Leads to Additions for the Hands-on Curriculum In Session 1, Jump Into Design, students carefully examine the form and function of standard paper clips. Design and Discovery, a multimedia curriculum for teaching students in the middle grades about design and engineering, has just been updated to provide additional instructional resources. The most recent additions are the result of user feedback and interviews with facilitators who have held Design and Discovery programs during the past year. The inquiry-based curriculum is now being used in a variety of formal and informal settings, including summer camps, after-school programs, and regular classrooms. One new session of the curriculum includes a series of activities about materials engineering, expanding the Engineering Fundamentals section. As students take part in the hands-on activities, they learn to apply the strategies used by materials engineers and scientists. While testing samples of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, students also learn about important concepts in physical science. Knowing more about the properties of different materials proves helpful later in the curriculum, when students go on to design and test their own working prototypes of new products. In Session 5, Making Machines, students makes a rolling toy Also new to Design and Discovery are Key Concept pages to introduce the first 12 sessions in the sequential curriculum. Supporting information is provided for facilitators on concepts emphasized in the session, such as how electrical circuits work, what product research involves, or how simple and complex machines work. Design and Discovery also includes short video clips for facilitators to watch before they lead some of the hands-on activities, such as making a mechanical toy or lighting up an LED display. Links to other Web sites are included, providing additional information for further study. New features designed for students' use include short profiles of working engineers from a variety of disciplines. By reading about a mechanical engineer who designs ships or an environmental engineer who works on cleanup projects at industrial sites, students get a sense of the varied career opportunities in engineering. As students take part in the hands-on activities, they learn to apply the strategies used by materials engineers and scientists. To help students get excited about pursuing their own projects, Design and Discovery also includes three short video clips featuring students who have gone through the curriculum. They describe the process they have used to develop and test their own inventions, and display the pride that comes with creative problem-solving. It's no accident that Design and Discovery continues to evolve. Curriculum developers from Intel® Innovation in Education are following the same cycle of invention, testing, and making improvements that Design and Discovery teaches. The complete curriculum is available online from Intel Innovation in Education at www.intel.com/education/design.
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