Activity 1.2 – The Engineer’s Notebook

Purpose

Keeping notes of what is said in every class you take is something you have come to expect. You also have learned in mathematics class, for example, that a record of your work helps you to explain to your teacher what you wanted to do when you solved a mathematics problem. The same is true with engineers. They must keep a record of the work they do toward developing a solution, the processes they use in creating the solution, and a record of their solutions. The engineer’s notebook is so important that it is considered a legal document.

This activity is designed to help you set up your notebook and to learn to keep records of the work you will do in this class. In addition, you will be asked to take notes of the information you learn and the work you complete.

Equipment

·  Notebook

·  Pencil, ink pen

·  (Optional) Computer with word-processing program

Procedure

You will set up your engineering notebook with the following sections. Your teacher may ask you to add additional sections as the course progresses. In addition, you may be asked to keep an electronic notebook. Check with your teacher to verify how the notebook should be kept.

Notebook sections:

NOTES – RESEARCH – SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS – JOURNAL ENTRY – ADDITIONAL INPUT

Each day you will be required to make a journal entry. Each journal entry will include the following:

·  Briefly explain what you accomplished during the class period. This should include “I statements” only, for example:

o  I researched… I drew…

o  I built… I wrote…

·  When appropriate, sketch your ideas for a new project, your project completion to date, or improvements to your project.

·  Briefly explain why it is important to know/do the activity you worked on today.

·  Define one word from this week’s vocabulary list.

·  At the conclusion of a lesson and unit, answer the key questions in complete sentences.

The rubric on pages 2 may be used to help you know how well you are doing in preparing and keeping your notebook.

Pages 3 and 4 may be copied and used to help create your notebook.

Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Copyright 2007

GTT – Design and Modeling Unit – Lesson 1 – Activity 1.2 – The Engineer’s Notebook – Page 1

Engineering Notebook Rubric

Rubric Score ___/20

Component / 4 Points / 3 Points / 2 Points / 1 Point /
Development and Organization / Notebook shows a high level of organization; sections are clearly labeled; all activity sheets and related information are included. / Notebook shows evidence of organization, but is missing section dividers; not all activities are completed with appropriate information. / Notebook shows limited organization, such as missing sections, and most activities are not completed. / Notebook is not complete and is missing all activities.
Notes / Notes are clearly labeled with dates and relationship to each lesson. / Notes are labeled but are not in order. / Some notes are missing and not all notes are labeled. / Notes are not labeled, and the notes that are included are not clearly identified.
Research / Research is documented with appropriate citations. Research shows a variety of resources and is not limited to one or two sources. / Research is documented on some topics. One or two do not have proper citation information. Research is limited to two or three resources. / Research is randomly completed with little or no documentation of sources. / There is no research other than what is available from the textbook or lecture notes.
Sketches and Drawings / Sketches are complete and show all important aspects. Drawings are complete and show accurate representation of design concepts. / One or two sketches are not complete and are missing important information, such as measurements. Drawings are missing two or more important aspects. / Sketches are missing more than half of the identification of the components. Diagrams are not complete. / Sketches are not complete. There are no drawings included.
Journal Entry / All journal entries coincide with the assignments. Dates are recorded and student has taken care to complete each entry. / Two or three journal entries are misdated or are missing completely. Remaining journal entries are complete. / More than half of the journal entries are missing or are misdated. / Only one or two journal entries are found in the notebook.
Total Points

Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Copyright 2007

GTT – Design and Modeling Unit – Lesson 1 – Activity 1.2 – The Engineer’s Notebook – Page 1

Engineering Sketches Pg. ___

Name of Part: ______

Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Copyright 2007

GTT – Design and Modeling Unit – Lesson 1 – Activity 1.2 – The Engineer’s Notebook – Page 1

Engineering Notes: Engineer’s Name #1 ______Engineer’s Name #2 ______

Date / Description of What Was Accomplished and Other Important information

Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Copyright 2007

GTT – Design and Modeling Unit – Lesson 1 – Activity 1.2 – The Engineer’s Notebook – Page 1