Gage Thompson (left) and Harish Jayachandrababu (right) check the magnet placement on their vehicles during test runs. (Sheila Anderson/VCTR) 

By Sheila Anderson
Valley City Times-Record

Fourth-graders in Natalie Boe’s classroom are busily working on various steps of the engineering design process to create magnetic levitation vehicles.
This might not sound like fourth-grade, but in Boe’s classroom, projects like this are quite common.
Boe implements four major technology projects into the curriculum over the course of a year.
“Adding a technology education component to the curriculum is an effective way to get students excited about learning, and I’m not adding another subject to my already busy day,” Boe said. “The great thing about technology education is that it integrates with every subject I teach.”
According to Boe, children learn about the engineering design process in a developmentally appropriate way. The process is broken down into five or six steps. Students identify the challenge, explore ideas, plan and develop, test and evaluate, and finally present the solution. Boe said students are highly enthusiastic about the projects.  
Students also learn how to safely use the tools necessary for each project. Students receive handouts that outline the engineering design process through every step and keep a portfolio of their work from the project.  After completing the project, students present their work to the class.

For full story, see Friday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.