Like any inquiry-based activity, this engineering design challenge requires the teacher to allow students to explore and experiment, make discoveries, and make mistakes. The following guidelines are intended to help you make this activity as productive as possible.

• Be sure to discuss the designs before and after testing and if possible, make observations or ask questions during the test. Discussing the designs before testing forces students to think about and communicate why they have designed as they have. Discussing the designs after the testing, while the test results are fresh in their minds, helps them reflect on and communicate what worked and what didn’t and how they can improve their design the next time.
  
• Watch carefully what students do and listen carefully to what they say. This will help you understand their thinking and help you guide them to better understanding.
  
• Remind them of what they have already done; compare their designs to previous ones they have tried in earlier runs. This will help them learn from the design-test-redesign approach.
  
• Steer students toward a more scientific approach. If they have changed multiple aspects of a design and observed changes in results, ask them which of the things they changed caused the difference in performance. If they are not sure what caused the change, suggest they try changing only one thing at a time. This helps them learn the value of controlling variables.
  
•  Compare designs to those of other groups. Endorse borrowing. After all, engineers borrow a good idea whenever they can. However, be sure that the team that came up with the good idea is given credit in documentation.