The third observation was conducted when students
designed the blue print and set up the budget for their
chairs. She first showed a video clip how to assemble
cardboard joint. Then, she asked students how they could
make joints stronger. Students provided an array of
answers, and Amy tried all ideas to demonstrate if the
ideas worked. She also had monetary constraints. One portion of the classroom was turned into a ‘‘store.’’ Students
had a limited amount of money they could spend at the
store to build their chair. She asked students to think
carefully about how to use their budget, so as to spend
their money wisely. She said, ‘‘Controlling your budget is
very important for engineering design. If you spend more
money than your budget, you might lose your clients or
company in the real world.’’ For the rest of this class, she
let students work on drawing the prototype of their chairs –
emphasizing the need for iterative design. She emphasized
that students should focus on the client (the one who would
keep the chair) to find answers to their questions.