Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Praxis I is an introduction to engineering design processes and theory. Praxis I focuses on communication, teamwork, research, and prototyping; all crucial and connected parts of engineering design. An overarching theme is developing an engineering identity, something that unites all parts of the course.
At the start of the course, you will learn about design theory. This is based on the concept of engineers formally and rigorously documenting and supporting their designs. “Supporting your design” means finding research that supports your decisions and testing your design to ensure it will perform correctly. Documentation involves tracking materials, ideas, and information that went into developing your design. Along the way, you will learn to communicate your design process to other engineers.
You will learn all about the Frame, Diverge, Converge, and Represent (FDCR) principle that is at the foundation of Praxis I and II. After learning about design theory, you’ll apply an engineering design process in full. First, you’ll find and frame an engineering opportunity by talking to people and communities around you. Then, you’ll develop ideas for tackling the opportunity and begin challenging and testing these ideas. This process will culminate in developing a report and several prototypes of your solution.
Primary Engineering Design Framework used in Praxis I and II
Professors
Meet your professors for Praxis I!
Roger Carrick
Roger Carrick is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Division of Engineering Science and the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. Professor Carrick has a background in mechanical engineering. He completed both his undergraduate and masters education at the University of Waterloo. Before joining the Praxis team, he served as the Designer-in-Residence in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University, where he helped set up the Engineering Design curriculum. Through this role, he found that he enjoyed teaching and went on to complete his PhD there as well. His research interests include project-based learning, knowledge integration through design, and integrating CAD training in engineering curriculum.
Morgan Hooper
Morgan Hooper is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Division of Engineering Science and the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). Professor Hooper is an EngSci graduate (1T5 + PEY) from the aerospace engineering major. She then received her MS and PhD in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology. Her interests lie in the intersection between sustainability, technology and equity, and the ways in which they impact society and the environment. Her teaching focuses on engineering design from a multi-faceted, trans-disciplinary, and hands-on approach.
Robert Irish
Professor Irish is from the Engineering Communication Program. He helps Praxis students develop skills around logical and reasoned arguments that are necessary for engineers to justify their claims. He has written two textbooks: Engineering Communication from Principles to Practice and Engineering Writing: a Very Brief Guide.
Highlights
- Prototyping your ideas and testing them. Dollar stores are your friend!
Praxis students prototyping designs in the Myhal Light Fabrication Facility. (It’s worth noting that “Light Fabrication” is “Light” as in “Not Heavy Fabrication”. They do NOT make light in this facility. Making light would be, strangely enough, “Heavy Fabrication”, not Light Fabrication at all.)
- Learning to make strong arguments and support them with evidence (your own testing or from other sources).
- Explore the campus and ask students about their lived experience (as non-awkwardly as you can: make it a challenge). Then, finding a group within U of T, and making an effort to improve the lives of a group of students on campus, using your newly learned Engineering Design abilities!
- Writing your first report! In Engineering, communication is as important as design. No single engineer can be responsible for an entire project, from the planning and design, to manufacturing and distribution. Therefore, it is good practice to formally communicate ideas and information in a written manner.
Week in the Life of a Praxis I Student
Praxis I is a versatile course that changes significantly from week-to-week. Here is a rough approximation of how a week will look for a Praxis I student.
Lectures
There are typically three lectures a week for Praxis I. You will learn about engineering design concepts in lecture and participate in design and thinking activities.
You’ll find that the lectures are very well-integrated with the tutorials. They will often discuss some notable results from tutorial activities and connect them to different engineering design concepts. Additionally, some lectures will focus on engineering design tools that will be useful in the tutorial sections immediately following the lecture.
Studios (Tutorials)
Praxis studios occupy the same section in your schedule as tutorials. In a small class led by a couple TAs, you will be guided through engineering design activities, project help, team building activities, and more. This is where most of your project-specific work and instruction will happen.
You’ll find that the concepts discussed in studios were introduced in the lectures. This makes studios an excellent time to apply these concepts and get a deeper understanding of how they all work together.
Exams
There is typically a midterm and final exam in Praxis I. This will test you on the engineering design theories and concepts you have learned, as well as your ability to apply them. Based on our experience, understanding how the course concepts connect to each other can be a useful tool when studying. To find past exams and tests, visit the Praxis I page on courses.skule.ca.
Projects and Reports
You will have several team projects and reports due throughout the semester. These are done either individually or in your design teams. Look at the How to Succeed section below for some advice on completing these.
How to Succeed
Quick Tips & Equations
- The Toulmin model for arguments (feel free to argue in Praxis! It’s not rude, it’s constructive).
- Learning to make an engineering argument is one of fundamentals in Praxis. Whether you are backing up your ideas with lots of evidence or admitting you have not done enough work to know the full answer to a question, arguments are especially important for the questions you explore in Praxis. There may not be a ‘correct’ answer to begin with!
- C.R.A.A.P. Test to gauge the credibility of secondary sources (actually very useful, although you wouldn’t think so based on the name.
- C = Currency
- R = Relevance
- A = Authority
- A = Accuracy
- P = Purpose
- Pugh Chart
- Ratings Matrix
- A strong sense of logic and rigour
More Details
Teams
Much of Praxis I is done in teams to which you’ll be assigned using an algorithm. This is a chance for you to make more friends and get to know more of your peers. Try to learn each other’s habits and how everyone likes to operate, like who’s an early bird and who’s a night owl. Agree on simple rules: “if someone is late, they will buy Timbits for everyone” or “we will not just shoot down others’ ideas: we’ll give a reason we don’t agree and be open to debate”.
Many teams will often wait a few days after an assignment is given to plan and allocate work. Upper-year students recommend planning early so everyone can do their individual portions as soon as possible. This gives plenty of time for group review and for the collaborative portions of the assignment. Waiting too long before planning will just push work off, leaving you with less time to review. If you find a particular teamwork strategy is not working, try something different. Above all, don’t forget to communicate!
Review Your Writing at Every Step of the Process
Writing is a key part of professional communication, and you’ll be expected to write formally for Praxis I. The reports can be long, so don’t review them entirely in one go. You’ll find that fatigue impairs your reviewing and editing ability.
It’s recommended that everyone review their individual writing sections so that both group and final editing can go faster. Also, don’t forget your citations! They always take longer than you expect, so do them as you go.
Take the Theory Seriously
Having a good understanding of the course material goes a long way for quickly generating reports that are professional and well-supported using models and evidence. Additionally, engineering design builds upon itself, so if you don’t review core “simple” concepts early on, you will find it difficult to follow processes later in the course.
Ask Questions
As with all other courses, ask questions! The teaching team will answer any of your questions about assignments, concepts discussed in lecture, engineering, communication, and much more. You will have about 5-10 minutes before and after the lecture to ask quick questions. You can also always emal professors for more personal questions or attend their office hours.
Take Feedback Seriously
Throughout the semester, you will be given feedback from TAs and Profs through activities during studios, TA meetings and “holistic” or written feedback on assignments. Feedback is personalized and is all designed to help you become a better student engineer, so don’t neglect these resources.
What Will You Take Out of It?
- You’ll learn how to design creative solutions to design challenges! This skill will be useful in future design courses and in your engineering career.
- Completing an engineering design process for the first time is a great learning experience for most students. It’s very rewarding to find a problem, frame it, develop a concept solution and then prototype it through to functionality.
- As a future engineer, you will need to make engineering decisions based on strong arguments and credible, relevant evidence.
- The research and citations that you do for the course may seem tedious at first, but they’ll prepare you for future design projects and courses by introducing you to the research tools necessary for professional engineering.
- If nothing else, this course will give you confidence in your problem-solving abilities. Overcoming the wide variety of challenges will be a source of confidence for you in your engineering design and problem-solving abilities.
- In Praxis I, you will learn all about engineering design frameworks and techniques. These will be the foundation in Praxis II, where you will focus on applying these skills to a larger scale project!