Acoustic engineering 1
What makes one set of headphones better than another?
This is a fun STEM activity designed for secondary school students that will allow them to understand ergonomics and aesthetics in an authentic context and apply their findings in a creative and challenging way.
Activity: Acoustic Engineering
These starter activities have been inspired by the ‘Sound Design’ film and focuses upon the development of earphones and headphones. Students are provided with the opportunity to analyse earphones currently on the market in a structured, detailed, and creative way. They are then encouraged to investigate the potential development of this product.
Download our free activity sheet below for a range of starter activities. These activities are designed to be as flexible as you need them to be – they could form the basis of the lesson or be used as starters for a series of lessons.
Download the presentation below titled ‘Acoustic Engineering’ and ask the students to identify the product and its function.
Ask the students, in pairs, to identify the target audience (age range, gender, lifestyle, demographic, etc.) for three of the earphones/headphones.
Why are there so many different types and styles of earphones and headphones, all providing a similar function? In relation to earphones and headphones, what is more important, form or function?
The teacher can then ask the students to identify which of the earphones or headphones they believe to be the oldest, and to explain their reasoning behind their choice. Ask the students to sort the products in chronological order (from the oldest to the latest design).
The responses from the students can be used to stimulate a discussion about changes over the last 100 years in style, materials, aesthetics and electronics. Relate these to key developments in society and technology.
What did people do before headphones and earphones were invented? What do you think influenced the invention of the headphone?
Was there a need for headphones before the development of the product?
As an extension to this activity students could complete the main activity in this series titled ‘Acoustic Engineering 2’.
Tools/resources required
- Sound design film (below)
- Projector/whiteboard
- A range of earphones and headphones (these could be provided by the students or collected by the department over time)
Suggested learning outcomes
By the end of this free resource students will be able to understand how to analyse a product. They will also be able to identify areas for development when analysing a product and to be able to present their design considerations when deciding which areas and features to develop.
Download the activity sheets for free below!
All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.
The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation.
