Profile: Repair Technician


Objective:

In this module, students will create a conceptual picture of a repair technician.

Deliverable:

  • A profile sheet or other profile document

Core Concepts:

  • Repair

  • Technical Communication

  • Engineering Design

  • Technical Identity

Standards Correlations:

This activity correlates to the following Next Generation Science Standards. These standards incorporate the Common Core Literacy Standards. This activity may correlate to other standards, but these are the best fit:

NGSS Engineering Design - Performance Expectations:

  • MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

  • MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

Materials:

  • Computer to access the internet

  • Supplies to make profile sheet, document, or video


Procedures:

Activity 1: Developing Preconceived Ideas

  • Introduce repair to the class and have students brainstorm why repair is important. See the resources below.

  • Have students draw a picture of a repair technician and write some descriptive phrases. Have students include what they think a repair technician fixes.

  • Share these ideas as a class to create a starting model of a repair technician.

Activity 2: Repair Technician Profile

  • Have students research different repair technicians. Encourage students to find at least three types of technicians. See if they can interview a repair technician, or get one to visit your classroom.

  • Have students highlight differences from the technicians they met/researched to the one they drew in class.

  • Have students find a friend or family member who has repaired something and compare them to their repair technician.

  • Have students compare themselves to both the professional repair technician and the repair hobbyist, including skill sets. Have students write a reflection on whether or not they could be a repair technician.

  • Have students create a profile piece tying these three repairers (professional, family/friend, themselves) together.

Discussion Topics:

  1. Why should everyone be a repair technician? When would you ask a professional for help with a repair? When would you feel comfortable repairing things yourself?

  2. What prevents people from feeling like they can repair their things? How can we address these issues?

  3. What can we do as a society to support repair culture?

Other Resources: