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• Teaching Weeks Issue

  Calendar of lessons and topics to be covered each week in the CS courses.

  Sep 8, 2026

• Teaching using LxD

  Students will practice LxD principles while teaching technical concepts.

  Sep 8, 2026

• Element G (Iteration 2): Construction of the Beta Prototype

  Build the production-grade Beta prototype, fully integrate all sub-systems, and log build results against the revised PRD.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element D (Iteration 2): Beta Design Concepts

  Generate production-fidelity design and architecture options against your revised PRD, score them in a second decision matrix, and select and justify the Beta design.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element E (Iteration 2): Production-Fidelity STEM Application

  Plan full sub-system integration, produce updated technical drawings or architecture diagrams, and apply advanced STEM principles at production fidelity for the Beta build.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element M (Iteration 2): Capstone Defense — Presentation of Project Portfolio

  Package the final technical portfolio, finalize your venture-style expo multimedia display, and deliver the Capstone defense to an external panel of judges.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Elements H+I (Iteration 2): Edge-Case & Comparative Testing

  Run edge-case, load, and regulatory-compliance testing on the Beta, record data against the revised PRD, and run a comparative analysis against the Alpha prototype.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element D: Design Concept Generation, Analysis & Selection

  Sketch competing design concepts, score them in a decision matrix, run quick concept tests, and bring your leading concept to your industry mentor for the first design review of Sprint 2.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element F: Consideration of Design Viability

  Audit your selected design for cost, manufacturability, and technical feasibility, source real vendor/material costs, and lock in a build-and-test timeline before construction begins.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element J: Documentation of External Evaluation

  Demo your prototype to target users or external stakeholders beyond your mentor, collect structured feedback, and document it in your engineering portfolio's multimedia display.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element L (Iteration 2): Final Designer's Recommendations

  Identify what still needs further development or testing, synthesize mentor and external recommendations across both iterations, and hand off a clear set of next-step recommendations ahead of the Capstone defense.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element K (Iteration 2): Final Reflection

  Write the final engineering assessment, draft the future roadmap beyond the Capstone, and reflect individually and as a team across both design iterations.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element B (Iteration 2): Analyze Your Own Prior Attempt

  Build an FMEA risk matrix with your mentor and formally document and analyze your own Trimester 1 prototype as the "previous solution attempt" being superseded.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Instructional Problem & Requirements Analysis

  Define the instructional problem, current and desired state KSAs, the gap between them, and the research questions that anchor your Capstone study.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Literature Review & Research Depth

  Analyze at least three existing commercial, open-source, or academic attempts to solve your problem and synthesize the findings by theme.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element G: Construction of a Testable Prototype

  Build a mock-up or concept model, follow a documented assembly procedure, pass a Preliminary Design Review, and construct a working Minimum Viable Product against your Sprint 1 PRD targets.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element M: Presentation of Project Portfolio — Night at the Museum

  Finalize your electronic portfolio and multimedia display, then defend your Alpha prototype at the Night at the Museum (N@tM) showcase to a panel of judges, closing out Trimester 1.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Mentor Engagement, Feasibility Review & Portfolio Setup

  Bring your revised PRD to your industry mentor for a feasibility review, finalize the signed mentor agreement, and initialize your engineering portfolio.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Product Requirements Document & IP Ethics

  Author a Product Requirements Document with quantifiable target metrics and conduct a patent / open-source license search before building anything.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Elements H+I: Prototype Testing, Data Collection & Analysis

  Demo your MVP to your industry mentor for the second mentor review of the Capstone, define your testing criteria and procedure, run physical testing, and cycle through a Critical Design Review before re-testing.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element A (Iteration 2): Redefine & Rejustify the Problem

  Log Trimester 1 failures and pivots in a version-controlled changelog, root-cause the N@tM panel and Sprint 3 issues, and revise your problem statement with post-Alpha evidence.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Sprint 1 Retrospective & Assessment

  Reflect on Sprint 1, self-assess against the Sprint 1 Assessment Matrix, gather peer and teacher feedback, and set knowledge goals for Sprint 2.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element C (Iteration 2): Justify Revised Design Requirements

  Revise your PRD to stricter, industry-grade quantified specifications, justify each change against your FMEA and stakeholder feedback, and peer review the revised PRD with another team.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element L: Presentation of Designer's Recommendations

  Draft concrete, evidence-backed recommendations for the Sprint 4 redesign, identifying what still needs development or testing and synthesizing the external evaluation feedback from Element J.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Sprint 4 Retrospective & Team Realignment

  Reflect on the redesign decisions made this sprint, reset team norms and technical ownership heading into the Sprint 5 build, and set knowledge goals for the rest of the second iteration.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element E: Application of STEM Principles & Practices

  Justify your selected design with the math, science, and CS principles behind it, produce a technical drawing or architecture diagram, and lock in your material list and tool plan.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Team Formation & Preliminary Abstract

  Form your Capstone team, get oriented with the Wayfinding Game and tooling, and draft a preliminary abstract for your engineering study.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element K: Reflection on the Design Project

  Run a post-mortem on Trimester 1's technical debt and bugs, reflect individually and as a team on Sprints 1-3, and finalize the Sprint 1-3 engineering portfolio ahead of the N@tM showcase.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element J (Iteration 2): External Evaluation (UAT)

  Run user acceptance testing with external participants, document the evaluation, and redesign and refine the Beta based on the findings.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Element F (Iteration 2): Viability at Scale

  Cost out manufacturing or hosting at scale, work through regulatory and compliance considerations, and lock a revised timeline for the Beta build and test.

  Jul 27, 2026

• Onboarding Challenge - Ground 0

  Master essential development tools and complete team onboarding through hands-on setup, coding, and collaboration. Begin the process for Project-based Learning (PBL) by launching into a project.

  Aug 22, 2025