Cognitive Flexibility

The following 17 Learning Pathways give students the ability to develop and enhance their future ready skills in cognitive flexibility.

Coding & Computer Science

STORYTELLING WITH DASH AND DOT ROBOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will tell stories by creating code to program Dash and Dot robots.

SKILL LEVEL:Early Childhood

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Early Childhood

AUTHOR(S): Sarah Robinson, Highlands School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Dash Robots, Dot Robots

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • People Management

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Emotional Intelligence

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Negotiation

  • Cognitive Flexibility


RETELLING A STORY WITH BEE-BOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will retell the sequence of events in a story by programming a Bee-Bot.

SKILL LEVEL: Early Childhood

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Ages 6-12

AUTHOR(S): Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Bee-Bot

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgement + Decision Making

  • Critical Thinking

  • Cognitive Flexibility

COMPETING IN THE DRAGON OLYMPICS WITH FINCH 2.0 ROBOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will use FinchBlox to program a Finch 2.0 robot to participate in the ‘Dragon Olympics’.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Ages 6-12

AUTHOR(S): Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Finch 2.0

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgement + Decision Making

  • Critical Thinking

  • Cognitive Flexibility


BRINGING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO LIFE WITH FINCH ROBOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will demonstrate the daily travels of a community member by creating a simple algorithm to guide a Finch 2.0 robot to various locations on a map.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grade 3

AUTHOR(S): Carmen Loughner, Franklin Regional School District | Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Finch 2.0

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgement + Decision Making

  • Critical Thinking

  • Cognitive Flexibility


CONSTRUCTING GOLF COURSES & MAZES FOR SPHERO ROBOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will create a golf course and mazes and code their Sphero robots to complete them.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 4-8

AUTHOR(S): Lindsey Lamm, North Allegheny School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Sphero Robots

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Negotiation

  • Cognitive Flexibility


MAKING A ROBOTIC CREATION USING HUMMINGBIRD DUO AND ARDUBLOCK

OVERVIEW: Students will create and code a robot of their choosing using Hummingbird Duo and Ardublock.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 6-8

AUTHOR(S): Erin Cawley, Former Avonworth Teacher | Lisa Lang, Former Fox Chapel Teacher

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Hummingbird Duo

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility


USING HUMMINGBIRD ROBOTS IN A VIRTUAL OR HYBRID CLASSROOM

OVERVIEW: Students will create and program their own robots, in a virtual or hybrid classroom, using Hummingbird Robot Kits and MakeCode.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: High School (9-12)

AUTHOR(S): Angel Stahl, Apollo Ridge School District | Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Hummingbird Bit

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment + Decision Making

  • Critical Thinking

  • Cognitive Flexibility


SOLVING MATH EQUATIONS WITH PYTHON CODING

OVERVIEW: Students will solve basic math equations by writing code in the Python programming language and the repl.it website. The Pathway is written for students with no prior CS experience.

SKILL LEVEL: Advanced

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: High School

AUTHOR(S): Tamar McPherson, Plum Borough School District | Stephanie Reilly, Fox Chapel Area School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility


Engineering

PROBLEM SOLVING & CODING WITH LEGOS

OVERVIEW: Students will explore, build, collaborate and problem-solve by creating and coding prototypes using the Lego WeDo 2.0 set.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grade 1

AUTHOR(S): Sarah Robinson, Highlands School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • People Management

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Emotional Intelligence

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Service Orientation

  • Negotiation

  • Cognitive Flexibility

BUILDING SIMPLE MACHINES WITH LEGO

OVERVIEW: Students will investigate and understand the operation of simple machines found in everyday life by building simple machines using the LEGO Early Simple Machines set.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 1-3

AUTHOR(S): Sarah Robinson, Highlands School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • People Management

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Emotional Intelligence

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility


PRODUCING A PIANO WITH MAKEY MAKEY

OVERVIEW: Students will produce a working piano using a Makey Makey circuit board and Scratch code.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 3+

AUTHOR(S): Michele Thomas, Kiski Area School District | Jessica Berberich, Freeport Area School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Makey Makey

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility

Data Fluency

CREATING DATA VISUALIZATIONS WITH CHIBITRONICS

OVERVIEW: Students will develop their data fluency by creating data visualizations using Chibitronics and analyzing EarthTime stories.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 3+

AUTHOR(S): Sue Mellon, Allegheny Valley School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Cognitive Flexibility

STORYTELLING WITH DATA VISUALS & BIG DATA SETS

OVERVIEW: Students will tell a story and/or advocate for a position that is supported through their data findings by finding an existing “big data” set from the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, EarthTime or another open source big data site, develop an inquiry question to explore from looking at the data and scrub and analyze the data.

SKILL LEVEL: Advanced

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Intermediate/High School

AUTHOR(S): Brett Slezak, Allegheny Valley

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility


DEVELOPING HUMAN RIGHTS & REFUGEE STORIES WITH EARTHTIME

OVERVIEW: Students will analyze and compare refugee situations globally, create EarthTime stories to peer teach, and commit to take an action as a result of their learning.

SKILL LEVEL: Advanced

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: High School

AUTHOR(S): Michelle Dickerson & Laura Fleischer Proaño, Highlands High School

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Emotional Intelligence

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility


Creative Design

TIPS AND TOOLS FOR TEACHING SCIENCE IN A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

OVERVIEW: Students will actively engage in interactive, fun and collaborative learning through the use of hybrid learning tools such as Google Slides Interactive Notebooks (INB’s), Jamboards, EdPuzzle and more.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grade 6

AUTHOR(S): Courtney Barbiaux, Burrell SD
Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): N/A

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Critical Thinking

  • Cognitive Flexibility

ENGAGING STUDENTS IN SCIENCE WITH HYBRID LEARNING

OVERVIEW: In this pathway, students will learn about the physical and behavioral characteristics of animals as part of a grade 6 Science unit on the Diversity of Living Things. This pathway was not created as a resource for teaching science content. It was instead created to highlight some activities, tools and resources that can be used to promote student engagement and collaboration in a hybrid classroom.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grade 6

AUTHOR(S): Courtney Barbiaux, Burrell SD
Melinda Spampinato, ABC CREATE

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Hummingbird Bit, Hummingbird Duo

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility

CREATING SCHOOL COMMUNITY GOOGLE TOURS

OVERVIEW: Students will create school and community tours in Spanish for authentic audiences (their penpals in Ecuador and future exchange students from Spanish-speaking countries) using Google Tour Creator and Ricoh Theta 360 cameras. Their tours can then be viewed online on any device and in virtual reality with smartphones.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Middle/High School

AUTHOR(S): Laura Fleischer Proaño, Highlands High School

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): VR Viewers, Ricoh Theta Cameras

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Service Orientation

  • Cognitive Flexibility

AUTHORING BLACKOUT POETRY WITH MAKEY MAKEY

OVERVIEW: Students will write poetry that stays on topic, read poetry with appropriate tone and make poetry interactive using Scratch code and Makey Makeys.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Grades 3-6

AUTHOR(S): Andrew Lynch, Highlands School District | Becky Mentecky, Highlands School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Makey Makey

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Cognitive Flexibility

TELLING A STORY OF EMPATHY WITH COSPACES VIRTUAL WORLDS

OVERVIEW: Students will tell a story of empathy by creating a virtual world in 3D using CoSpaces Edu. Their world can then be viewed and shared on Smartphones and/or inexpensive virtual reality viewers.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: Middle/High School

AUTHOR(S): Laura Fleischer Proaño, Highlands School District Stephanie Reilly, Fox Chapel Area School District

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): VR Viewers

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Negotiation

  • Cognitive Flexibility

MODELING SUSTAINABLE HOMES WITH HUMMINGBIRD ROBOTS

OVERVIEW: Students will design and model sustainable Ecuadorian homes using Hummingbird Robots.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate

IMPLEMENTATION SHOWN: High School

AUTHOR(S): Ms. Laura Fleischer Proaño, Mr. Michael R. Santucci Highlands High School Teachers

Sydney Altfather, Bryce Eddy, Alaina Geppert
Highlands High School Students

RESOURCE LIBRARY TOOL(S): Hummingbird Bit, Hummingbird Duo

FUTURE READY SKILLS:

  • Complex Problem Solving

  • Critical Thinking

  • Creativity

  • Coordinating with Others

  • Judgment and Decision Making

  • Negotiation

  • Cognitive Flexibility