6.5. Marshmallow Challenge.

Ouline:

Description of the activity.
Rules.
Evaluation criteria.
Keys.
Activity.
Reflection.

Description of the activity.

The marshmallow challenge is a classic problem-approach exercise.

In 25 minutes, each group can use 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow to build the tallest free-standing structure with the entire marshmallow on the top.

Materials:

sheet of paper
20 sticks of spaghetti
1 yard of tape
1 yard of string
1 large marshmallow
scissors (to cut materials)
yard stick (to measure)

Rules

The winning team is the one that has the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure.
The teams can break the spaghetti and cut the tape and string into any sized pieces.
A team can also use the materials as much or as little as they wish. For example, if they can decide to use all or no spaghetti, the same applies to the masking tape and string.
The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top.
Remind the activity is in english, Team's role and noise control.

Winner team

After the clock runs out, ask everyone in the room to sit down so everyone can see the structures. Measure the structures and announce the winning team

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation will examine:

The role of each team member: time keeper, manager, noise controller, spoken person, tidiness and security and If the role is not fulfilled, the team may be disqualified.
Cooworking collaborate help the group to win.
Colaboration in a relax and respectful way.
Be careful with the noise.
The use of english to communicate.

A free classroom noise level meter, monitor and management tool. Perfect if your school kids are too noisy! Bouncing balls react to sounds from the microphone.bouncyballs.org/

Tips.

Applying the knowledge about structures. Analyse materials to look for similarities with structures.
Recognizing in the materials the type of effort they work on.
Communication in the group be active in the roles
The design phase and testing is very important, the sheet and the collaboration and support of all team members is very important.

Activity 25 min.

https://bouncyballs.org/

https://www.timeanddate.com/timer/

Reflections

Debriefing questions:

For personal reflection:

- What was the strategy of the team?
- Have you applied structures knowledge?
- What was the key in the building process?
- What was my role in the team?
- What worked well in my team?
- What would I improve next time in my team’s work?

For sharing within the team:

- What worked well in my team?
- What would I improve next time in my team’s work?

For triad discussion:

- What are the advantageous aspects of your role?
- What are the disadvantageous aspects of your role?
- What learning would you take away from this exercise?

Evaluation Criteria.

Bibliography

Marshmallow ChallengeThe Marshmallow Challenge is a simple, and instructive design activity that promotes and teaches valuable lessons in collaboration, innovation, and creativity.