What happens when you put 20
kindergarten teachers in a room and a bunch of marshmallows? Magic!
The kindergarten teachers came together for a ReThink day full of wonder
and creativity. They started off with a
marshmallow challenge. This challenge
was a spinoff of the famous marshmallow challenge. The well-known marshmallow challenge uses 20
strands of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string and 1 marshmallow. The object is to construct the tallest
structure placing the marshmallow on top within 18 minutes. Our challenge in the iLearn studio was
slightly different because of the materials provided. The teachers were provided with 20 coffee
stirrers, 5 large straws, 2 Twizzlers®, and 14 marshmallows. They also needed to create the tallest
structure using those materials with 18 minutes to complete it.
There was a lot of laughter,
excitement and talking around the activity, but what the teachers discovered
was they needed to work together collaboratively by communicating plans and
ideas as well as problem solve. One of
the most important discoveries was the idea of prototyping and iterations to
that prototype in order to get a freestanding structure.
Many groups had success
building a freestanding structure and others wanted us to take the picture fast
before theirs’ toppled over! The highest
structure stood at 27 inches.
The teachers were provided
with kits to take back to their classrooms in order for them to implement the
activity with their kindergarten students.
There was one teacher who took it back and did with her students the
next day! Before the teachers met again
to reflect on the activity they all had their students complete the
activity. Here is one teacher’s
experience:
Ms.
Goines quote and class experience: “We did the
Marshmallow Challenge today! Very fun and quite interesting. You really get a picture of student social dynamics.
Frustrating for many as they just wanted to make it stand. Turned into a lesson
on working through frustrations, compromising, perseverance, and knowing that
it's okay if something "fails." Best
part: tallest student structure was 12"...4" taller than our teacher (group) structure
on training day. Yes!”
Teachers and students alike discovered some of the same elements
needed to complete the task. It was a
fun learning experience for all!
By: Karen Wilson, STEM Coach
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