Prior to building, we had a class meeting where we met on the rug to talk about what expectations we had for ourselves and for our classmates/teammates. Our conversation centered around the idea of 'What a GREAT group/team is'- what it LOOKS like, what it SOUNDS like, what it FEELS like and how we can try to achieve this type of positive group environment. I even demonstrated some of the different ways that group members might talk to each other while working on a challenge (the GOOD and BAD ways-- thank you to Alex R. for being such a great sport even as I was modeling the ways NOT to speak to teammates). I think the kids were definitely a little caught off guard when their lovely teacher actually modeled poor listening, arguing and not respecting other's ideas- which albeit unconventional, worked to perfectly model my point! A huge part of group work is how the members interact with one another and that is ultimately a big reason for eventual success or failure. The students also got to share about past group experiences they've had and the reasons why some groups worked and other didn't. At the end of the day, being a successful group member takes a lot of hard work! : )
Now onto the challenge itself...the tallest cup tower seemed like a pretty simple task, until you actually tried to do it. It was incredible to watch the students work together, come up with a game plan, build the tower, see it fall, regroup and then start again. They were able to witness and experience why it is so important to hear and value the ideas of others, while understanding that very few things are ever accomplished perfectly on the first try. After about twenty minutes of group work, we came back together and I worked to build a tower (using their input) while we all sat in a large circle. The kids shared their observations and while I was the only one actually building, their thoughts, encouragement and positive energy made it feel like we were all working as one. At the very end, they were all just as nervous as I was about how we were going to be able to make our tower stay standing- the last few cups were a huge challenge (HELLO! SUPER NERVOUS TEACHER and SHAKY HANDS!) But as you can see from the photo below we accomplished the task and it even stayed standing until the next morning- how about that for solid construction?!
Thanks so much for reading- stay tuned for our next STEM challenge! : )
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