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Learning Tower of Straws Activity

This activity was developed for English 99 - Basic Writing, but it would be helpful for students in any course that requires process writing. The building component of the activity can be used as an ice breaker/team builder in any course. This activity was inspired by a common Odyssey of the Mind spontaneous problem.)

Objectives
Materials
Process
Reflection

Objectives

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While working on this activity, students will

-- get to know their classmates
-- learn strategies for effective team work
-- learn how to write a paragraph using process as the rhetorical mode
-- learn to identify and value effective process writing

Materials

shaving cream
straws (use straws that are wrapped individually in paper or the shaving cream won't stick)
paper, pens, pencils
measuring tape or ruler
plastic to cover the work surface
paper towels for cleaning up the shaving cream
stop watch or egg timer

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Process

First, read the problem to the students:
Your group's creative challenge is to build the tallest structure possible using only straws and shaving cream.

Next, give your students the following directions, one step at at time:

1. examine the materials and ask questions (one minute)

2. build the structure (three minutes)

3. measure the structure (10 points per inch)

4. write a paragraph about the process your group used to solve this problem.

TIPS:

* Consider introducing this activity with a short discussion of experiences students have had related to instruction manuals. Have they ever bought a product that needed to be assembled and then tried to follow the instructions in a poorly written instruction manual? Next, ask students if they have ever had to write about a process on an exam. For example, have they been asked to discuss the process of photosynthesis in a biology class? This discussion will not only clarify two types of process writing, but will also help students make connections to their other classes and to their lives outside of the classroom.

* Students should work in groups of three to five people.

* Having groups compete to build the tallest structure creates excitement and interest. (There's no grade for the assignment; the scoring is just for fun.)

* Setting a time limit for each building step helps keep students on task.

* The paragraph can be written as a group or individually. Consider having students write the paragraph immediately after the building or for homework. Either approach can be effective.

* Engaging students in serious "play" works wonders! It's a good idea, however, to explain the objectives of the project so that students understand HOW and WHAT this form of play can help them learn.

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Reflection

REFLECTION ACTIVITY 1:

Consider having students write a paragraph or journal entry after completing this activity.

REFLECTION ACTIVITY 2:

For homework, each student answers the following questions (adapted from Stephen Brookfield’s “Classroom Critical Incident Questionnaire” – Adult Learning: An Overview, by Stephen Brookfield)
1. At what moment during this project did you feel most engaged with what was happening?
2. At what moment did you feel most distanced?
3. What about this activity surprised you the most?

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Dialogue!

Lisa designed the Learning Tower of Straws Activity guided by the three components of our theoretical model:

• the unique learner
• the learning-centered environment
• the construction of meaning.

Lisa's comments:

-- the unique learner -
This activity gets students talking to each other about unique approaches to solving a problem. The activity was designed with the unique learners' MI (multiple intelligences) strengths/challenges in mind. The process is especially rewarding for students with interpersonal, verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, and bodily/ kinesthetic strengths. Because students observe other groups trying to build towers as well as their own group building process, they often comment on the variety of unique approaches the other students take to solving the same problem. This activity also offers the "hands-on" students a chance to share their strengths in a classroom setting (writing classroom) where they sometimes feel like a fish out of water.

-- the environment-
This activity creates a serious, yet light-hearted and non-threatening atmosphere in the classroom. It's fun! This creates a wonderful opportunity for the instructor to point out how humor can help create an environment that encourages creativity. If this activity is done early in the semester, it can set the tone for the entire semester. Students know this will be a challenging yet collaborative, supportive atmosphere.

-- the construction of individual meaning -
As students use process as a rhetorical mode throughout the semester, they remember and make connections to this building activity. They have a visual and hands-on "understanding" of the step by step nature of writing instructions/process. The discussion of process writing (suggested in the "tips" section above) will help them make connections to their other classes and to their lives outside of the college classroom. Furthermore, the reflection activities are designed to help students construct meaning both from the process of the activity and from the results. The reflection activities encourage metacognition.

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