This Friday, students worked in teams during our Problem Solving block to solve a classic riddle, adapted by TED-Ed. It involved getting a series of people across a bridge, two at a time, as a pack of hungry zombies approaches (you can try it yourself by watching the video in the slideshow below).
As usual, we prefaced our challenge with a reminder about the significance of the Learning Pit and how it will likely take numerous attempts to get out before a group will reach a solution. Therefore, groups kept track of their attempts in a series of tables that ensured that they wouldn't waste their time repeating the same unsuccessful solutions.
Our groups experienced a wide range of success. Some found a solution fairly quickly, others took much longer. Some did not find a solution, but kept working until the very last minute. Others seemed to lose focus and commitment somewhere in the middle of the process. In one group, two of the group members decided to give up on their final attempt, and the one remaining member actually found the solution with seconds to spare! Those who finished early were able to challenge themselves with a second riddle.
Afterward, we reflected on those various approaches to solving a problem and emphasized the importance of the process over the solution. It was exciting to see the problem getting solved, but it was even more exciting to see the perseverance of many groups!
As usual, we prefaced our challenge with a reminder about the significance of the Learning Pit and how it will likely take numerous attempts to get out before a group will reach a solution. Therefore, groups kept track of their attempts in a series of tables that ensured that they wouldn't waste their time repeating the same unsuccessful solutions.
Our groups experienced a wide range of success. Some found a solution fairly quickly, others took much longer. Some did not find a solution, but kept working until the very last minute. Others seemed to lose focus and commitment somewhere in the middle of the process. In one group, two of the group members decided to give up on their final attempt, and the one remaining member actually found the solution with seconds to spare! Those who finished early were able to challenge themselves with a second riddle.
Afterward, we reflected on those various approaches to solving a problem and emphasized the importance of the process over the solution. It was exciting to see the problem getting solved, but it was even more exciting to see the perseverance of many groups!
We did not have time for our Inquiry block this week because many students had to leave early for band and chorus rehearsal. However, we did take time to fill out a survey that will help us as we set goals in our PLPs for the remainder of the year. The survey had three stage: deciding which cross-curricular proficiency (CCP) the student needs to work on the most, determining which component of that CCP will be the focus of the goal, and then identifying opportunities in each course (as well as extracurricular activities) that will allow the student to practice this skill, demonstrate growth, and collect evidence. Check out the steps of the survey below to learn more about our goal-setting process!
After our band and chorus students left, we decided to end our week by watching an episode of a cool tv series from Netflix called "Brainchild" that examines how the science of our brains impact who we are and how we live. The episode we chose was "Creativity," which was a great connection to our Problem Solving block. There was a lot of creativity demonstrated during that time, and it was interesting to find out where that creativity comes from!