This task was surprisingly hard, but my eighth graders persevered. The highest egg tower was 5 eggs tall, and most groups could get 4 eggs. We had a variety of strategies including different egg support structures to create a supportive base, but ultimately extra play dough on a single stack seemed to work the best. From the teacher perspective I was wondering how to take its fun STEAM activity from an engaging task that develops collaboration and problem solving to actively supporting my students to reflect on how they used the language of inquiry to problem solve and support each other. As I circulated the room I said things like, "Great strategy, how did you come up with it?" or "What questions did you ask your team mates to help come up with this strategy?" or " You say ____ came up with this idea, how did you communicate your ideas with the group?" I would try to guide the students to consider how they used questions to develop ideas collaboratively. When the students shared a question they asked that helped move the group forward, I nominated a group recorder to document it on the reflection device for use later. By the end of the building time when we transitioned to reflection, every group had some notes to help them through the reflection. Below are some samples from their reflection papers.
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AuthorAmanda Vogel has been teaching since 2007. With a background in special education and literacy instruction, I have been teaching in AVID schools for my entire career. I have seen first hand the powerful impact that AVID can have both on student in the elective class but also in supporting school wide improvements that works for all students. I am by no means an expert, but I hope that by sharing the experiences at our school we can build a community together. Archives
February 2023
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