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I have a tendency to expect more of kids than most other educators I've met. I believe that if you ask children to perform just beyond the boundaries of their ability, they will concentrate harder, display better teamwork, and ultimately perform better. Think of it as the kiddy table - if you put a child at the kiddy table, they will act like a kid. If you tell them they get to sit at the grown-up table, but only if they use their manners, what does that mean to them? How does that change their behavior?
With that way of thinking, I wanted to see if campers could make a Cloud in a Bottle that I found on YouTube. Not only that, but I wanted to see if they could do it without my leading them, step-by-step. I put my usual list of steps up on the whiteboard:
We talked about these steps and how we have plenty of time to try, and try again with a better design. Then, I invited them to pick their groups (or work alone; some kids, like adults, aren't immediately comfortable with collaboration). After that, I drew their attention to a pile of materials on the front table:
I invited them to write down each item they saw on the table. If they don't know the name of the item, they can ask their teammates or another group, or they can draw a sketch of it. After we reviewed what all the materials are called, we talked about drill safety and hot glue gun safety and we set up stations for gluing and drilling. Once they are ready for these tools, I said, they can approach the station and work with those tools. Then, I invited them to examine the examples I made ahead of time - a plastic jug with a bike valve affixed to the bottle cap, and a tiny spoonful of isopropyl alcohol swishing around within. I asked them to discuss as a group how they might go about assembling theirs. Then, we had about 40 minutes of (noisy) trial and error. During this time, I walked from group to group just asking how it was going and if they had any questions. If they had questions, I responded with a question - Where can we go to find that out? Do you see anyone else in the room working on that same problem? Can we go ask them? - before actually giving them any answers, myself. After about 20 minutes, a couple groups had their bottles made and were ready to test it. When it didn't work the first time, I reminded them of our steps on the board, including 'Rebuild and Retry'. With even more determination, they returned to their designs. About five minutes later, the first successful cloud in a bottle was made! With a satisfying 'pop' and a chorus of "WHOA!" the campers all joined in the victory of the successful group. Then, the groups worked even more feverishly on their designs. All in all, each group had at least once successful Cloud in a Bottle. They even wanted to work through snack time! Here's a video of our first successful Cloud in a Bottle
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This is Niki.Niki Cuccinotto is a consultant, science educator, and writer. Archives
May 2018
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