Rollercoasters — Control or Chaos?
By: Katie Sullivan, Upper School Mathematics Teacher
If you stopped by Room 5 in the Upper School this fall, you’d have seen a lot of colored cardstock being folded and cut and marbles running everywhere! Passersby were peering in to see what these big structures were and asking if they could come in and explore them. In eighth grade Algebra class, the course of study included linear functions and distance = rate x time word problems. That seems rather dull in a textbook, but not when you get to build a rollercoaster.
Students demonstrated their understanding of these concepts by working in teams to design and build a paper rollercoaster (paperrollercoasters.com) that would successfully send a marble from the top to the bottom without assistance, stopping, or flying off. Each rollercoaster had a minimum set of requirements, including their choice of elements such as stairs, half pipes, funnels, and corkscrew turns.
The eighth graders spent several weeks using Design Thinking principles, including collaboration, iteration, and resilience, to create their rollercoasters. Each team had to have a minimum of three ramps. Students measured and calculated the slope of each. They were required to calculate the rate (velocity) of a marble through one track by measuring the distance of the path through the track and then timing the marble. They tested and retested their elements, adjusted their positions, and subtly learned some scientific truths — the rollercoasters will be used in science class during the eighth graders’ study of physics as an excellent example of potential and kinetic energy.
A detailed grading rubric that defined requirements and points for elements such as the rollercoaster name and theme, extra height, high complexity, additional successful elements, and creativity was shared with students in advance. Points were deducted for failed elements, marbles stopping or going off the track, shoddy construction, lack of sturdiness during a “push and sway test,” lack of teamwork and division of labor, and poor use of work session time. The foreman (Mrs. Sullivan) conducted ongoing observations and inspections of the work throughout the entire building process.
Not only did the students ask every day, “Can we work on our rollercoasters?” but they also chose to spend study hall time working on them. During an end-of-term reflection, when asked, “What is one thing you are most proud of in math from Term One?” the majority of students said, “My rollercoaster.” This hands-on project gave students choices, allowed them to work collaboratively, had real-world applications, and was highly motivating. These are the keys to student engagement, and student engagement is the key to authentic learning.
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