Duration: 30 minutes
SPIRIT Skills: Flexibility + Resilience
Brief Description:
Teams rebuild using their chosen change and aim for better stability + less waste.
How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills
- Strengthens flexibility by testing a revised strategy
- Builds resilience by improving calmly under pressure and recovering quickly
What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?
As a result of this activity, students (will be able to/understand/do …):
- Flexibility: apply one planned change from Stage 5 consistently.
- Problem-solving: improve stability compared to Trial 1 (stands independently for a chosen time).
- Valuing people and nature: reuse at least one broken piece as a brace/support if possible.
Academic/Curriculum Objective connection
- Iterative design: revise based on feedback and evidence
- Improve geometric accuracy and stability through planning
Materials and tools needed for implementation
- Remaining spaghetti + marshmallows
- Timer/stopwatch
- Trial 2 build log
Preparation notes
- Remind teams: “One-change rule” (especially for developing/advanced learners).
- Rotate roles if needed so participation is fair.
Guided Questions
- “What is the one change you are testing?”
- “What looks stronger than Trial 1?”
- “How did your base shape stay rectangular?”
- “What did you reuse instead of wasting?”
Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)
- “Did your one change help? How do you know?”
Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges
- Challenge: Teams change too many things at once.
- Tip: Enforce “one-change rule,” then test and observe.
- Challenge: Second collapse causes giving up.
- Tip: Prompt: “What did Trial 1 teach us?” then reset with the mantra and rebuild one small section first.