Using Math in Cookie Package Design
Watch this video as youth work together to design and build a prototype package to keep cookies safe.
As you watch the video, here are two things to think about:
- What mathematical knowledge do you see the youth using?
- How does the facilitator support youth in using their math knowledge?
Now that you’ve watched the video, reflect on what you saw. How does this apply to your work?
- How did the facilitator draw on youth’s math skills in the design of the activity?
- What questions did the facilitator ask youth to help them think through financial constraints on their design?
Knowing how to effectively apply math and science is critical to the development of high-quality engineering solutions. When you lead engineering activities, encourage youth to use their math and science knowledge in the engineering process. Help them see that this is part of the work of engineering.
Explore Engineering Practices
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Keeping the Group Focused
Watch as Denise and Jaimie use affirming statements with youth to reinforce positive behavior during the STEM activity. You will hear staff using attention-grabbing call-response phrases that require youth interaction, in order to keep the group working together.
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Like A Real Engineer!
What happens when youth challenge a group of engineers to complete the STEM activity they did in their program? Listen as the engineers go through the same problem solving steps and align real-world engineering strategies to the challenge they have in building and designing vehicles.
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Making Meaning from STEM Learning
To make STEM experiences meaningful, youth need to make the STEM learning personal. Staff use “provocations” and “plussing” to challenge youth to think of new ideas based on what they have discovered while creating an object that can fly out of a wind tunnel.