• Each group will employ a ‘thinking aloud’ protocol as they run the experiment.
• The cantilever designers should highlight key transitions or changes in their thinking about the problem.
One person will act as the researcher, capturing a time-record of the designers’ abstraction level and time at any moment. The researcher will make judgements about the abstraction level. The researcher is not allowed to take part in the design and construction.
• Change the person in the researcher role every 5 minutes to give all team members an opportunity to contribute to the cantilever design and construction.
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| Resources for 10 groups |
Include the following observations on the ‘Design Activity Graph.’
• Scenario thinking
• Requirement thinking
• High level solution thinking/building
• Medium level solution thinking/building
• Low level solution thinking/building
• Key ideas.
• Testing or Review.
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| Example of one group's design-construction activity chart |
Spaghetti Cantilever Exercise
An exercise in design and coordination (adapted from Patrick Stacey’s boundary object seminar). This exercise resonates with Peter Skillman's 'Marshmallow Challenge.'
Allocate at approximately 1 hour to run this exercise. 10" setup and briefing. 30" experiment. 5" extra time. 15" debriefing.
You will need a large space with scattered desks to accommodate the exercise. Tiered lecture theaters are not suitable environments for this activity.
Aims
Practical Aim: Construct a cantilever extending from a surface, such as a table top.
Knowledge Aim: To assess the different activities people engage in open-ended problem solving.
Material
For construction each group is given a pack of spaghetti, a roll of tape, 2 sheets of A4 paper. Pens are for writing and not to be used in the structure!
Each group to be given a sheet of graph paper to capture the team's Guindon graph.
The tutor will need a timer and tape measure.
Competitive dimension/evaluation: Which group will construct the longest cantilever, - it must not touch the floor!
The tutor will need a measuring tape to measure and compare the length of the cantilevers.
Reflection
Ask each group to classify the activities they underwent (perhaps over 4 or 6 distinct kinds of activity)
Ask each group to estimate how much time they spent on each activity.
Ask the groups to reflect on how they won (or lost!) and to reflect on the contributions their different experience, backgrounds, disciplines made to the solution.
Were there collaboration problems? What boundary objects used to make sense of the challenge?
What evidence of design work is available (diagrams, prototypes, experimental trials)?
Class of 2024/25 (25" deadline announced at 20")
| Group ID | Test 1 | Final Span (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Bananagram | OK | 90cm |
| Whatever | OK | 55cm |
| Noodle | OK | 60cm |
| Goodfellows | OK | 80cm |
| Carbonara | OK | 80cm |
| Creators | OK | 80cm |
| Alpha | Catastrophic collapse | 10cm |
Class of 2019/20
| Group ID | Test 1 | Final Span (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| NinjaTurtles | OK | 86cm |
| Rogue1 | OK | 51cm |
| Rogue2 | OK | 43cm |
| DontDrive | OK | 78cm |
| TeamTape | OK | 109cm |
| Waterslide | OK | 75cm |
| FishingRod | OK | 108cm |
| Group ID | Test 1 | Final Span (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| a | OK | 72cm |
| b | OK | 44cm |
| c | OK | 64cm |
| e | OK | 91cm |
| f | OK | 64cm |
| g | OK | 20cm |
| h | OK | 52cm |
| x | OK | 71cm |
Class of 2013/14 FT
| Group ID | Test 1 | Final Span (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| a | OK | 13cm |
| b | OK | 10cm |
| c | OK | 70cm |
| e | OK | 46cm |
| f | OK | 58cm |
| g | OK | 67cm |
| h | OK | 59cm |
| i | OK | 62cm |
| j | OK | 18cm, 18cm |
Class of 2012/13
| Group ID | Test 1 | Final Height |
|---|---|---|
| a | 3/4 | 56cm |
| b | OK | 71cm |
| c | 1/2 | nil |
| e | 1/2 | 52cm |
| f | 1/4 | 81cm |
| g | 3/4 | 46cm (74cm) |
| h | OK | 83cm |
| i | 1/4 | 83cm |
| j | 3/4 | 51cm |
