Quick Iterations and Frequent Feedback

Agile Concepts

• Iterations
• Burndown chart
• Review and Retrospective

Peak Learning Practices

• Growth Mindset
• Redo / Rework
• Transparency

Learning & Teaching

Bill Tihen (IT) and Daniel Patton (STEAM) taught a 6-week course to middle school students called 3D Nautical Design. Students, in groups of three or four, created boat building companies. The final product was to be a small plastic boat that (1) went straight on the water surface when flicked with a finger, (2) carried weight (coins), (3) withstood wind from a fan, and (4) withstood waves when a weight was dropped in the tub of water.

Accompanying the physical boat was advertising for the company and a group sales pitch (as a final assessment) that was presented with a demonstration of the boat in front of an audience. Audience members played the role of investors, allocating their play money to the company(ies) of their choice.

Iterations: The students were learning to use the 3D printer. To make the project accessible, they were first instructed to make a small box. Once successful, they added a triangular prow. When successful they worked on the hull so it wasn’t simply flat. They then played with more advanced designs. This is one type of iteration, what teachers recognize as scaffolding a task.

Burndown chart: A second type of iteration came in the form of quick teacher feedback, aided by a burndown chart. As students left class, they showed a chart, on the outside of a folder (with relevant materials, sketches, and handouts inside the folder), to the teachers. This “ticket out” set up a cadence that reminded students each class period that making progress was important, as well as giving everyone a chance to recognize successes and acknowledge obstacles.

Review: In addition to the daily review (a sprint review of sorts) and the overall “Shark Tank” review as a final gamified assessment of the final products of each boat company, Bill led a retrospective for all students about the six-week learning process. Each student gave and received feedback, sitting in a circle, referencing their ability to collaborate, how they addressed dysfunction, how they accepted ideas from one another, which designs did well, and what they would do next if the class were longer, among other topics.

Source

From a middle school course taught at Leysin American School, 2017. Questions: Bill Tihen, [email protected]

Further Resources

To read more about this particular class, see

Tihen, B., Magnuson, P., & Patton, D. (2018). (Designed to Float your Boat)[https://issuu.com/ecischools/docs/globalinsights6], Global Insights, The Education Collaborative for International Schools, April 2018, 9-12.