Many of you may remember that last June, our Digital Learning Coordinator, Ruggero Cortese, had the opportunity to take part in a professional development experience at MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
When he returned to H-FARM Rosà, Ruggero shared his experience with the whole teaching team, introducing colleagues to some of the approaches, activities and ideas he had explored during his time at MIT.
What was particularly exciting was seeing how quickly these ideas moved from professional development into the classroom. Just a few days after Ruggero’s session, some of our teachers were already putting activities inspired by the MIT experience into practice with their students.
Working in teams, students were asked to solve three different challenges, encouraging them to experiment, test ideas and learn from failure:
The Paper Tower Challenge – students worked in teams to build the tallest possible tower using only paper, clips and elastic bands, testing their creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
The Longest Human Chain – students worked together to create the longest possible chain, using not only themselves but also objects available in the classroom, such as rulers, books and pens.
The Longest Bridge – using plastic straws and wire, teams had to design and build the longest possible bridge, once again strong enough to support the little plastic cow.
Beyond the fun and creativity involved, these challenges also provided a great opportunity to strengthen teamwork, social interaction, problem-solving and initiative – turning an idea from a professional development experience at MIT into a hands-on learning experience for our students.
This is exactly what meaningful professional development should look like: new ideas shared, adapted and brought to life in our classrooms.
