Build a Tower, Build a Team

What do dry spaghetti, one yard of tape, and marshmallows have to do with building a successful team?

In this TED Talk video, “”Build a Tower, Build a Team””, Tom Wujec presents some surprisingly deep research into the “”marshmallow problem””—a simple team-building exercise that involves dry spaghetti, one yard of tape, and a marshmallow. He poses the questions: Who can build the tallest tower with these ingredients? And why does a surprising group always beat the average?

How might the lessons learned from this video apply to your teacher-powered school design team? In what ways can this information inform your work?

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Building a team

Education Evolving and CTQ have partnered to create these resources for the Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative, which seeks to highlight successes around the country.

Visit the CTQ website to learn more about how CTQ brings educators and school system leaders together in other ways to improve public education for every student.