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