Collaboration Pays Off
Students in Mr. Hill’s Entrepreneurship classes kicked off the spring semester with an engaging team-building challenge designed to test collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving under pressure. The activity, known as the Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower Challenge, required students to work in teams of four to build the tallest freestanding structure capable of supporting a marshmallow on top. Each team was given the same limited materials of 20 strands of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and a single marshmallow. The pressure intensified when they had only 18 minutes to complete the task. Mr. Hills states, "While the challenge may seem simple, it has been conducted hundreds of times with groups ranging from kindergarten students to CEOs and business executives, and the results are consistently surprising. Time and again, kindergarteners outperform adults. The reason? They jump straight into building, testing ideas as they go, and making quick adjustments. Adults, on the other hand, often slow progress with overplanning, debate, and hidden assumptions like believing the spaghetti is stronger than it actually is or underestimating the weight of the marshmallow." Mr. Hill’s students experienced similar outcomes. The average tower height was about 12 inches, comparable to results seen among college business students. The tallest structure reached an impressive 30 inches, matching the performance often seen from kindergarten teams. Nearly half of the teams, however, were unable to get their structures to stand at all. Despite the challenges, the experience proved to be a powerful lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs. Students practiced working through conflict, communicating under pressure, and innovating as a team. The following day, teams were given a second opportunity to complete the challenge, this time applying what they had learned and setting aside their initial assumptions. Most teams showed noticeable improvement, demonstrating growth not only in their structures, but in their teamwork and problem-solving skills as well. What a great way to prove to students that collaboration and communication help with creativity and problem-solving!