1 - Intro to Problem Solving

• Computing
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)

1 - Intro to Problem Solving

Starter:

Think, in silence;

 What makes someone a good problem solver?

PAIR

What makes someone a good problem solver?

SHARE: What makes someone a great problem solver?

Objectives

Communicate and collaborate with classmates in order to break down and solve a problem.

Iteratively improve a solution to a problem.

Design different algorithms to solve a problem.

BADGES

Silver: Complete the challenge with your team.

Gold: Complete the questions in this lesson.

Platinum: Complete the questions with a high standard of English and be confidently reflective.

Build a paper tower

Work as a team to build a paper tower which can

stand for 30s without anything holding it up.

You may hold it up until the timer starts.

Test your towers!

When I say, "GO!", let go of your towers.

Did your team's tower last the 30s?

1. Yes
2. No

Computational Thinking

1 Decomposition

Break your problems down into more manageable chunks

Find the sum of all the numbers between 1 and 200

2 Pattern Recognition

What can you observe and learn from?

Find the sum of all the numbers between 1 and 200

1+200 = 201

2+199 = 201

3 Abstraction

Identify similarities and differences in similar problems.

Find the sum of all the numbers between 1 and 200

1+200 = 201         200/2 = 100 pairs

2+199 = 201                                              

4 Algorithm design

Develop step-by-step instructions to solve this and similar problems.

Find the sum of all the numbers between 1 and 200

(1+200) * (200/2) = 20100

Step 1...

What are the most common problems you see among the towers tested?

What ideas seem to be working well?

What can be improved about your design?

Plan with your team

Using everything you've learned, plan with your team to build another paper tower.

Build a paper tower again

Using what you've learned, work as a team to build a paper tower which can stand for 30s without anything holding it up.

You may hold it up until the timer starts.

Test your towers again!

When I say, "GO!", let go of your towers.

Did your team's tower last the 30s?

1. Yes
2. No

How did working in a team make the activity easier?

How did working in a team make the activity more challenging?

What would make this challenge easier?