Thinking+Interdependently

For the past 6 weeks, we have been working on a scientific lab report digital story. Ms. Knowles put us into groups, and I was put in a group with Alvin and Frankie. Together, we had to come up with an essential question. We talked about different ideas, and decided to make ice cream. From this big idea, we narrowed the idea and framed it as a question that we wanted to answer through out experiment. Our final question was...

//How will changing the type of sugar affect the final taste of the ice cream? And, is there a correlation between the sugar we used and the sugar used by brand name ice cream?//
After we figured out our question, we had to figure out what types of sugars we would use. We ended up using white sugar, brown sugar, and honey. After that, we had to gather our materials and the rest of the ingredients. Just to gather all of the things that we needed was a group effort. We all had to bring in bowls and some type of mixer (whisk, wooden spoon, or electric mixer).

When we had to actually make the ice creams, it was a group collaboration. Not only would we work during our class time, but also outside of class. Sometimes we met during our free period, or during our break or even lunch period. We made sure that everyone had an equal amount to do, so that one person wasn't stuck doing more work than the others. The fact that we took time out of free period and break/lunch periods, show dedication and team work.

I have always enjoyed group projects, because I love socializing with people. Prior to this experiment, I never really talked with Frankie or Alvin before, so I thought it might be awkward. But, I was wrong. I'm glad that we were put in the same group because with this experiment, we had a lot of fun, got to know each other, and had a great success once the experiment was done. I feel like this experiment has led me to socialize with people outside of my usual group of friends, which is a huge benefit.