Description of Work: For this project we had to create furniture out of cardboard. My group decided to make a table. Once we came up with our design, we had to make a prototype. That is basically a smaller version of what you are actually going to make. We then collected all of the cardboard that we were going to use. Next, our group cut up all the pieces to fit the dimensions of our table plans. Lastly, we put the table together. This took a lot of time, because we would sometimes need to change our design. Once we were done Mr. Stubbs came by and looked at all of our work.
Which 21st Century Skills do you feel this assignment addresses, and why? For this project we mostly used thinking and problem solving skills. We had to use that skill because we had to come up with the design of the table. Also, there were many times when the design wasn't working so we had to fix the problems. Our group did that by using our thinking and problem solving skills. What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why? I am really proud of the end result. The table didn't look exactly what we planned it to look like, but it still worked really well. I am especially proud of this table because at first I did not think I could make a table out of cardboard. It also took a lot of work and problem solving to complete it. Once we created our prototype (which was very small), and it was able to hold a hydro flask full of water, I felt good about this project. How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skills with this assignment? Since this project took a lot of thinking and problem solving, I really improved on that skill. I had to especially use this skill when our table could support that much weight. It took our group a little bit, but we eventually figured out how to make it stronger. Other than this project, engineering takes a lot of thinking and problem solving. So the entire class helps to improve us on this skill. What was most difficult about completing this task? The most difficult thing about this project was making sure the table was stable. Since it was made out of just cardboard, it was not that strong. We then had to find a way to make it stronger. We did this by adding more cardboard to support the original pieces. This was especially hard because there wasn't a lot of cardboard to use. How could you improve this work? If you could start over, what would you do different? Since it was so hard to find a way to support the table, we could have thought of a way to do it before we actually built the table. This would have saved us a lot of time and cardboard. So if I was able to do it again, I would plan the table out better before we actually made it. I would have also tried to find stronger cardboard. How does this relate to what you have learned in the past? When we were in elementary school, we would sometimes build things out of legos. This project reminded me of that time because it took a lot of thinking and problem solving to create those designs. We also learned about doing sketches and the engineering . design in 8th grade. How can you apply this to future learning? Whenever I need to build an item out of cardboard I can think back to this time to remember how to think and problem solve. I will also be able to draw sketches a lot quicker, since we got practice with that during this project.