The Year 10 students are working with our friends from Spiral on a series of career workshops. Some of the broad aims include learning new skills, developing confidence and setting personal goals.
A recent session asked the students to think about what might be their dream job. We looked at various Job opportunities and brainstormed some of the skills we might need in these roles.
We focused on engineering. The student were able to see how engineering teams need architects, material engineers and construction engineers.
Our learning was then put into practice. Two teams of Year 10 students were asked to construct a bridge.
Each class member had a specific role. We started with the architects looking at a model of what the bridge might resemble once it is finished. Other team members were not able to see the model. The architects had to explain to their colleagues what tasks they had to complete.
Teamwork was essential here. Everyone was able to work together in a calm way. We had a few disappointments where the bridges had to be taken back a few steps before we could proceed. It was great to see everyone accepting the setbacks and then learning from them.
Both teams were able to build a bridge successfully. We then shared our feedback.
“We worked well as a team and it was amazing. I found the screws quite difficult to use.”
“I was confused with some of the angles that we needed to build the bridge with. After trying a few different ideas we managed to find the right way of building the bridge.”
The students were then asked to describe how they could make that bridges better and stronger. This is a great exercise in learning about the skills needed to be an engineer, as well as working together as a team.