Launchpad: Project Management - Grades K-5

LAUNCHPAD ACTIVITY Project Management (K-5)

OVERVIEW OF THE TEACHING PRACTICE

Project management is a systematic approach to planning, executing, monitoring, and closing projects efficiently and effectively. It involves the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project objectives while considering constraints such as time, scope, cost, and quality. At its core, project management is about ensuring that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of stakeholders. It provides a structured framework for organizing resources and activities to achieve specific goals and deliverables.

Project management plays a vital role across various industries and sectors. It is used in construction to oversee the development of skyscrapers, in healthcare to implement new technology and processes, in IT to launch software applications, and in marketing to execute campaigns. Large corporations and small businesses alike employ project management methodologies to enhance their operational efficiency, manage risks, and maintain clear communication with team members and stakeholders. Project managers are responsible for creating project plans, assigning tasks, tracking progress, and making informed decisions to ensure successful project outcomes.

In classrooms and educational settings, project management principles are just as important to help students be efficient and effective. Students are taught to apply project management techniques to various academic assignments and group projects. They learn to define project goals, create schedules, allocate resources, and collaborate effectively with team members. These skills not only improve students' ability to excel in their academic endeavors but also prepare them for future careers where project management is a valuable skill. Teaching project management to students allows them to develop organization, leadership, and communication skills, making them better equipped to manage both their academic and future professional projects, ultimately benefiting their personal and career growth.

Scrum is a project management framework that is commonly used. Here is a short video that outlines what the scrum framework is. This blog discusses the importance of project boards and how they can be implemented in any classroom or educational setting. While you may not implement every component of Agile/scrum, it is recommended for any grade level you do daily stand-ups. Daily stand-ups consist of each team doing a stand-up each day. During the stand-up, each team member will answer three questions focused on their project. The questions are:

What did I do yesterday?
What do I need to do today?
What is in your way of being successful?

These three simple questions help team members communicate what each team member has done in the last 24 hours and what they plan to do today.

EXPLANATION OF THE ACTIVITY

TITLE: Tower Challenge

GRADES: K-5

TIME: 15-25 minutes

PURPOSE: This activity can be used for several purposes but works well for having students develop an agile mindset, as well as the project management process of self-organizing, planning, implementing a plan, and self-reflection.

OVERVIEW:

The Tower Challenge is an engaging activity for launching the agile mindset and scrum project management framework. The challenge encourages continuous improvement, enhances communication, and supports the Agile principles with Scrum teams.

MATERIALS:

Small marshmallows (15-20 per group)
Toothpicks (25-30 per group)

STEPS:

Organize your students into teams of 2-3 students per team.
Have each team create a team name. Once each team has created a team name, record each team name. This can be done electronically or on a board in the room if available. It is important to have the team names, goals, and scores visible for everyone to see.
Introduce the goal of the challenge, which is: To build as high of a tower as possible with the materials given.
Next, have each team review the following rules. Give them a few minutes to read the rules. As the educator, you may read the rules to the students if needed.

The rules are as follows:

There are three rounds of building (iterations). Each round of building should last 4-5 minutes.
Each time you will have 2 minutes to plan before each round (iteration).
In between rounds, there is a 2-minute (reflection) retrospective
The goal of the challenge is to build the tallest tower.

CHALLENGE SCOREBOARD

Team Name	Round 1 Goal	Round 1 Score	Round 2 Goal	Round 2 Score	Round 3 Goal	Round 3 Score

5. Before the first round starts, have each team set a goal for how tall they think they can build the tower. You can measure the height in whatever units you desire (inches, toothpicks, marshmallows, centimeters, etc.).

6. After each round, allow each team to come up with new strategies as well as new goals.

7. Repeat the above process for as many rounds (iterations) as possible. It is best to do a minimum of 3 rounds (iterations).

8. Once all iterations are completed, do a debrief. You can ask questions such as:

What was your experience like in the challenge?
How did the rounds (iterations) differ?
What changes did you make, and what effect did they have?
How important were the retrospectives? What would have happened if there was none, more or less time to reflect?
How different was the last iteration from the first?
Which iteration stood out?
How did you work as a team?
What did you learn from this challenge?
How might you apply what you learned to the project work we do in class?

You can add to this challenge by:

Change groupings to make it more challenging.
Have one student blindfolded and only allow that student to do the building. All other group members can only instruct what to do.
Have each student sketch out a tower design at the beginning of planning to ensure each student has an opportunity to give input.

NOTES

There are many aspects of Agile/SCRUM. The four main components that are recommended when starting are:

Daily Stand-Ups
SCRUM Boards
Sprints
Understanding what Done looks like (Definition of Done)