Clifford S. Powell Assistant Principal

MC2 STEM High SchoolThe Cleveland Metropolitan School District

The Marshmallow Challenge*

✦Build the Tallest Freestanding Structure: The winning team is the one that has the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, like a chair, ceiling or chandelier.

✦The Entire Marshmallow Must be on Top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team. 

✦Use as Much or as Little of the Kit: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, as much or as little of the string or tape. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure.

✦Break up the Spaghetti, String or Tape: Teams are free to break the spaghetti, cut up the tape and string to create new structures.

✦The Challenge Lasts 18 minutes: Teams cannot hold on to the structure when the time runs out. Those touching or supporting the structure at the end of the exercise will be disqualified.

* http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Instructions.html

MC2 STEM High School

• Lottery Based Enrollment• Embedded in STEM industry• Credit awarded based on Mastery versus seat time.•What students know is constant and time is variable• Trans-disciplinary Project Based Approach (Capstones)•Year Round School(10 weeks/3 weeks)•Multiple campuses for authentic scaffold STEM experiences

9th Grade

• Downtown Cleveland• Exposure to exhibits• Partnerships• NASA Glenn Research

Center• FABLAB• Situated on Lake Erie

10th Grade

• General Electric (GE) Lighting Headquarters

• Tutoring & Mentorships

• Sophomore Engineering & Design Project

• First Industrial park started by Thomas Edison

• FABLAB

11th & 12th Grade

CSU / City of Cleveland

• Community / Business Internships

• College Level Classes• Real world

experiences• FABLAB

Project /Problem Based•Trans-disciplinary approach to content deployment

Capstone BIG IDEA

SCIENCE

MATH

ENGINNERING

ENGLISH

ART

SOCIAL STUDIES

Phase One: Determining

Big Ideas

Phase Two: Operationalizin

g Big Ideas

Phase Three: Assessment

Development

Phase Four: Choreography

of Learning

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► The Communication Capstone is designed to give students authentic engineering team oriented work experience in which the strengths of each member of the group is utilized for the good of the common product.  Work groups are composed of four students that have specific roles (Project Manager, Electrical Engineer, Acoustical Engineer, and Creative Design). The groups will work over a 10 week period to complete three major construction components to a sound system.

Communication

CommunicationCapstone Binder

►Laser Cutter►Vinyl Cutter►CNC Shopbot►3D Plotter

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FabLab Equipment

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Students were given the task to convey an Ohio Social Studies Benchmark in an abstract visual display. Students used Google SketchUp and a variety of technical plans and drawings to create and build and LED Light Display Box. Students then used machines from the FabLab to cutout and construct their designs. Circuits, breadboards, and timers were used to program a variety of LED effects that would help in creating their visual display. Many students used the Epilog Laser Cutter to etch an image or historical photograph on acrylic for the front of their box.

Light

FabLab Fridays

Mobile FabLab

MC Squared

Class of 2012• 95% graduation rate• Over 6 million dollars of scholarship money offered to the graduates • 100% of graduates accepted to college (87% went to college)

• Class of 2013• 93% graduation rate• Almost 4 million dollars of scholarship money offered to graduates• 93% of graduates accepted to college (81% went to college)

Class of 2014• Graduation rate 93%• Almost 4 million dollars of scholarship money • 100% college acceptance

Awards and Recognition• Named “One of America’s Best Urban High Schools by The National

Center for Urban School Transformation • Identified by the George Lucas Foundation (Edutopia) as a “School

that Works”• Recognized by the White House as an exemplar “STEM Innovation

Network” (White House Office of Science and Technology Policy April 10, 2013 www.whitehouse.gov/ostp)

• Recognized by the State of Ohio in “It Can Be Done: a study on what makes schools succeed in Ohio”

• Recognized by the State of Ohio in “Failure is not an Option”• Components of school model have been utilized in development of

other schools as far away as Egypt

Questions