Understanding constructivism through a marble ramp activity

By Dawn Marie Sicurelli
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
November, 2010

Today we did a really fun activity. We created a marble ramp using one sheet of newspaper, one meter of scotch tape, scissors, and a ruler. This activity was very effective because it allowed us to understand individual learning differences and gain a better understanding of constructivism.

My group was not very creative. We experienced difficulty deciding on how to shape the newspaper to make a ramp. My group asked me my thoughts and I told them that I needed to physically have the paper in my hand to create something. I created this weird looking shape similar to a funnel. When we tested it the marble rolled down perfect. We all agreed that we would keep this shape and worked together to tape it so it would stay in place.

Although our ramp looked strange, we were satisfied with the final result. We were happy that it maintained its shape long enough to get through the demonstration. We laughed at our creation but were very proud of the turnout.

I do not think I would have done anything different to make the project better. The other groups all had the same idea to create a tube like structure for the marble to roll through. Our ramp was unique and we had a lot of fun creating our ramp.