Marshmallow Minds Program Brochure

The award-winning, evidence-based Marshmallow Minds is an ideal strategy to support COVID-19 recovery by addressing learning loss and building student’s social and emotional skills. In just three weeks, the program can build student’s knowledge and skills in California Next Generation Science Standards(NGSS) while giving students and educators a deep learning experience they will never forget.

Marshmallow Minds | www.marshmallowminds.org | Founded in 2016, Marshmallow Minds is a 501(c)(3) public benefit nonprofit organization with the mission to make future-ready, highly engaging, and experiential education easily accessible and very affordable for Title-1 schools that serve children from under-resourced communities.

Program Overview

About The Curriculum

Marshmallow Minds curriculum units explore questions that tap students’ innate curiosity and creativity, and get students working on real-world problems covering topics from science, physics, robotics, and ecology that speak to their young minds. Problems like the destruction of panda bear habitats, and bird deaths from building collisions generate empathy in a developmentally appropriate way. The carefully designed lessons and materials engage students’ natural wonder and imagination, while exciting and inspiring.

CREATE.PLAY.LEARN (GRADES K-5)

Where Children Become Curious and Creative!

Our elementary program develops Design Thinking skills in children as young as kindergarten, by introducing children to the fundamentals through play. Because Marshmallow Minds lessons are flexible and rooted in what students know and can do at each grade level, Marshmallow Minds can be delivered to specific grade levels or the whole school. When implemented on a schoolwide basis and repeated yearly, Marshmallow Minds progressively reinforces these skills across the developmental continuum, increasing rigor and addressing new standards each year with new design challenges.

EMPATHIZE.EXPLORE.ENGINEER (GRADES 6-8)

Where Children Become Collaborative and Confident!

The Marshmallow Minds program for middle school invests students in their own learning by connecting them with realworld experiences that increase their ability to empathize and see themselves as active contributors to their community and world. The design challenges spark thoughtful engagement for young people and tap into the developmental assets of emerging adolescence by giving students productive ways to socialize and move their bodies in service of learning. We know middle school can be a challenging time for students, and Marshmallow Minds reinvigorates engagement and helps grow student leadership and ownership for their own learning.

“All the activities and lessons were age appropriate, well planned out, organized, and (most importantly) ENGAGING!”Amanda Morgan, 2nd Grade Teacher, Ramblewood Elementary, San Jose, CA

https://www.marshmallowminds.org/testimonials

How It Works

Marshmallow Minds is a turn-key set of lessons tailored for grades K-5 or 6-8. Built by educators and scientists, the lessons are tested and iterated many times for quality and efficacy. The lesson packages come with slide decks, video, audio, and carefully designed instructional scripts. Student materials integrate literacy practice with reflective journaling and prompts and collaboration routines that generate lots and lots of productive classroom talk.

We start by introducing a compelling, developmentally appropriate problem or challenge. At this stage, students are curious and want to know more. Then, students are taught the six-step Design Thinking process used by system engineers, designers and other professionals to create solutions. As students begin to explore the design challenge, applying the six-step process, classrooms come to life with excitement and engagement, as students build confidence in their problem solving skills and potential as contributors to the learning community.

Success Metrics are quantifiable factors that define success.

The Marshmallow Minds learning experience may be delivered by expert, trained facilitators in the classroom. Or, it may be delivered by classroom teachers who have received training in the Marshmallow Minds approach and curriculum. We also offer an after school educational experience.

Following are the 5 Outcomes and their respective indicators that measure success for Marshmallow Minds

Why learn the Design Thinking? The Design Thinking process is a solution-based approach that guides all problem solvers to find solutions to challenges. At its core, the design process helps people understand challenges faced by communities (using empathy and collaboration) and find solutions through an iterative process or series of steps. These steps don’t have to be followed linearly - problem solvers can always re-do or revisit steps as needed.

Socio-Emotional Learning skills are fundamental to the Design Thinking process. The SEL skills that are key to the Design Thinking process are empathy, growth mindset, collaboration skills, and respectful communication skills for problem-solving.

“Design Thinking ~ we are able to continue this protocol over the course of multiple subjects. We especially like empathy building as it works for Socio Emotional Learning as well.” - Christine Kowalishen, 6th Grade teacher, Ramblewood Elementary, San Jose, CA

“The 6 step design process was very good. I appreciated the way the growth mindset was practiced. They did the “project” more than once, knowing how to make it better.”Imelda Murillo, 6th Grade Teacher, Santee Elementary, San Jose, CA

How It Works

Option 1: Let Marshmallow Minds do the Work: Marshmallow Minds provides learning facilitators who come into the classroom, leading the lessons, while modeling for teachers how to deliver the tried and tested curriculum and make the most of the latest technology for STEAM learning. Marshmallow Minds facilitators bring the activity kits and materials needed to quickly immerse students in deep learning through modeling and building. Our facilitators prepare students for group work with structured tasks, prompts, and strategies to ensure equitable engagement. We always work closely with the classroom teacher to integrate existing structures and processes to ensure continuity in the classroom culture. Teachers become learning supports, while immersing themselves in the student experience, observing and ultimately learning how to teach Design Thinking. And by engaging the whole class for three weeks, it also gives teachers time to work on future lessons or catch up on parent communication or grading. We support educator well-being by giving teachers a break from the rigors of daily instruction and letting our team run the show.

“It was such a pleasure to have Marshmallow Minds come into our classroom and guide students through the Design Thinking process! For many students, the idea of empathy was just a definition; now, they understand the real meaning of the word. In addition, many students enjoyed using their hands and minds to collaborate with the ideas of their classmates. After the brainstorming and building, students are guided to reflect in their interactive journal. The materials were highly interactive and of high quality. All the presentations came from experts in the fields we were studying.” - Christine

Kowalishen, Ramblewood Elementary

Option 2: Experiential Professional Development: Marshmallow Minds offers a training program for schools and districts seeking to implement the lessons without Marshmallow Minds facilitators. Aimed at training teachers on the existing content, Marshmallow Minds professional development also gives educators the confidence to apply Design Thinking to their entire curriculum, transforming classrooms so students become doers and problem solvers. We can train teachers in all of the Marshmallow Minds content, or offer short sessions and support on delivering individual lessons.

“The program serves as a great example for a direction as a teacher you want to move towards to but at times you feel overwhelmed to do it. To know that there is a support structure out there to help you is very encouraging.” -

Amelia Drake, Murdock Portal Elementary

Marshmallow Minds After School

Evidence-based after school programs are meant to address students’ academic, social, and emotional needs, but it can be hard to keep academic work going when students are tired from a long day at school. The fun students have with Marshmallow Minds, including playing, moving, and doing, makes it ideal for infusing after school programming with academic standards.

Student Academic Outcomes

Addressing the NGSS Standards

As shown, Marshmallow Minds lessons cover much of the NGSS standards for elementary and middle school. Students learn science and engineering practices, build conceptual models, and learn relevant content for each grade level. Through journaling, quizlets, and a final product demonstration, we collect metrics that show student learning of the NGSS standards.

“The hands-on experience really helped solidify our math practices; especially: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, and attend to precision. Thank you so much for making learning fun!” - Christine Kowalishen, Ramblewood Elementary

Marshmallow Minds is Social-Emotional Learning

Marshmallow Minds explicitly teaches social-emotional skills and essential foundations for lifelong learning, including empathy, creativity, curiosity, and a growth mindset. In fostering these habits of mind and ways of being, Marshmallow Minds helps strengthen classroom and school culture. We offer proof that Marshmallow Minds addresses students’ social and emotional needs by measuring individual student development of a growth mindset, radical collaboration, empathy, and creative confidence in problem solving, and providing metrics illustrating this growth.

“I learn a lot from marshmallow minds, mostly about saving animals and more. I learned that to start designing anything, we have to know the feeling of the user which is empathy. We learned about trebuchet, saving pandas, building roller coasters, and helping bird migration. Empathy is really important because when people know other’s feelings, they can try to help by putting themselves into other’s situation.” - 6th Grade Student, Ramblewood Elementary

Marshmallow Minds brings a hands-on, STEAM-focused educational experience directly to your school or classroom. In just three weeks, the interdisciplinary curriculum addresses nearly all of the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) for K-8, and builds student muscle in the mathematical practice standards, while offering plenty of practice in literacy, too.

Through Design Thinking, Marshmallow Minds builds the foundations for lifelong learning that allow children to stay curious, collaborative, and creative forever. Educators and students have a deep learning experience they will never forget!

STEAM

NGSS At-A-Glance

Science and Engineering Practices

[SEP-1] Asking questions and defining problems

[SEP-2] Developing and using models

[SEP-3] Planning and carrying out investigations

[SEP-4] Analyzing and interpreting data

[SEP-5] Using mathematics and computational thinking

[SEP-6] Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

[SEP-7] Engaging in argument from evidence

[SEP-8] Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

[CCC-1] Patterns

[CCC-2] Cause and effect: Mechanisms and explanation

[CCC-3] Scale, proportion, and quantity

[CCC-4] Systems and system models

[CCC-5] Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

[CCC-6] Structure and function

[CCC-7] Stability and change

NGSS At-A-Glance

Science and Engineering Practices

[SEP-1] Asking questions and defining problems

[SEP-2] Developing and using models

[SEP-3] Planning and carrying out investigations

[SEP-4] Analyzing and interpreting data

[SEP-5] Using mathematics and computational thinking

[SEP-6] Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

[SEP-7] Engaging in argument from evidence

[SEP-8] Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

[CCC-1] Patterns

[CCC-2] Cause and effect: Mechanisms and explanation

[CCC-3] Scale, proportion, and quantity

[CCC-4] Systems and system models

[CCC-5] Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

[CCC-6] Structure and function

[CCC-7] Stability and change

NGSS At-A-Glance

Science and Engineering Practices

[SEP-1] Asking questions and defining problems

[SEP-2] Developing and using models

[SEP-3] Planning and carrying out investigations

[SEP-4] Analyzing and interpreting data

[SEP-5] Using mathematics and computational thinking

[SEP-6] Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

[SEP-7] Engaging in argument from evidence

[SEP-8] Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

[CCC-1] Patterns

[CCC-2] Cause and effect: Mechanisms and explanation

[CCC-3] Scale, proportion, and quantity

[CCC-4] Systems and system models

[CCC-5] Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

[CCC-6] Structure and function

[CCC-7] Stability and change

Get Ready for a Thrill Ride! Waterslide Design

Recommended Grades: K/1/2, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: Get Ready for a Thrill Ride! — where students take the plunge and explore the king of amusement parks in summer, the waterslide! This lesson gives students valuable insights into how waterslides work through STEAM exploration. In the Design Thinking phase, students design their waterslides for two user groups. Students learn that while it is the same design challenge, the solution can differ based on the user group's needs. After prototyping with the materials in their STEAM Kit, they test and tweak their design until they meet the design goals. It is indeed a thrilling experience to watch that marble take a 360-degree twist!

Believe It or Not!

Color Illusion and Camouflage Design

Recommended Grades: K/1/2, Recommended Time: 2.5Hours

Learning Opportunities: Is that a leaf? Believe It or Not, is a colorful exploration of illusions and camouflage that trick our eyes and brain. In this two-part lesson, through their design challenges, students learn that colors are not just for making things look pretty, but they send messages and save lives. They empathize with Western snowy plovers, a threatened species along the Pacific coast.

Using the Color and Camouflage Design STEAM kit, students prototype solutions to protect the Western snowy plover population and other creatures by applying the science of camouflage.

Color Illusion and Camouflage Design STEAM Kit

Out of The World!

Astronaut Spaceship Design

Recommended Grades: K/1/2/3, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: Out of the World! Students are introduced to rocket and parachute science through hands-on exploration. Students learn what space shuttles are and how to build rockets and launch them with the Astronaut Spaceship Design STEAM Kit. As rockets are launched, students experience the force of air projecting their rockets. But how are they brought back to Earth? Parachutes! Students see how parachutes are slowed down due to the drag resistance caused by air.

Astronaut Spaceship Design

STEAM Kit

Shapes All Around Us 2D/3D Shapes Design

Recommended Grades: K/1/2/3, Recommended Time: 1.25Hour

Learning Opportunities: Shapes are all around us - how are they useful in our everyday lives? Through hands-on exploration, students create different 2D/3D shapes and learn that different shapes have different numbers of sides and vertices. They apply creativity to combine shapes to create familiar objects such as a house, a car, and much more! Learning is best when it’s called play. Students are introduced to PicassoTiles, which puts the fun in building learning fundamentals through the magic of hands-on play and tangible shapes pieces! 2D/3D Shapes Design

Bee-Bot Programming

Recommended Grades: K/1/2/3, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: Students join us on algorithm adventures with Bee-Bot, where they are introduced to robotics and programming! Guided by curiosity and coded commands, students navigate Bee-Bot, a friendly and captivating robot. Through simple programming sequences, students explore the world of coding and problem-solving that are highly engaging and interactive.

Bee-bot and Shapes Mat

Wild Weather Lego Bridge Design

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: Students enter the unpredictable ‘Wild Weather’ realm through an engaging lesson that seamlessly blends science and engineering. In this lesson, students explore extreme weather and learn how to design stable bridges that can withstand bad weather conditions. In this hands-on experience, students become budding meteorologists and skilled architects as they explore the effects of weather on bridge design. They create a bridge with legos and put their bridge to the test with different weights.

Lego Robotics

Hydraulic Marvels Animatronics Design

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours (2/3), 1.5Hours (4)

Learning Opportunities: Students dive into the captivating world of animatronics with our hydraulics-based design lesson. Animatronics is a technology that helps to animate the replica of humans or animals. In this lesson, students learn about the science of hydraulics and embark on a hands-on journey to create dynamic and mesmerizing creatures using the power of hydraulics and unveil the magic behind life-like movements.

Electrifying Sounds!

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: Imagine playing the piano using a banana or Play Dough – it's all possible with Makey Makey! In this lesson, students learn to create music with conductors such as Play Dough, bananas, paper, and pencils. They explore the endless possibilities of turning everyday objects into musical instruments while learning about circuits and conductivity in a hands-on, exciting way.

LittleBits mini-Challenge

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4/5, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: In this lesson, students are introduced to the LittleBits STEAM kit, and they explore how circuits work. They identify and understand the functional grouping of the four color-coded Bits: powers, inputs, outputs, and wire and create basic circuits through a series of mini-design challenges. Students make connections between Bits and real-world applications.

LittleBits STEAM Kit

Autopilot Adventure LittleBits Self-Driving Car Design

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4/5, Recommended Time: 1.25Hours

Learning Opportunities: With the power of LittleBits' snap-together components, students explore the magic of circuits, sensors, and coding, all while crafting a miniaturized marvel on wheels. Students create and test a circuit containing a power source, inputs, outputs, and wires. They demonstrate their creativity and collaboration skills to remix their prototypes to improve upon and customize their inventions. Students present their creative work by participating in a “car show.”

Shake it Up! Earthquake Simulator Skyscraper Design

Recommended Grades: 2/3/4/5, Recommended Time: 1Hour (2/3), 1.5Hours (4/5)

Learning Opportunities: Earthquakes pose a significant threat to building durability. Resilient buildings are a work of better engineering design. In this lesson, students become design engineers and work in a team to create and test different structures on a LEGO Robotics earthquake simulator. This hands-on activity empowers students to simulate earthquakes of varying magnitudes, allowing them to witness firsthand the incredible strength of their LEGO buildings. Students unleash their creativity and engineer innovative solutions so their structure can go as far as magnitude ten on the Richter scale!

Lego Robotics STEAM Kit

Safe Birds, Safe Waters Migratory Birds and Their Conservation

Recommended Grades: 6/7/8, Recommended Time: 8Hours In-school, 2Hours Field Trip

Learning Opportunities: The lesson introduces students to why birds are important, the extraordinary phenomenon of bird migration by explaining when, why, and how birds migrate, the importance of the San Francisco Bay Area as a stopover site for birds in the Pacific Flyway, and the myriad threats that migratory birds face. Focusing on the problem of habitat destruction and bird collisions with humanmade structures such as buildings, wind turbines, and airplanes, using the concept of Design Thinking, students empathize with the bird population and ideate to help reduce these problems. The students then use their STEAM kit for prototyping their ideas. Students have opportunities to share their prototype creations, receive feedback, and reflect.

The field trip extends the classroom learning with practical knowledge where students actively engage and volunteer at the Alviso Marina County Park in Santa Clara County for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory’s wetland restoration project. Through this project, students can help protect their Bay Area watersheds and the species and communities that rely on them.

Mother Nature, Humans, & Machines Lego Robotics Biomimicry Design

Recommended Grades: 6/7/8, Recommended Time: 4.5 Hours

Learning Opportunities: In the STEAM Explore phase, students explore the science of biomimicry and discover how nature inspires human inventions and innovations. In the Design Thinking phase, students travel back in time to the Sichuan province in China to rescue the once-endangered and currently vulnerable species, the pandas, from the aftermath of an earthquake. By committing to the six-step Design Thinking process, they take on a biomimicry design challenge to engineer a rescue machine for the pandas using the Lego Robotics and Coding STEAM kit.

A Tough Trek! Salmon Migration in a Warm Planet

Recommended Grades: 6/7/8, Recommended Time: 10Hours In-school, 2Hours Field Trip

Learning Opportunities: A Tough Trek! Salmon Migration in a Warm Planet is a highly engaging environmental STEAM lesson for middle school children on how climate change impacts California's critically endangered salmon population. This lesson introduces students to various ecological problems encountered by the critically endangered salmon population during migration. It utilizes Design Thinking concepts to help them empathize with salmon and discover and design solutions to aid their survival. Students will use Sphero LittleBits and Sphero Bolt robotics STEAM kits in their designs.

Sphero LittleBits and Robotics

Punkin Chunkin Trebuchet Design

Recommended Grades: 6/7/8, Recommended Time: 2Hours

Learning Opportunities: Punkin Chunkin! — A physics lesson with projectile pumpkins gives young children a glimpse into the world of physics and ways to harness the energy that can send fruit flying. In this lesson, students are introduced to the science of leverage to help them understand the design principles of trebuchets and catapults. They make real-world observations, propose a hypothesis based on their understanding, make predictions, run experiments, test their predictions, and iterate.

As part of the hands-on learning, students build a mini-trebuchet and have fun launching marshmallow pumpkins into the sky!!

Trebuchet Design

STEAM Kit

The Evidence behind Marshmallow Minds

Marshmallow Minds is driven by research on collaborative learning, Design Thinking, and student engagement. It meets the US Department of Education’s criteria for “Tier 4” with its practices deeply rooted in what works. Please contact us for more information and literature about the foundations of Marshmallow Minds.

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