Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation

TE 857

Original Task:
Candy Project

Your mission:
· Determine the volume of one piece of candy
· Determine the volume of one serving of the candy (18 pieces)
· Determine the volume of 5 servings of the candy

The circumference of the piece of candy is ___________. MAKE SURE YOUR ANSWER IS
LABELED CORRECTLY!

1. Find the radius of the candy and use it to find the volume of one piece of candy.

Volume of the piece of candy: ______________________

2. Find the volume of one serving (18 pieces) of the candy using the answer you found in Q1.

Volume of one serving: _____________________________

3. Find the volume of 5 servings of the candy.

Volume of 5 servings: _______________________________

4. If the candy were cubed shaped instead of a spherical shape, each piece would take up 1
cubic centimeter. This is larger than the volume of the candy. In order to carry out our project
more effectively, take the answer of 5 servings and multiply it by 1.6 to find the volume of the
box needed to hold all 5 servings.

Answer: ______________________________________
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

You are now a candy engineer. Your job is to create a new candy box that fits 9 serving sizes
of candy in it.

Your mission:
 Design and construct an innovative new box for the candy (one that is appealing to
buyers)
 Perform the appropriate mathematical calculations to arrive at an appropriate box for the
candy
What you must do:
 Design and construct a new and innovative box for 9 servings of the candy
 An initial sketch with measurements of the box must be created (it will be turned in with
the final constructed box)
 All measurements must be clearly labeled and a “total volume” of the box must be listed
 The box must fit 9 servings of the candy without bulging or wasting space
 The box must be made from paperboard?? and should incorporate creativity in shape
and design
 Develop a name for the candy and display it prominently on the box
 The name must be appropriate and presentable and colors/logos must be easy to read
and neatly displayed
 All group members’ names should be on both the initial sketch and on the final box
Where you should start:
 Determine the amount of candy in 5 servings: _________________________________
 Determine the amount of space the candy takes: _______________________________
 Determine the size container that the candy will require: ______________________
 Begin sketches with measurements on a separate piece of paper. Make sure that your
measurements will allow for the correct volume of candy.
 Draw a final sketch and then acquire materials to build your box.
 Construct your box.
 While constructing, begin discussion of a name for the candy.
 When construction is completed, decorate the box with the name of the candy, pictures,
etc.
 Make sure that ALL group members’ names are on the box and initial sketch.
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

Analysis
Task: First, find a published lesson plan (in a curriculum in your school or online resource) on the topic of
focus for your lesson study lesson; if the tasks that your group found two weeks ago are (more or less)
complete lesson plans, you are welcome to use one of those. Then, in a Google or Word document,
analyze the lesson using

● The components in Drake et al – where in the lesson do you see opportunities for connecting to
students’ home and community knowledge? For students to engage in mathematical thinking and
develop their own solution strategies? For students to discuss their mathematical thinking?
● Considerations of the cognitive demand of the lesson’s task as it plays out in the text lesson - Is
the task initially one that requires high cognitive demand? If one follows the lesson plan as
suggested by the text, are expectations for high cognitive demand likely to be maintained? Why
or why not?
● Consideration of “problems that matter” – do these lesson engage students in problems that
“matter”?
● Considerations of groupworthy tasks – is the task provided group worthy as written? Might the
task be adapted to be groupworthy?
Next, revise the lesson based on your analysis. How might you modify the task to make it more open-
ended (Kabriri & Smith, 2003) or worthwhile (Caufield, Harkness, & Riley, 2003)? How might you modify
the lesson to frontload problem solving (Drake et al., 2013)? How might you modify the lesson to maintain
the implementation of a high cognitive demand task? How might you modify the lesson to draw on and
connect to students’ interests and/or their home and community knowledge? How might you adapt the
task to make it authentic – a problem that “matters?”

- The components in Drake et al- This lesson relates to students experiences with
candy and packaging. Mainly, it gets students thinking about packaging and how that
can determine how much product one gets. This lesson also provides a lot of space for
students to discuss. While the beginning questions require more procedures, the
ultimate task does not have one prescribed solution path and requires students to be
creative, reason abstractly, and model with mathematics. The open-ended nature of the
task also provides a space for discussion on the different possibilities of the box
dimensions, shape, etc., creating mathematical discussions and critiquing of arguments.

To make it a bit more front-loaded for problem solving, the leading questions regarding
the 5 servings and calculating the volume of the candy could be omitted so students are
required to fully think of the steps they would need to take to solve the problem.

- Cognitive Demand: The main task is definitely high demand. It would be in the doing
mathematics category as there is no prescribed solution path and there are multiple
different answers. However, the guiding questions in the “where you should start”
section perhaps provide too much scaffolding, thus lowering the demand of the activity,
and suggesting the beginning of a solution path. Perhaps this level of scaffolding is only
necessary for some students and not others? In addition, the beginning questions with 5
servings really guide the students in what information they need in order to complete this
task. Perhaps a way to keep this task as high cognitive demand from the start we could
use a picture to spark curiosity and questions from students as to what information they
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

need to design their product, rather than guiding them too much with beginning
questions.

- Consideration of “problems that matter”: This activity could be a problem that

matters to students. However, I think it depends on how it is launched. Based on the
activity given above, it may not matter that much to students. Although they all have
familiarity with candy, they may not be that excited to take on a candy manufacturer role.
On the other hand, if it was launched in a manner that students considered, say, the
amount of air in packaging compared to the price they pay (think chip bags) and were
required to keep this in mind during their project, perhaps it would become more of a
problem that mattered.

- Groupworthy Task: The task is not groupworthy as it is written above as the only group
requirements are including names. There is nothing about roles or ways in which to
ensure each group member has a voice and their voice is valued. This task could
definitely be adapted to be groupworthy. The addition of roles (manager, product sales
manager, time-keeper, and scribe) has the potential of pulling each member in. In
addition, restructuring the task so each member is able to design their own quick sketch
before discussing with their group could lead to every student having the opportunity to
contribute and think individually, before being influenced by the group.
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

Revised Lesson
Launch:

What do you notice in this photo?

What do you wonder?

- This photo with the questions shown above will be on the board when students walk in.
Students will be required to write down their own set of questions to get them thinking
about packaging, price, volume, and surface area. The hope would be that students
have a connection to this sort of experience of feeling disappointed when opening up a
box of candy, only finding it to be ¾ full.
- Ask students about their experience with other products that they feel have a misleading
package.
- Read quick article about Misouri man suing Hershey’s for slack-fill “the difference
between the actual capacity of a container and the volume of product actually
contained therein,” according to the Food and Drug Administration
(http://www.kansas.com/latest-news/article152871164.html#storylink=cpy). Ask
students about their experience with this.
- Pose question to students: What would we need to know in order to create a more “fair
container” representative of the amount of candy actually in the box?
- Allow students time to do a Think-Pair-Share to develop questions about the
volume of the candy, how much space it takes up, etc. If it does not come up, ask
students about how the pieces fit in the box (i.e. do they lay perfectly or will there
be empty space, to get them thinking about how much total space a circular
candy takes up. Provide students with the following worksheet to begin their
project
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

Candy Project

In response to the lawsuit, Hershey’s is looking for a new candy packaging team. You and your
group are in the running for this new position! Part of the application process is to design a new
box for either Whoppers or Reeses Pieces that will make customers happier! You and your
group must create a new, less misleading candy box that fits 9 serving sizes of candy in it.

Your mission:
● Design and construct an innovative new box for the candy. Make it appealing to buyers!
● Perform the appropriate mathematical calculations to arrive at the best and most
environmentally friendly box for the candy

What you must do:

● Design and construct a new and innovative box for 9 servings of the candy. Each
serving is 18 pieces.
● An initial sketch with measurements of the box must be created.It will be turned in with
the final constructed box.
○ All measurements must be clearly labeled and a “total volume” of the box must
be listed
● Build a prototype of the box
○ The box must fit 9 servings of the candy without bulging or wasting space
○ The box must be made from paperboard?? and should incorporate creativity in
shape and design
● Develop a slogan for the candy and display it prominently on the box
○ The slogan must be appropriate and presentable and colors/logos must be easy
to read and neatly displayed
● All group members’ names should be on both the initial sketch and on the final box

Presentation:

After your group has created a model of your new candy box, you will be required to design a
one minute sales pitch for you new packaging (BE CREATIVE and THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
;) ) to send to Hershey’s for consideration for the positions. These will presented in front of the
class on ________________ and the class will vote for the best sales pitch and design.
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

Group Roles:
Per Hershey’s application requirements and to create a successful design, each group member
must have a role. The roles are as follows:

Manager: Ensures each person is working productively on the design of the product, helps out
when there is a disagreement or question within the group.

Time- Keeper: Reminds team members of time left; asks the teacher if the group is not able to
come to a consensus or does not know the answer to a question.

Product Sales Manager: Asks critical questions about the packaging to ensure it will make
customers happy, i.e. why is this packaging better than before, what is the best slogan to sell
our product, how does the volume of the candy per serving affect the surface area of our
packaging. Makes sure everyone in the group is prepped and ready to explain for sales pitch.

Scribe: Ensures the different strategies for creating the packaging are recorded, final products
are presentable, etc.

Resource Manager: Organizes materials, ensures that work space is clean, etc.

Each team member must “sign off” on the final sales pitch product and poster in order for it to be
considered by Hershey’s.

__________________________________________________________________________
If students are struggling getting started, these questions can be used in isolation or
together to get a group started. If groups finish quickly they can be asked to make clear
blueprints for the amount of material Hershey’s will need to make the boxes.
Gough: Task Analyzation and Adaptation
TE 857

Your mission:
· Determine the volume of one piece of candy (either Whoppers, or Reeses Pieces)
· Determine the volume of one serving of the candy (18 pieces)
· Determine the volume of 5 servings of the candy

The circumference of the piece of candy is ___________. MAKE SURE YOUR ANSWER IS
LABELED CORRECTLY!

1. Find the volume of one piece of candy.

Volume of the piece of candy: ______________________

2. Find the volume of one serving (18 pieces) of the candy.

Volume of one serving: ___________________________

3. Find the volume of 5 servings of the candy.

Volume of 5 servings: _____________________________

4. If the candy were cubed shaped instead of a spherical shape, each piece would take up 1
cubic centimeter. This is larger than the volume of the candy. In order to carry out our project
more effectively, take the answer of 5 servings and multiply it by 1.6 to find the volume of the
box needed to hold all 5 servings.

Answer: ______________________________________