FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
active learning through spaghetti towers (the marshmallow challenge) in educational robotics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61228/os.v5i3.110Keywords:
active learning, educational robotics, basic educationAbstract
This text aims to report on the experience of a theoretical-practical activity developed in the Robotics curriculum component, culminating in the construction of a spaghetti tower, known as the marshmallow challenge. The study is characterized as qualitative in nature, descriptive in character, and supported by a literature review. The activities were carried out in November 2024 at the Colégio Diocesano Santa Luzia, located in the municipality of Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, involving 6th-grade classes of Elementary School – Final Years. The project was organized into three classes with distinct themes: the first addressed concepts related to rigid and flexible structures; the second focused on the planning and construction of the tower; and the third discussed the movement of tectonic plates, establishing relationships between scientific concepts and the practical activity. The actions developed sought to consolidate learning, promoting the articulation between theory and practice. The experience demonstrated significant contributions to student development by promoting active learning based on experimentation, stimulating engagement, creativity, and the collaborative construction of knowledge.
Downloads
References
ALMEIDA, F. F. M.; CARNEIRO, C. D. R. Origem e evolução da Serra do Mar. Revista Brasileira de Geociências, v. 34, n. 2, p. 135-150, 2004.
ALVES, Bruna Ribeiro Carvalho; FREITAS, Mirian Teixeira de; SILVA, Candal Géssica;
VIANA, Luciene da Silva. A relevância do trabalho em equipe no âmbito educacional.
Cadernos Camilliani, v. 18, n. 1, p. 2592 2604, mar. 2021.
BARCELOS, Ana Maria F. Sob a mira das emoções: Caminhos múltiplos para letramentos
emocionais. Campinas: Pontes, 2024.
BERS, M. U.; PETERSON, C.; FOTI, S.; RASCHE, E. Tinkering toward a STEM education:
The role of robotics in early childhood learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, v.42, n.6,
p. 471-478, 2014.
DEWEY, John. Experiência e educação. Tradução de Anísio Teixeira. São Paulo: Nacional,
1971 [1938].
VASCONCELOS et al. (2012). Etapas da Metodologia de Trabalho de Projeto (definição do
problema; planificação e desenvolvimento; execução; divulgação/avaliação). Em Metodologia
de Trabalho de Projeto, conforme compilado por Espada, 2015.
FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogia da autonomia: saberes necessários à prática educativa. São Paulo:
Paz e Terra, 1996.
FESTO DIDACTIC. Engineering Challenges in Education: The Spaghetti Tower Experiment.
Esslingen: Festo, 2018.
K12 Group. Tecnologia na educação: Inovando o ensino com soluções de ponta, 2024.
MACKENZIE, J. A história da robótica educacional: O papel de Seymour Papert. Journal of
Educational Technology, v. 25, n.3, p. 45-58, 2012.
MARTINEZ, Sylvia Libow; STAGER, Gary. Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and
Engineering in the Classroom. 2. ed. Torrance: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, 2013.
MORIN, Edgar. Os sete saberes necessários à educação do futuro. Tradução de Catarina
Eleonora F. da Silva e Jeanne Sawaya. São Paulo: Cortez, 2000.
RESNICK, Mitchel. Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion,
Peers, and Play. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2017.
VALENTE, José Armando. A robótica educacional no ensino fundamental: perspectivas e
prática. São Paulo: Cortez, 2016.
PAPERT, S. Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Basic Books, 1980.
PAPERT, S., & SOLOMON, C. Twenty Things to Do with a Computer. Educational
Technology, v.11, n.1, p. 4-11, 1971.
YOON, H. J.; FELLNER, G.; ROSS, K. Robotics in education: Building problem-solving skills
and creativity. Journal of STEM Education, v. 18, n.2, p. 32-41, 2017.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Omnia Sapientiae

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant Omnia Sapientiae the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows the work to be shared provided that authorship is acknowledged and the initial publication in this journal is cited.
- Authors are authorized to enter into additional agreements separately for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., publishing in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), provided that they acknowledge and indicate authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) at any time after the completion of the entire editorial process, as this can generate productive changes, as well as increase the impact and citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).



