8th Grade Cell Membrane Project

Nueva Stories

Dice and Randomness

Every now and then we post interesting stories about Nueva and its alums, stories that show some essential quality of Nueva students and education. If you have one, please email it to Matt.

Prior to a freshman World Religions oral exam with twelve potential questions, the teacher informed the class that the students would only need to answer five of the twelve questions, and that he, the teacher, would select the five questions randomly on the day of the test using a pair of dice.

Most of the students, simmering in a late spring stupor, were prepared to blithely follow these instructions. But one Nueva graduate's hand popped up.

"Excuse me Mr. Brown, this method will not result in random questions. We won't need to study question 1 at all, because it will not occur in a pair of dice, and we would concentrate our studies on question 7, as its probability of occurring is the highest.

"I have a 12-sided die at home and can bring it in if that would be of help to you."

Always thinking, speaking up and engaging in class, thinking mathematically, more interested in learning than in finding the easy way, and, of course, using those SEL skills to be helpful rather than confrontational -- several of the hallmarks of Nueva students.

Nueva Stories

8th Grade Cell Membrane Project

Written by Kim Saxe

Integrated Subject: Biology

Hillary Freeman, 8th grade Science teacher, used the Design Thinking process to help her students learn about cell membranes. As part of the 8th graders' cell membrane immersion curriculum, Hillary and Kim worked with the students in the Innovation Lab to help them understand and appreciate the form, design, and function of the cell (and organelle) membrane.

Students had several opportunities to hone their observational skills. They also spent time evaluating the features of a wide variety of filters (Research/Deep Dive - Observe).
Next each group was handed three toys and was given the challenge of creating a barrier that would let one toy in, but not out; let one toy out, but not in, and allow one toy to move in both directions. Students asked clarifying questions, brainstormed, and built prototypes (Generating Ideas and Prototyping Cycle).

An eighth grader wrote,"When my partners and I were creating the cell membrane [barrier] imitation project, we met a few challenges when we wanted to make a contraption that used popsicle sticks to allow a bouncy cube to go in and out of the box. The problem was that the popsicle sticks were constantly breaking. A few minutes later, we were experimenting with the broken popsicle sticks to see if they could be of any assistance, and, to our great delight, they really helped. We found out what we could do with them to make the spiky ball that goes in but not out do its job. The broken popsicle stick saved the day! I really like the Innovation Lab because it brings people back to
their old and rusty unused LEGO skills, where one can be very imaginative and innovative" (Share & Reflect).

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, The Nueva School is a nationally recognized independent school serving gifted students and emphasizing integrated studies, creative arts, and social-emotional learning. For more than 40 years, Nueva has remained committed to its original vision: to inspire a passion for lifelong learning, foster social and emotional acuity, and develop a child's imaginative mind. Nueva creates a dynamic educational model to enable gifted children to learn how to make choices that will benefit the world.