Introducing Friction Into STEM Lessons

During the summer of 2025, I was serving as an instructor for Hofstra University’s STEM gifted program. I found myself on the floor with STEM supplies everywhere. Children were cheering with excitement, and I couldn’t quite understand why, because their STEM challenge was a complete failure. 

At first, the student challenge was simple: I wanted them to design a wind-powered car using only the materials I had given them. As students began collaborating, I noticed they were sketching ideas, building models, and testing their ideas on the floor. Of course, many of the children’s first attempts didn’t work. Cars were tipping over, wheels didn’t rotate, and some car models wouldn’t move at all. 

For a moment, I thought I had designed an activity that failed. However, to my amazement, the students were enjoying themselves, and the room was buzzing with excitement. The students were working in small groups, analyzing what went wrong. They were shouting new ideas on how to redesign their models. They began retesting their designs. Every time their car design failed, they pushed themselves to delve deeper into their thinking. As I watched their learning unfold, I realized something that has taken me years to fully understand: The most engaging STEM lessons are the ones that often begin with struggle. Through decades of teaching in elementary classrooms, I have found that a few shifts in thinking and planning can dramatically increase student engagement.

When Teachers Help Too Much

I remember overpreparing lessons as a new teacher. I would find myself spending hours organizing materials, repeatedly modeling examples for students, and explaining step-by-step procedures so that students would succeed. My results always looked good on paper, and children completed successful designs, but something was always missing. 

My super-structured lessons where students had multistep directions to follow were rarely the class session they were talking about afterward. Over time, I realized that STEM learning and engagement is a paradox. Only when students challenge ideas and lessons fail do we as educators see real student engagement and curiosity. I began to realize that when teachers take away the obstacles, we end up removing student opportunities for higher-level thinking. Yes, students may complete the STEM activity, but they haven’t quite grasped the problem. Real higher-level thinking happens when something doesn’t work, and students must figure out the why.

The Role of Productive Struggle

STEM requires tremendous persistence through challenges, revising designs, and multiple testing of ideas. In design thinking, students very rarely succeed on their first try. It’s often through trial and error and repetition that designs reach a completion stage. Innovation is built on iteration with consistency and perseverance. Students benefit from experiencing the whole process. 

Every failed attempt is another opportunity to gain new insights into improving their design. When students encounter productive struggle, they begin viewing themselves as problem solvers rather than struggling learners.

Ask questions. One way to do this is by giving students challenges with a problem to solve instead of explicit instructions.

Rather than instructing students in how to build something, a question can be more effective. I asked my students: How can you test and design a car that travels the farthest? This questioning approach allows students to brainstorm ideas and be more creative.

Allow for failure. As students set out to answer the question, they will often fail. These failures aren’t setbacks, but rather a chance to learn new information. When students’ designs collapse, they will instinctively ask more questions:

• Why doesn’t it work?
• What could we change?
• How can we improve the design?

When teachers start accepting failure as part of the process, students take greater risks and experiment more willingly.

One group was confident in their car design, but when they tested it, the car barely moved. You could see the frustration right away. They looked at me, expecting help. Instead of stepping in, I asked, “What do you think is slowing your car down?” They took a closer look. One student noticed the wheels were rubbing against the frame. Another pointed out that their sail wasn’t catching enough air. They adjusted both, tested again, and saw a small improvement. It still wasn’t perfect, but now they were thinking. Each failed attempt gave them new information. They weren’t guessing anymore but instead were making decisions based on what they observed. When students encounter productive struggle, they begin to see themselves differently. They stop viewing failure as something to avoid and start seeing it as part of the process.

Position yourself as a coach. As students struggle to answer the question and to overcome failures, the teacher can become the coach. Instead of providing answers, you can ask more questions: 

• What part of your car is slowing it down?
• What might happen if you change the size of the sail on your car?
• How could you adjust the wheels on your car to have less friction?

Further questioning helps students to reflect on their thinking but still helps them to maintain ownership of their work.