“What an egg costs”: development, design, and dedication.
Wendy Lorena Patacón Sánchez
Psychologist – Human Development Department
Colegio Calasanz Pereira.
Within educational processes, one ongoing challenge is designing teaching experiences that integrate different areas of knowledge, are meaningful to students, and enhance the development of their personal and academic skills.
In response to this challenge, and based on the needs identified in tenth-grade students at Colegio Calasanz Pereira, the “What an egg costs” project was created. This is an interdisciplinary pedagogical proposal, developed jointly by the Human Development Department, the Technology and Information Technology Department, and the English Department, and implemented since 2023.
The project is based on a concrete situation familiar to students: the care and protection of an egg. Through this experience, the young people undergo a formative process that encourages the development of habits, the strengthening of personal responsibility, care for themselves and others, as well as reflection on their vocational characteristics. At the same time, it promotes the development of skills in analysis, design, modeling, and construction of technical solutions by applying technical drawing concepts to create a device that transports and protects the egg.
Complementarily, the English department contributes to the process by strengthening communication and expression of lived experiences. Students have the opportunity to describe, reflect on, and communicate real situations from their daily lives in a second language, promoting meaningful, contextualized learning relevant to their daily lives.
The project begins in the Calasanz class, where students are presented with the proposal to work on a cross-curricular project throughout the academic year. From the outset, they are given their first challenge: to care for and personalize an egg, a fragile object that they must protect and keep with them throughout the period.
This challenge has clear conditions. First, the egg must accompany the student at all times. Second, caring for the egg becomes an opportunity to perform acts of service within the educational community. Based on these actions, students receive Calasanz soles, an institutional currency obtained in exchange for work or services rendered to different members of the community. Each student identifies who they want to help and how they can put their gifts and skills at the service of others, whether by collaborating with general services staff, supporting their teachers, or accompanying other members of the educational community.
The project also has educational consequences. If the student leaves their egg behind, loses it, or breaks it, the egg becomes “sick,” which means a higher fine in terms of Calasanz Soles. This means that more service activities must be carried out, reinforcing responsibility and commitment to the challenge. In this way, academic grades are not directly affected; however, there are clear consequences for non-compliance, while always maintaining the possibility for the student to achieve an excellent grade at the end of the period.
At the same time, in the Technical Drawing area, students progress through different stages of the process. Initially, they are presented with a specific problem: there is no suitable means of transporting eggs. Based on this situation, students conduct an analysis and a guided search for possible solutions, identify different types of vehicles and propulsion mechanisms, use 3D modeling tools, and develop models in various phases, until they finally construct a device that meets all the specifications established by the teacher. Finally, in English class, at different times during the term, students develop written assignments and presentations that allow them to put the content they have worked on into practice, communicating in a second language aspects of their own experience, their daily lives, and the process they have undergone in the project. In this way, learning becomes meaningful, relatable, and deeply connected to their reality.
Specific objectives
- Establish consistent routines and habits.
- Involve students in community service activities.
- Promote self-awareness and recognition of personal skills.
- Design and build innovative devices applying technical drawing concepts and basic engineering principles.
- Reinforce understanding and use of English.
“What an egg costs”is a profoundly Calasanzian experience, in that it integrates Piety, understood as care for service and responsibility towards others, and the Arts, expressed in academic rigor, interdisciplinarity, and the conscious application of knowledge.
The project invites students to understand that caring is not just an external action but an inner, vocational attitude cultivated day by day. The project’s impact was visible among students and the educational community as a whole. The objectives set were achieved to a significant extent, strengthening habits, academic skills, technical and creative thinking, and human bonds.
One student who participated in the project said:
“At first, I thought the project would be easier than I expected. I thought my egg was going to break many times, but by being organized and consistent, I was able to take care of it. I really liked the service activity because I was able to do things I would never have done, and I probably wouldn’t have had the initiative to do if it weren’t for the project. I also really enjoyed the technical part and would like to see more subjects involved.”
The general services staff also recognizes the relational impact of the experience:
“I really like this activity because you get help from the kids, and they also tell you about their lives. After the project, the students greet you more, become closer, and are more careful with the activities we do.”
In addition, the project was closely linked to Vocational Week, a space where students actively participated in preparing teaching materials and providing logistical support, taking on these tasks as concrete actions of community service.
In this way, Me Vale un Huevo invites us to create our own experiences in which academic learning and human formation are integrated in a creative and transformative way, always based on the Calasanz charism and style.
