Kata in the Classroom (KIC) is a hands-on exercise to introduce the scientific pattern of the Improvement Kata in school classrooms. It is targeted at Middle School Science teachers, but is used in a variety of K-12 and even College educational settings. Kata in the Classroom involves the activity of assembling a 15-piece cardboard jigsaw puzzle several times, and experimenting with ways to do it faster.  

The KIC exercise combines a practical scientific pattern (the “Improved Kata”) with techniques of deliberate practice, to help make scientific thinking a teachable skill that anyone can learn. Teams of students (a) establish a baseline, (b) face a Challenge, (c) develop a next Target Condition on the way to the Challenge and (d) conduct experiments toward that Target Condition. While the students are engaged in a challenging game they are simultaneously being introduced to a scientific meta skill. KIC helps teach universal STEM skills for achieving challenging goals along uncharted paths: (1) Scientific and Creative Thinking – generate and refine solutions to obstacles through experimentation (2) Collaboration – work in a team to accomplish a next goal on the way to a larger challenge (3) Communication – organize thoughts, data & findings, and share them effectively.