Multitasking Challenge - Box Plot Activity

Do you students ever say that they are good multitaskers? Use this activity to show them that their typical perception of multitasking is actually an act of “task switching” and is a hindrance to learning. By using one class timer, each student will discover how long it takes them to complete two separate writing challenges. After the challenges are complete, you can use this data to have students find the five number summary in order to create and compare box plots of the challenge times. This activity can lead to a great class discussion that can encourage students to avoid distractions when they are doing school work.