I have some trouble thinking about the 1970s as far back in history, but the White House History twitter feed gave us this gem last week: Betty Ford’s holiday card from 1975 included a pattern for a home made holiday orniment, the Clothespin Cardinal. So, as a historian and a fan of making, I sewed… Read more »

Every teacher in every classroom contemplating a project plan faces the question of how much guidance, how many constraints, how much help to give students. I have been thinking about this problem in particular for history projects where the content is specific, for example the invention of the telegraph and its effects on American society. … Read more »

Sometimes a technology skill building activity takes on a life of its own, and this time a simple inkscape tracing project turned into a collaboration with math and a spring board for several related activities. Last year students reported on surveys that one of the most challenging parts of their end of they year project… Read more »

I am still reflecting on the many wonderful exeperinces at CMK, but I thought I would post a photo: 6 of us in the same room!  

I finally got around to making Brogan’s cool box. And I got it together only braking one bit. The first picture shows the box starting to go together.   The second photo shows the clip piece, and my one hint is to squeeze the sides before tying to put them into the assembly.   The… Read more »

I have been making plans for student reflection and group self-assessment in an end-of the year project. For two years, I have ended 8th grade history with a project that brings together two things we have looked at through the year: individuals who make a difference and historical monuments. The students have finished their research… Read more »

I have been thinking about making and progressive education for a while. We started taking our children to the maker fair years ago, and we have a long history with Peninsula School http://www.peninsulaschool.org in Menlo Park, CA. My sister and I attended the school in the 70s from kindergarten to 8th grade, and one of… Read more »

“A real humanist can be identified more by his trust in the people, which engaged him in their struggle, than by a thousand actions in their favor without trust.” (Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, page 60)       The banking model sounds to me like a definition of not just bad teaching, but… Read more »

Reading Papert’s Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, my reactions and reflections went in several directions. As a historian, I was struck by some of the assumptions about the development of computers. In some ways, his predictions about the growth of the technology were right on, albeit a bit quaint sounding, “Readers who have never… Read more »