I started this post in May. I worked on it a bit in June. Then I abandoned it, lonely on my computer, until I stumbled on it this morning. So I finished it off (just a little proofreading) and I share it now, even though we are far from the end of the year, and… Read more »
Category: Cohort 2 Fellows
Big Collaboration: Lessons from BEAM Camp for Making and Collaboration, New Hampshire
Introduction In previous blogs I have written about my students engaging in a spring hard problem each year. After learning new tools, material science and the basics of patterns and structures, these projects are a deep design challenge that students engage in for an entire semester in teams of four to five. The level of… Read more »
Designing for Constructionism and Learner Autonomy
Every learner deserves a space to go to every day that will expose them to the beauty of the world and the intrepid explorer that they truly are. How can learning spaces cultivate this goal while encouraging constructive autonomy in the youngest of learners? Two spaces that I have had the pleasure of visiting have… Read more »
Before Making there is a Mindset
My kids make stuff. They’re not geeks, they’re girls. Sure they know how to make an LED light up, run a laser cutter job, yep. Yet, even with all of this, their go-to material is still paper, and tape –lots of tape. I think we may be making making too complex. For years I taught… Read more »
Constructionism, a Learning Theory and a Model for Maker Education
In response to a literal call for #HELP on Twitter, I pulled together three blogs from various resources. This is blog 3 of 3 to help construct my own knowledge on the topics of making in schools and the two learning theories constructivism and constructionism. Constructionism, a Learning Theory Centuries in the Making Standing on a foundation… Read more »
Constructivist Science
In response to a literal call for #HELP on Twitter, I pulled together three blogs from various resources. This is blog 2 of 3 to construct my own knowledge on the topics of making in schools and the two learning theories constructivism and constructionism. Constructivist Science The idea that each individual should learn through direct experience rather… Read more »
A Science Teacher’s Take on Constructivism & Constructionism
In response to a literal call for #HELP on Twitter, I pulled together the following three blogs from various resources. This was not as easy of a task as I was hoping, but I continue to model the use of constructionism with materials like words to force me to better understand, aka construct my own knowledge on… Read more »
Where Art and Design Education meets MakerEd
Making knows no boundary between discrete disciplines in education. As innovation programs facilitate skill sharing and as makerspaces and fab labs become more common in schools, art programs can access exciting new tools for self-expression and design. At the recent NAEA Conference in Chicago, the volume of STEAM and makerspaces sessions was a testament to the growing knowledge base… Read more »
Materials and Making, a mariage of Science, Art and Storytelling
We Live in a Material World How often do you take the time to examine the materials that the world around you is composed of? It is not a practice that we are accustomed to doing consciously. Once we learn the names of things – that stuff is plastic, that is metal, that is wood… Read more »
The Science of Design, Hillbrook’s Spring Hard Problem 2016
Hillbrook’s 5th grade, the class of 2019, has embarked on this year’s spring hard problem, a semester long deep project in science that addresses rigorous research practices, as well as a challenging engineering and design prompt. What makes the spring hard problem so hard? In the spring students are asked to apply everything they have… Read more »