Recently, I had a wonderful opportunity to work with a school district in my area on one of their staff development days. I had been there before winter break to help them realize the new computer science standards in Iowa along with the 5 year STEM plan from the White House and what this all has to do with them and their classrooms. Anytime you head to a school and talk you know you are not making the connections you really want to achieve. At the time it was the only way to give them some food for thought about teaching practices, the big picture of education, and what we need to be thinking about as educators as the rest of the world is adapting quickly.
When I came back to lead a 3 hour workshop to help them experience this learning in their classroom, I was super excited. I knew if I talked computer science and the standards I would lose 80% of them. I redesigned and reworked a project experience that would allow them to undergo a build process and project idea they could visually see working in their classroom. Instead of focusing on all the latest buzzwords, I ignored them all went with a design challenge. I used design thinking as a way for them to explore and experience building, making, tinkering, coding, physical computing, and application to the classroom.
The task was to interview another partner group about their ideal pet and from there they had to take all the information and make that pet. The one caveat was that they had to incorporate the Micro:bit into their animal design. We did not learn how to code or anything like that. I wanted them to know the coding is not what matters, but learning how to solve problems and challenges matters.
You can see the site with the entire agenda and breakdown of the workshop here
What I want to focus on here is how AMAZING educators are as people, learners, and boundary pushers. Many of them were perplexed by the addition of the coding and the Micro:bit, but they did not let that stop them. I could not believe what they created in a short 70 minute time window of making. To be honest, this is the highlight of everything I have done in my role as STEM Lead. These educators knocked it out the park on a full day of learning.
What was even more impressive were there ideas as we used the SCAMPER method to come up ways to remix this concept for their own content and classrooms. Check out the great ideas captured on this Padlet. Many of these ideas are ones I can‘t wait to see come to life.
Once again I am reminded that if we give engaging PD to our staffs and give them time process, work, collaborate, and remix the idea for their own purposes we can see changes in instruction and learning.
Just head to this Flipgrid here to see their animals or the slideshow posted here.
It is not about the buzzwords or adding another layer to the plates of teachers and students. Instead, it is about helping them blend what they are already doing into a new modality of learning and expression. This learning can replace the lessons we know that just don’t work the way we hoped they would. I hope that some of these educators use their own ideas in their classrooms because this staff has what it takes to propel learning to the next level.
Providing time to learn at their own pace with our own voice and agency mixed with some purposeful play and comfort zone pushing we can take learning to new heights.
Leave a Reply