I recently had the pleasure of sharing my knowledge and expertise of STEM and MakerEd strategies with elementary and middle school teachers in Washington. During the two day training teachers were introduced to the engineering design process, incorporating lessons that develop and strengthen 21st century skills, the design cycle, and methods/strategies to incorporate Makerspaces within their school library and classrooms.
During the two-day training teachers were given the engineering design challenge of designing a roller coaster marble run using recycled materials, designing and creating a vehicle that was powered by air, using recycled materials, as well as designing and building a Vibrobot. Teachers were introduced to strategies on incorporating a Makerspace within their library, as well as ideas for Maker Centers within their classrooms. Teachers were introduced to a wide-array of technology, tools and kits that are commonly used in school library and classroom Makerspaces such as: Makey Makey, Snap Circuits, LittleBits, Makedo, Ozobot, Fisher Price Code-A-Pillar, Squishy Circuits and more. Additionally, teachers were introduced to incorporating tinkering/ take-apart centers within their Makerspaces. Teachers were given the task of analyzing a toy or household gadget with their group, they were then asked to take the gadget apart. They were to identify and label the parts etc. The components from the deconstructed broken gadgets can be used to create new gadgets and inventions, or used to repair similar gadgets. Students of all ages love to tinker, and I find that adults love to tinker and take part in deconstructing gadgets as well. The process of tinkering, and deconstructing gadgets indeed develops and strengthens 21st century skills, and incorporates science and engineering practices.
The following photos are a sample of the STEM and Maker Explorations that were conducted during the two day STEM and MakerEd teacher training workshop. To schedule a STEM, MakerEd, or NGSS teacher training workshop complete the contact form found on the contact page.