At the end of the academic year, it is always fitting to celebrate students’ great learning achievements.  For example, our Class 3 IPC unit, Champions for Change taught children that the study of society is concerned with learning about living as members of groups.  Children wrapped up this unit therefore, by researching a cause to defend as part of a campaign for an imaginary non-governmental organisation (NGO).  The children worked in groups to choose a name and create a logo design for their imaginary NGO before putting together a persuasive speech and presentation based on their cause.  

Children came up with various ideas for different campaigns including support for the elderly, better healthcare for people in need, use of clean energy, fighting against discrimination as well as initiatives to protect wild animals.  By studying examples of famous speeches delivered by individuals such as Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai and Severn Cullis-Suzuki, and the persuasive devices used, children have been well-prepared, to make their own speeches even more compelling.        

Meanwhile, Class 4 finished off their unit, Climate Control.  The children had been studying the causes and consequences of global warming.  They learnt how the burning of fossil fuels has been generating more heat-trapping gasses, like carbon dioxide and methane, which has been causing global warming on a scale never seen before.  In addition to rising temperatures, the children found out about the rising sea levels, water shortages, and more erratic, extreme weather conditions.          

For their final project, Class 4 children researched about the different human interventions to curtail the issues of climate change and extreme weather conditions.  Among the various interventions, Class 4 studied the role of renewable energy, the impact of recycling and how even our diets play a part with environmental sustainability.  More than anything else though, the children learnt about the power of their own voices, to have these important conversations and persuade others to be more environmentally friendly.  Having researched a number of the key interventions, children put together slideshow presentations for the rest of their class, to present their learning about how we can tackle climate change.

One of the things that I think we do particularly well is to make lessons meaningful by helping students to see the value of what they are learning in the real world!  Lessons become much more memorable when they are attached to a real world context, especially when children are given the opportunity to role play and get their emotions involved.  After all, we know from cognitive psychology that what we feel, we remember.  I am delighted as well, to see children participating in such practical projects, which focus on developing their speaking and listening skills.  These projects have provided a wonderful and meaningful way for students to finish off their academic year.

The Brainwave unit is a great way to start the academic year, helping children to understand more about how they learn and what things they can do to improve their learning.  I have been putting together these lesson plans and resources (in this Google Drive Folder) for the IPC Brainwave unit, to use with our Milepost 3 students (9 to 11 years old):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1quVF50KsDaPUFEuMxYpGydANMQuD7M-J?usp=sharing

As our school prepares for IPC accreditation, this has also given me the opportunity to make sure that all the plans, activities and resources are in line with the IPC’s core standards.  The slides for example (shown above), can be used as a template for future IPC units, by providing prompts (e.g. “Explaining the Theme”, “The Big Idea”, “Our Focus Country”, etc.), helping to guide teachers through the IPC learning process.

IPC Exercise Book Exemplar

In order to help visualise how an IPC exercise book should look, you can find below images of the first several pages of an exemplar IPC exercise book:

This video looks at how to use folders and subfolders within the Google Drive, so that students can upload their work, e.g. docs, photos and videos, into a digital student portfolio folder. The video then explains how such folders can be organised, shared with and made easily accessible for teachers.

One of the key jobs of our digital leaders last term was to help design and create a makerspace room, which I’m pleased to say is finally available for students and staff to use this term.  We have now got all the resources we need and the walls have been painted with unique designs to celebrate what this room stands for!

So, what is a makerspace?  A makerspace room is a multipurpose learning environment that both encourages and enables children to make things.  In the process of making things, they learn.  It is very relevant to many of the activities that we currently do in school such as STEAM, the IPC and  enquiry-based learning.  You can find out some more information about how to plan and design a makerspace here.

As a well-resourced school, we can use the makerspace to both store and use these resources.  Having now put the makerspace on our school booking system, this means that when teachers book the room, they also book all the resources available in that room.

Using our Samsung 360 Gear camera, I took a photo of the room earlier today.  You can now take a 360° panoramic  tour, to see what our makerspace looks like below:

To help students and teachers get the most out of our makerspace, our digital leaders have also helped to design a makerspace web page, which is accessible from our Classroom Flipped website.

One of the key features from our makerspace web page is the Tools option.  From here, students and teachers can see all of the resources that they have access to inside the makerspace room.  For many of these resources, I have attached  self-directed activity sheets, which can be downloaded.  The ‘Coding’ option, for example, provides information and prompts to help learners design and program their own computer game.  All of these self-directed activities are designed to be adaptable to whatever theme or topic the students are learning about.

You can find the complete collection of these self-directed activities below:

[accordion]

[item title=”Self-Directed Makerspace Activities”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Coding-.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Digital_Art1.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Makey_Makey.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Minecraft1.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Movie_Making.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Photo_Editing1.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Picoboard.docx”]

[embeddoc url=”https://technologyforlearners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Activity_Raspberry_Pi.docx”]

[/item]

[/accordion]

Having discussed with the digital leaders what we could use the room for, we decided to make an acronym out of the word!  We then came up with the following statements to describe what can be achieved in our Makerspace:

M stands for Movie-Making.  Making videos provides rich opportunities to create something original. Easy to use, iPads and smartphones, for example, allow learners to produce tutorial videos, presentations, stop-motion animations and short movies. Green screens, along with apps for special effects, make the whole process of movie-making much more collaborative and engaging.

A stands for Awesome Activities. Makerspaces are hubs for awesome activities, which allow tinkering, play and open-ended exploration. The only thing that is required is sufficient space and appropriate materials, to encourage learners to make.

K stands for Kinetic. Whether it is a making an animation, designing a computer game, programming a robot, building a balloon rocket, controlling a mini-drone, and much more besides, makerspace activities have one thing in common – they get things moving!

E stands for Enquiry-Based Learning.  As making itself is part of the learning journey, the makerspace naturally facilitates enquiry-based learning, placing students’ questions, ideas and observations at the centre of their learning experience. Educators simply ask essential questions in order to frame this learning journey. Learners are then more likely to make enquiry-driven discoveries during their making process.

R stands for Relevant.  As making itself is part of the learning journey, the makerspace naturally facilitates enquiry-based learning, placing students’ questions, ideas and observations at the centre of their learning experience. Educators simply ask essential questions in order to frame this learning journey. Learners are then more likely to make enquiry-driven discoveries during their making process.

S stands for STEAM.  The makerspace learning environment lends itself well to STEAM. As an acronym, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. As an educational approach, STEAM is about facilitating learning experiences across these five subject areas, which promote collaboration, enquiry-based learning and fun!  You can find some links to excellent STEAM activities, by the way, from our STEAM web page.

STEAM is both an acronym and an educational approach.  As an acronym, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths.  As an educational approach, STEAM is about facilitating learning experiences across these five subject areas, which promote collaboration, enquiry-based learning and fun!

Since the late 1990s there has been an increasing global focus on the need to better prepare students for the 21st century workforce by equipping them with the skills and knowledge in STEAM subjects.  After all, the most in-demand jobs globally fall into one or more of these five subject areas.

According to the Rhode Island School of Design, which adds the arts to the original STEM framework, “The goal (of STEAM) is to foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.”  All technology begins and ends with some form of art.  In fact, the arts and sciences are a natural match when students have sufficient time for project development, reflection and revision.  For example, arts are used in website and user interface design, advertising and the design of literally any product imaginable.

Many schools around the world, my own included, have made inroads in teaching STEAM through various initiatives, including (but not limited to):

• using Computing & ICT to permeate across the whole school curriculum, thereby linking these five disciplines
• after-school makerspace clubs or programs
• holistic, thematic curricula such as the IPC or PYP, where projects using STEAM practices are embedded
• BYOD initiatives (bring your own device)
• staff training to encourage hands-on exploration within each of these disciplines
• robotics programs

The STEAM approach is intended to be holistic, bringing these five disciplines together.  The key to STEAM’s success though, is to ensure that an enquiry-based learning model is followed:

“Studies comparing learning outcomes for students taught via project-based learning versus traditional instruction show that when implemented well, problem-based learning (PBL) increases long-term retention of content, helps students perform as well or as better than traditional learners in high-stakes tests, improves problem-solving and collaboration skills, and improves students’ attitudes towards learning.” (Vega, 2012)

Introducing littleBits…

For this reason, I’ve been happy to get my hands on the littleBits STEAM set below:

littleBits are small, simple, intuitive blocks that make working with electronics a matter of snapping small magnets together with no experience required. The littleBits STEAM Student set is the easiest and fastest way to create imaginative electronic devices and solutions to everyday challenges.  Thanks to this colour coding system, no prior knowledge of electronics or circuitry is required, making the kit open to learners of all ages.

I had a go at creating an art machine using the STEAM Student Set, and I was pleased with the results:

Activities like this are a great example of what STEAM learning is all about.  It’s clear that children need to be engaged in learning, and learn in ways that can hold their attention, much the same way that social media, and internet sites like Youtube do.  Making learning fun and meaningful is the necessary challenge all educators must take on.

In order to further facilitate teaching and learning of STEAM, we are currently building a website, Classroom Flipped, to bring together an online suite of web apps, videos and sites, which have been mapped to our school curriculum. The name, Classroom Flipped, comes from the educational approach known as flipped learning, whereby students interact with educational content outside the classroom to better support their learning inside the classroom.  The website includes a section specifically for STEAM, with links to the best resources on the Web, including relevant high quality, age-appropriate educational videos, games, articles and interactive quizzes.

STEAM is not just about using digital technologies though; STEAM activities can be as simple as just using a piece of paper.  For example, below is one of the activities we gave our staff was to do when introducing what STEAM is all about:

STEAM Challenge

• Build the highest possible tower you can that holds a book at least 16 cm above the ground for a minimum of  3 seconds (the book must rest on top of the tower)
• The tower must  be free-standing, which means no taping or holding to the floor.

Time: 20 minutes (including testing)

Materials: 10 sheets of newspaper and
50 cm of tape,

Group Size: Maximum of 4 people

Success Criteria – The tallest tower wins as long as….

• Tower is free-standing
• Tower is able to hold the weight of a book for a minimum of 3 seconds
• Book must be resting a minimum of 16cm above the ground
• Tower is constructed solely of newspaper and masking tape

Concluding thoughts…

By engaging students around the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) through practical projects, we can spark an interest and lifelong love of the arts and sciences in children from an early age.  The littleBits STEAM set is a great place to start, but activities can just be as simple as using paper!  The important point is that it is only by teaching relevant, in-demand skills, that we will better prepare our students to become innovators in an changing world.