EDET 677 Mechanical
Applications
Week 10 Blog
Essential Question: Why does Dillingham High School need a makerspace?
Dillingham
High School has always supported and prepared students to its best ability. In
order to keep our high standards of teaching students, we must provide a place
where students can create, make, and tinker with projects that they have
produced with their own ideas. A place where students can apply the skills that
they have learned in the regular classroom and learn new skills through making
is called a makerspace. A makerspace provides many different positive rewards
that our students can benefit from. I am confident that a makerspace supports
the goals of our school academically and socially. I have outlined a few of
these goals that are reached through students working in a makerspace.
Design Thinking and
Growth Mindset
“Design
thinking is a process that helps people discover and implement solutions to
problems.” (Jarrett, 2016) A makerspace truly focuses on design thinking because
students are making physical objects to answer a question or to fulfill an
interest. Makerspaces force students to solve problems through creativity,
teamwork, and willingness to try again when they fail. A growth mindset is
fostered in makerspaces because students will learn that it might take various
prototypes before they are able to come to a solution. The growth mindset of “I
can’t do it yet” is one of the foundations of a makerspace because skills are
to be learned in the setting and the necessary tools should be provided.
Behaviors
A makerspace is a place where
students can focus energy into a culminating project instead of creating
behavior problems in a regular classroom. Martinez and Stager give an example
of how some teachers refer specific students to a makerspace because “they are
identified with specific interests or learning preferences and occasional
behavior problems such as being unable to concentrate or sit still.” (2013) Our
school would benefit an educational environment where students can focus their
energy on a problem-solving project when they are ready.
Supports Creativity
The success
of a makerspace is not determined by the amount of tools, materials, and
technology that it has but rather the mindset a person takes on when they walk
into the room with a focus on creativity with what the space provides. In
Waters’ article, he interviews a teacher who comments that makerspaces don’t “have
to be equipped with high-tech digital manufacturing tools to be an effective
makerspace; it can be stocked with glue guns and cardboard if students are
engaged and using their hands and minds to create and solve problems.” (2016)
In Dillingham, we often find ourselves not as equipped as the rest of the world
because of being rural but the people of Dillingham have always been creative
in solving our problems. Our students must and will follow up with their own
creativity and this can be fostered in a makerspace.
With all of
these and more positive outcomes of a makerspace, Dillingham High School needs
a makerspace to foster students who will create and make solutions.
Resources:
Jarrett, K.
(2016). Makerspaces and Design Thinking:
Perfect Together! The Education Digest. Retrieved from www.eddigest.com
Martinez, S. L.,
& Stager, G (2013). Invent to Learn:
Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Torrence, CA:
Construction Modern Knowledge Press.
Waters, J. K.
(2016). What makes a great Makerspace? STEAM Education. Retrieved from http://egandb.uas.alaska.edu:2103/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=4e711acd-8041-4310-8bdf-333b04b93f42%40sessionmgr4009
REFLECTION: Added on July 23
I loved our project this week with the Arduino because it was the first time I struggled to figure out what the code was doing. I had a simple mistake in the code and it completely changed how the Arduino worked. By the time we left, I was able to change the code to do exactly what I would like it to do. This is what I want my students to do when we are learning from Arduino projects: to improve and personalize their project.
In our blogs, it seemed like everyone was able to make a good case on why our school needs a makerspace. I am proud of what everyone is doing!
REFLECTION: Added on July 23
I loved our project this week with the Arduino because it was the first time I struggled to figure out what the code was doing. I had a simple mistake in the code and it completely changed how the Arduino worked. By the time we left, I was able to change the code to do exactly what I would like it to do. This is what I want my students to do when we are learning from Arduino projects: to improve and personalize their project.
In our blogs, it seemed like everyone was able to make a good case on why our school needs a makerspace. I am proud of what everyone is doing!
I like you well through out yet simple answer to this weeks prompt.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the main topics of Growth Mindset, improved behaviors and creativity. Whenever you can improve those three things you have something good. Well done.
Yes, I liked the Arduino session too. I think I learned more from trying to find a bug than from getting it just right the first time. Although that does not happen very often.
ReplyDeleteAs for starting a maker space, I would start a lot smaller than our authors and work up. Leave them wanting more.