BORED, MAKE SOMETHING” – Joey Hudy (14yr) "I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it's science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent—to be MAKERS of things, not just consumers of things.” -Barack Obama
IS INHERENTLY COUNTERCULTURE "Look at structured societies like Singapore where bad behavior is not tolerated [and] you are extremely punished..” “Where are the creative people? Where are the great artists? Where are the great musicians? Where are the great writers?” -Steve Wozniak Interview with BBC 2011
MAKING / DIY • COMMUNITY / COLLABORATION • PEER TO PEER / OPEN LEARNING • MEDIATED BY TECHNOLOGY / SOCIAL MEDIA • OPEN SOURCE / SHARING CULTURE • PARTICIPATORY • INTRINSICALLY REWARDING • INSPIRING
(JOHN DEWEY) • ENVIRONMENT IS THE THIRD TEACHER (REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH) • CONSTRUCTIONISM (SEYMOUR PAPERT) “learning as a reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge”
product in mind when interacting with tools & materials) • TINKERING (Disposition to solve problems through experience, experimentation & discovery) • ENGINEERING (Extracting principles linking intuition to formal science involving measurement, explanation and prediction/planning)
SCIENCE INVOLVES MEMORIZATION & CHECKLIST? • TEACHING OF FACTS AND PROCEDURES: • Observe something and/or do research • Construct a hypothesis • Make a prediction • Test your hypothesis • Analyze the result of experiment • Determine if hypothesis is correct • MEMORIZE, DRILLS, WORKSHEETS, TESTS
WITH CLEAR, UNAMBIGUOUS STEP-BY-STEP SOLUTION • FOLLOW HUNCHES • ITERATE • MAKE MISTAKES • RE-THINK • START OVER • ARGUE • SLEEP ON IT • COLLABORATE • HAVE A CUP OF TEA Source: Martinez & Stager, 2013 “ TINKERING IS CLOSER TO THE WAY REAL SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, AND ENGINEERS SOLVE PROBLEMS” (Latour, 1987)
TOOLS, AND TRICKS TO ORGANIZE STUDENTS’ THOUGHTS AND GET THEM TO FINISH A PRODUCT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE • VERY HOT & FASHIONABLE TOPIC IN EDUCATION • IS THE ACTIVITY AUTHENTIC OR CONTRIVED? • DESIGNING IS A DELIBERATE TINKERING PROCESS RESULT: ‘GOOD’ STUDENTS, WELL-TRAINED BUT DO THEY REALLY KNOW THEIR STUFF? Source: Martinez & Stager, 2013
MAKE IMPROVE Brainstorming Talking it out Predicting Gathering materials Identifying expertise Deciding who to work with Setting Goals Sketching Outlining Flowcharting Researching Planning Pay Build Tinker Create Program Experiment Construct Test strategies Observe others Borrow code Share code Document process Repair Conduct research Discuss with peers Look at problem from another perspective Use different materials Change one variable Play with it Find similar project Ask an expert Get some fresh air Sleep on it
Raspberry Pi DIY analytical spectroscopy Leyden jar aluminium-air battery paper-carbon microphone measuring speed of light Arduino water quality tester
MAKE SOMETHING” Raspberry Pi -quote from SuperAwesome Sylvia (11 yrs old) “It is impossible to teach 21st century learners if you have not learned this century” -Gary Stager