The maker approach to education and the design process can be incorporated into my subject area, being Biology, in a plethora of manners. As an advocator for environmental wellness, I plan on encouraging my students to be conscious of expendables and to be mindful about the objects we throw away everyday. This is because I believe that the foundation of creating a maker space is by using objects that are reusable. Why not teach and encourage students to create something entirely new from objects that already served a different purpose? I think that especially as a future Biology teacher, it is critical to teach the future of Earth’s care about being conscious of our everyday actions. Once this idea is set in place, the possibilities to make and create are endless. Sticking with the Biology curriculum expectations, I can inspire my students to make and create a variety of inventions that support environmental wellness. For instance, reusing recycles to create stable planting environments, create solar powered cellphone chargers, easy to use water purifiers and much more. Of course, leaving the curriculum expectations aside, I believe that the process of making is one that truly combines the process of inquiry and creativity. This process allows students to create, and most importantly, to fail. It allows students to communicate with their peers in a way that collaboratively and additively combines their ideas into a brand new innovation. Ultimately, the possibilities to apply making into my own classroom are truly endless and I cannot wait to see what my future students will be able to make! 

 

 

 

 

 

This video definitely opened my eyes to the point that we have lost the maker in all of us. Firstly, as a society, we have not really been making any new with the excuse that everything has been made or done before. With this mindset, we have no longer, or at least our generation, been exposed to the benefits of making. The advantages to making in education are endless. Making allows use to use our hands, which is sort of an art that has been lost with the entire latest surplus in technology. Making allows us to be creative; again a lost art as our current education system is imposing we make cookie cuter copies of one another. Lastly and most importantly, making also opens up the door of failure. Our current society has frayed away from the idea of failure. There is this social norm lately that perfection is achievable, and that any stray from perfection must be failure. It is our duty as teachers to educate this norm out of our students. We have to inform the future generations that perfection is not achievable. We have to notify our students that the process of failing does not equate being failure. We have to direct our students on a path to life where they know they will confront failure, and we have to provide them with the tool set that will help them fix the problem. These assets to a better future can be applied with the process of making. As teachers we must implement and model the art of making and creating into our future classrooms so that we can bring back the art of making, as well as the wonderful life lessons that come hand-in-hand with making. 

 

 

 

By: Deanna Palmer

As an P/J teacher the maker approach to education and the design process will be incorporated into my entire teaching day through a variety of resources. Of course, it will be implemented through the STEAM areas of study but, I would like to teach with a variety of cross curricular studies. I think that it is very important that students use the technology and incorporate hands on learning into each and every subject that I will be teaching. Something simple like making light circuit letter/words in a classroom is an excellent way to incorporate both literacy and makerspace technologies. I think that it is important that students are working individually as well as in collaborative groups to increase their learning. For example, I would like to be able to incorporate the arts and language into the same lesson plans where students are able to produce a piece of work that is based in the maker technology but also follows the design process. Even for mathematics, students can complete either visual arts or dance or many among others that will allow the cross curricular connection and students will be able to show their knowledge base through maker technologies. I personally believe that students should have feedback to follow and apply to every aspect of their work. Students are currently learning the curriculum by pen and paper need to be exposed to the maker approach and a creative process. They need to expand their capabilities. The maker approach can be incorporated into any subject and I believe strongly that it is important for every teacher to do. Having a variety of open ended projects and inquiry based learning is a great way for students to learn through the maker approach and have them become more engaged in their own learning. 

  

One connection that I made to the video by Adam Savage and last week’s theme of Focus on the Future was the challenges that are showing within the K-12 classroom from the Horizons report. Even simply looking at the authentic learning experiences within classrooms. I know I spoke a lot to this in class and mentioned that students need to take an inquiry-based learning approach and a hands-on learning approach. It is important that students take learning into their own hands and make sure to dive deeper into the topics that they find interesting to them. It is important to have makerspace centres within the schools and classrooms. We need to change our education system and bring back the maker movement and makerspaces. Teachers need to take what the curriculum says and put a makerspace approach on the subject at hand. Students need to be exposed to these technologies. Education is sitting in the past with pen and paper and we need to make large steps forward in order to bring the technology world to the front. When students are more engaged within the classroom they are more likely to want to dig deeper and continue to learn.

 

The maker approach to education and the design process can be incorporated into P/J education into all subjects.  Because makerspaces provide hands-on and creative ways for students to experiment, design, build and invent they are the perfect way for students to engage in inquiry based learning.  To build 21^st century skills such as collaboration, creativity and communication, students need to learn in settings that are different than the traditional classrooms we are used to.  Students can learn without having to receive directions or steps from the teacher, they are one ones at the center of the action and directing their own learning.  It also helps that learning this way can be a fun experience.  This approach to learning also imputes students with a growth mindset which is vital to building 21^st century skills and global competencies.  Identifying a problem, analyzing the issues and evaluating different approaches leading to creative solutions is at the heart of makerspaces. 

 

While watching this video the comment that struck me was that by building his Blade Runner pistol, he was better equipped to fix stuff around his house.  The point that Adam Savage is trying to make is that by letting students build what interests them, the skills that they learn will carry over into everything else that they do in an organic way.  By building what interests them and having fun while they are doing it, it also builds grit.  This is evident in his comment that it took him 4 years of problem solving and work to build his pistol, in other words it took grit.  This constructionist approach to education allows students to build 21^st century competencies such as critical thinking and problem solving because in order to make, you have to be able to problem solve.  If what you are doing interests you, you are self aware and learning to learn.  21^st century skills such as collaboration and communication are built in this way as well because the maker environment naturally lends itself to working with others to solve problems.  All of these skills can carry over into other domains which is an excellent way to better prepare students for the real world.

 

After watching Dale Dougherty’s TedTalk he stated that “we are all makers” and people “feel a sense of pride knowing ‘I made this’” so it became even more clear to me that the maker approach to education and the design process can be incorporated into any grade or subject area. Being a P/J teacher I know that I can incorporate it into a lot of my teaching and give my students the opportunity to have that sense of pride that they did something from start to finish. I think the maker approach to education and the design process can really be incorporated to STEM and then once teachers become more familiar with it they can begin to let it branch out even more in the classroom. When incorporating the maker approach in the classroom you are allowing your students to “take creative risks, make connections between ideas and become explorers and problem solvers” (Design Process ??). The maker approach allows for hands on learning and experimenting which aligns with the inquiry approach which you are seeing so much more in classrooms. Students are more engaged and excited to learn and experiment when it is branching from their own ideas. As stated in the design process, students are able to discover a problem or be given a problem from the teacher who is guiding them, they then can collaborate or work individuality collect information on how to solve the problem. They can brainstorm and analyze and work hands on to develop a solution. The teacher can then provide feedback and the students can then continue to explore and experiment to further improve their solution. The design process is a cycle that can be worked into all subject areas and age levels. 

 

 

I really liked how Adam talked about how you need to take risks and experience failure in order to learn. I think that a maker or the constructionist approach to education helps students to discover this need to take risks and fail before they get things right. Adam stated that if students are interested in what they are doing or learning about then they will take it upon themselves to figure out everything else around that topic without you just giving it all to them, which in turn makes the process more meaningful to them. In regard to the 21^st center competencies, making covers a lot of them. When you are in a maker culture Adam addressed that you are building a community and collaborating with others to experiment and problem solve together, be creative and communicate together. If students are given permission to make whatever they want then this will get them on the path of critical thinking.  As a future teacher, I need to give my students the opportunities to put their creativity and drive of wonder to good use and allow them to take risks and fail because in the real world they will not always be successful they will need to take risks and learn from their mistakes. 

I think that the design process is very applicable to the field of biology, as well as all the sciences in general. The processes of developing ideas, presenting those ideas for feedback, improving on your design, defining problems, collecting information, brainstorming and analyzing, and then brining it back to developing an idea is, in my opinion, very loosely synonymous with the scientific method. The maker approach is also very applicable because, again, the pillars of maker culture and pedagogy are very relevant in the world of science and scientific research. Innovation and creativity, critical thinking, solving real-world, personally meaningful problems, communication, collaboration, growth mindset, resiliency and grit are all essential in science and research. One specific example of how these pedagogies can be implemented in a biology or science class is by giving students the opportunity to conduct inquiry-based research around a topic of interest to them. Students can start off their project by following the design process to map out their research topic, design, collection methods, and etcetera, before implementing the scientific method when collecting the necessary information and/or data. The topic that they choose can be one that fits into a specific strand of the curriculum that they are required to learn. Students can even be encouraged each to choose a different topic within the strand so that they can share their end-product with the class as a study resource. The end-product itself can be assigned, or students can be given the freedom to choose what they would like to create.

What is one connection you made with what was in this video by Adam Savage, especially in light of last week’s theme “Focus on the Future” (i.e. how education has, is and will need to change)? 

I really like the analogy to cars that Adam Savage made regarding maker culture. He said that the last time there was a really big maker culture in the U.S. was in the 1950s and ‘60s when car culture was very popular. He said that people bought cars because they were the platform upon which they could build anything they wanted. This connected well to last week’s topic of “Focus on the Future”, specifically the Horizon Report’s list of key trends that are accelerating technology adoption in the near future. The key trends that are accelerating these developments are linked to this idea that students can use maker culture and the skills taught by maker pedagogies to approach problems in the way that make sense to them, and not necessarily the ways that they “were taught” (a.k.a. told to memorize) by their “educators”. Another, less fortunate, connection that I made to last week’s topic was when Adam pointed out that historically, whenever there are funding cuts in schools, the first thing(s) to go are all related to making. Art, theatre, shop class and chemistry kits; they are all things that are not always accessible to students, however are always in alignment with maker culture and pedagogy. This makes me think of the Horizon Report’s list of key trends that are or will impede technology adoption in our schools. Especially given the recent change in political power, it scares me to think how much further behind we will be in encouraging the growth of this maker culture. 

With my teachables being Chemistry and Biology, the design process and maker approach characterize much of what a science teacher should be emphasizing in the classroom and promoting for extended learning outside of the classroom. With the endless opportunities available to identify “problems” or uncertainties within the many avenues of science; research, experimental or investigation activities such as scientific investigative projects (SIPs) are excellent ways to facilitate inquiry-based, and student-centered learning that develop 21st century competencies in students. By encouraging students to do SIPs, they are empowered to problem solve based on their interests and they gain an understanding of how to face challenges and roadblocks with a growth mindset that encourages the making of new connections and discoveries that further promote learning. Having students produce a final poster with their results allows students to see the culmination of their design process and reflect on how to further develop their problem solving skills for the next investigation or challenge they will encounter.

One connection from Adam Savage’s video that I was able to make with the Module 5 learnings, was the value of interest and enjoyment. The encouragement Savage shared to “ make anything that you must have” reminds me of the TEDtalk from Logan LaPlante who emphasized the practice of being happy and healthy because that is what he wanted most “when he grew up”. From these two videos and several other sources, I am recognizing that a significant part of having a zeal for learning and making, is rooted in working with the goals, interests and personal connections of the learner. By starting small, or focusing on what YOU care most about, learning “finds legs” and can be unstoppable. When we as teachers promote student learning based on where they’re at and what engages them, we are much more likely to strike a desire within our students to pursue more and extend engagement outside of the classroom setting. 

In the near future I will hopefully be a primary/ junior schoolteacher and I believe I will be able to implement the maker approach to education into my teaching. As a P/J teacher I am not subject to only teaching one subject and I will have the ability to teach a variety of subjects and classes to a variety of students. When I look at making technology is really important, but it is not the end all to making. I have learned that making is more than just making a robot move, making is using physical material’s, working with your hands, making mistakes, making and creating observation and inquiry. As an elementary teacher I think it is important to consider student-centred approaches to teaching and allow the students to really take the reins and allow them to ride out their investigations, inquiries and research. I think it is important that students are able to take the lead as learners and show their creativity, problem solving, initiative, and relationship building when working with peers through making. Thus I believe that making should ultimately be incorporated into every subject area.

 
Making allows for creativity, problem solving, and innovativeness, hands on exploration by physically doing, research, inquiry, group work and is student centered. Anyone can make. Making allows an individual to carry out a task, research question/ inquiry by physically carrying out an investigation/ exploration.

My interpretation of making is quite similar to the definition of making outlined by the website. The website emphasized that making is a process of learning through experiential, mainly hands-on, and kinaesthetic experiences. These would relate to a wider range of experiences in the spectrum of making and creativity. I had much of the same idea in my definition.

 

In the video Adam mentions things that he is seeing in schools; the lack of teachers, budget cuts and the riskiness of making, which all to me seem like factors contributing to getting rid of things that involve making, instead of encouraging them. One connection I made with this video is when Adam spoke about risk and being risk adverse. He discussed that if children do not get the chance to fail, they become risk and adverse and actually become scared to try new things. I agree totally with this comment especially with children who are not given the opportunities in life to explore, try new things and learn and create based on their interests. Allowing children to make and learn based on their interests actually sets them down a path of critical thinking, which happens to be a 21^st century skill. The education system needs to make changes and adapt to making and better incorporate it into all gears of curriculum. 

 

After watching Dale Dougherty’s Ted-Talk I believe that we are all “makers” and people sometimes do not even realize it. The maker approach can be incorporated in every subject in P/J education because we are always giving students the opportunity to explore and create in classrooms and outside of classrooms. Makerspace and makerspace technology has a bug impact on the 21^st century skills; one of the reasons being is that, children are always learning efficiently when they are inventing and exploring. This is called inquiry-based learning; type of learning that is encouraged in all grades and in all subjects. Allowing students to have that makerspace approach will make them build their collaboration skills, problem-solving skills, leadership skills and increase engagement. Having the makerspace approach education is more student-centered, where the student feels like they have a role in the classroom and can learn at their own pace. Instead of a teacher telling them what to do or how to do it, students can have the freedom to direct their own learning.  

 

 

 

 

This video made me realize that ‘making’ is possible and doable. Adam explained how allowing students to fail and keep trying over and over again will make them better at their goals. However, in most classrooms teachers are afraid to let students make mistakes. This is because they follow the curriculum and do not teach from the student’s perspective. One of the observations that I made while watching the video was when Adam talked about making his blade runner gun. This really took me by surprise because he had built a gun that really inspired him and that shows that anyone can make anything if they put their minds to it. The point of Adam making that gun was to show that students call build whatever interests them, we should not stop their imaginations but instead we should promote and encourage them to develop those skills because like he said, we are all makers. This is very evident that we restrict students because we are afraid of them taking the risk and making mistakes. However, we need to take that approach where these students will make the mistakes and learn on their own, then only tjey will ignite their imagination and ‘make’.  

 

The maker approach to education and the design process can definitely be applied to PJ students. When teaching math and science, I can encourage students to become thinkers and create projects. This will make learning more meaningful as students are engaged. When they are particularly enthusiastic about something, they are more likely to produce better results. In Dale Dougherty’s video we learn that everyone is a maker without even realizing it. For example, you are a maker if you cook, if you build things, etc. We should encourage our students to become makers as it allows them to use their creativity and critical thinking skills. It also develops resiliency in students as it encourages them to make adjustments to their design until they are satisfied with the final product. In other words, it will encourage students to keep trying rather than give up. A maker approach also promotes collaborative skills and problem solving skills. I can incorporate the maker approach as well as the design process in my classroom by having students make products rather than learn about it from a textbook. In fact, students will learn more from doing rather than being lectured. For example, I may have students create a simple machine that is able to hold the weight of 100 grams. Before beginning the project, I would have students sketch their design and gather their resources. Next, I would have them create their simple machines. I will encourage them to test them out at various stages during the design process to ensure that they adjust their design if something is not working properly. Dale Dougherty’s video informs us that making involves allowing students to play with tools and letting them explore them on their own. For the simple machines challenge, I would encourage students to use the tools in the classroom to help them design their simple machine. This relates closely to the inquiry process where students are able to create new things from their explorations. For example, they may notice during the design process that the tool they originally planned on using is no longer beneficial to them. Instead, they discovered another tool that would be more useful. The maker approach to education and the design process is a student-centred approach which encourages students to become independent learners. 

            After watching Adam Savage’s video, I realized that the maker approach to education can make the learning process more meaningful and equips students with 21^st century skills and competencies. If you get a child to do something that he/she is interested in, he/she will learn a lot faster than giving a student something all at once. We see that Adam had the desire to create a blade runner gun. As a result of this, he was inspired to create other movie props. This demonstrates that everyone is capable of creating something when they are inspired. He states, “If you don’t get a chance to fail, try things and not get it right the first time but keep trying until you get that specific kind of success, then you become so risk averse. In effect, you have an allergy to trying new things. That is the worst thing you can do to a kid”. Therefore, we must encourage students to use their creativity and critical thinking skills to create projects on their own. It is through the design process that they will develop resiliency because they will continue to modify their product until they are satisfied with the end result. It also allows students to collaborate with each other as they are able to share their ideas to create a better product. Furthermore, students will become creative in the design process as they may not have access to some of the resources they need to create their product. Consequently, they will have to think of other ways to create the product. In other words, when you do that other things become much more doable. For example, creating a simple machine in the classroom may encourage students to create more things at home. As a result, students may be able to create products that will benefit the general public in the future (i.e. medicine to cure a disease). 

The one connection that I made with what was mentioned in Adam Savage’s video is his emphasis on teaching based on interest and how that is achieved through making. What really hooked me was when he talked about woodshops and sewing in high school. There was some of this when I was in high school but I have heard from those who graduated before me that this used to be much more expansive. I had an interest in sewing but the difficulty of attaining the skills really took away from my interest in pursuing it further. However, he also goes on to mention the reasoning behind this: budget cuts. This is a dominating factor in the school system because budget cuts mean that some parts of the program need to be eliminated. Compared to science and math, the arts and maker were viewed as less important. But now these focus areas are starting to become more prevalent again. 

Since I don’t have a particular subject area, being a PJ candidate, I think the maker approach to education and the design process could fit into any area (or integrated across areas) in elementary level learning. For instance, science and math curriculum specifically lend themselves to problem-solving, which is a trademark of the making approach. Along with inquiry and student-led learning, math and science could be so much more than just memorization and textbook work. A hands-on approach, or tinkering approach could also be really interesting here because it allows students to figure out how things work, how to create new things using scientific and mathematical principals and puts concepts into context. I think the arts are already quite maker-oriented, so even integrating more of the arts into other subjects could help with this. Social studies is another subject that could benefit from the maker approach to education because it could bring history to life for students. Technologies have made this more of a possibility, such as AR and VR technology, or online gaming platforms like Minecraft could allow students the opportunity to explore and create their own historical worlds. These are just some examples of how I would incorporate a maker approach into my practice. 

 

One of the observations I made about the video was Adam’s love of movies and how that sparked his interest in making. By having a maker’s mindset from a young age and building the things he wanted but couldn’t buy made him creative and independent. It allowed Adam to design things the way he wanted them, and I think it gave him a better connection to his own work. He mentioned near the end of the video that because he had experiences with making things like his Bladerunner gun he was also able to make and fix things in his own home. That is a pretty real application of what making can do for people. It was because of Adam’s interest in things like movies and having a mindset that told him he could make those movie props for himself that I connect to the classroom. If we allow our students to explore their interests and passions, they are going to have a much deeper and important learning experience than if we are constantly forcing them to learn about things they will never use in their own lives. I think fostering a maker-mindset or developing students’ 21^st century skills and competencies is the best way we can prepare them for the future where innovation and problem-solving skills will be the most valued attributes. 

As a primary/junior teacher candidate, I have no specific subject area, but, a maker approach to education and the design process can be incorporated in all of the elementary subject areas. Dale Dougherty speaks about how making fascinates young learners and allows them to make and design based on their own interests. This idea could be present in how students wish to showcase their learning in any subject. For example, students who are interested in coding could show case their work through Scratch which allows their characters to speak and move along various backgrounds with various objects, whereas someone who is interested in STEAM could create a more physical representation of their learning. It is known that students are connected to what they make which assists in the consolidation portion of learning when students are making what they are learning. Lastly, it is important to note that making fosters talent and passion that directly relates to the 21^st century skills required for our future economy.  

 

One connection that I have made with Adam Savage’s video is that our society has become too careful and sensitive. Adam made a good point in mentioning that there are chemistry sets without chemicals because there are too many liabilities related to students ingesting or being injured by the chemicals. I can relate to this as I have had countless conversations with people regarding teaching and the self-directed restrictions that we put on ourselves for liability reasons. An example in addition to the one provided in the video, would be students using junior hack saws, although we as teachers can use this tool in our classroom, teachers may be too afraid of the legal repercussions if a student were to get injured that they resist using them. It is important for the education system to change in its view of making from “risky” to “resourceful” and that students should be engaging in all maker materials available to them as they learn to be makers of the future.

 

            What I quickly learned from my first placement is that wonder, curiosity, inquiry, and problem-solving can be pulled out of virtually every aspect of life in an educational sense. My previous grade 2’s are currently learning about simple and complex machines and they were recently challenged to take a simple piece of paper and have it support the weight of something much heavier (a textbook for instance). This is just one simple way in which problem-solving and open-ended creative tasks can be used to better our students’ learning through the maker approach.

 

 What is one connection you made with what was said in this video by Adam Savage, especially in light of last week's theme "Focus on the Future"?

            Firstly, I completely agree with Adam’s analysis on the risk-averse society that we live in today. We are encouraged to mold students to be willing to take risks and that they should not be afraid to fail, but we then chastise them for taking those risks or are not allowed to tell them in the first place. The connection that I made between Adam’s video in light of last week’s theme of “Focus on the Future” is that maker movements are integral to the next technological leaps forward in our society. This is because of the unwillingness to tinker with things of an electrical nature. Adam uses the example of a car, which is excellent – people will tinker for months on mechanical machines, but are unwilling to do so if that machine is “too advanced” (ie it has electronic components). The maker movements that we are witnessing should reduce that shyness, allowing us to leap forward once again with creativity and ingenuity. 

The maker approach focuses on a growth mindset, resiliency and grit. Stated by Carol Dweck and Angela Lee Duckworth state that by a stronger development of grit you can make it father in life in various areas. I as a I/S Biology and Chemistry teacher can incorporate the maker approach in a variety of ways. Firstly, I can utilize various tools which is an emphasis of the maker approach such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, global citizenship, self-aware learning to learn, and Entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Firstly, I can incorporate Critical thinking and problem solving by including various “Hooks” that will allow students to think about a problem before by utilizing labs in the class or allowing students to design and manage a project such as a creation of a lab or analysis of an existing project or lab to solve a problem, make connections to transfer information. Creation of a lab based on there own design an experiment can lead to innovation and creation, motivating students in various aspects of their learning. By designing a lab or inquiry centered experiment students are being self directed in their learning process by self regulating their behavior in order to improve and become stronger academically and in life while also cultivating emotional intelligence to understand how to start and complete the design of an experiment. Collaboration can be established through contributing assistance to other students work, communicating based on peer assessments of varying lab designs, and participating in positive relationships to foster establishment of successful which will foster communication among individuals. Through technology, global citizenship will be possible through various networks that allow contact between varying platforms, engagement, knowledge and guidance from across the world will be possible and will even further inquiry student mindset. Essential through lab design and analysis I’ll foster maker development in my students to help incorporate this pedagogy into my teacher practice. This will foster what Dale Dougherty emphasized as helping curious young minds to create based on their love of doing. 

 

 

. 

The makerspace approach to education is very important in regards to the PJ section. As students at this age group are very inquisitive at this age and love to create. They have a great imagination and love to explore. Makersspaces are creative spaces where people gather to tinker, create, invent and learn and invent and learn. Community makers spread becoming a wide spread phenomenon. Working in recreation I have seen my community centre add makerspaces to our centre and more STEAM in all programs. These go hand in hand beaches they help to foster inquiry based learning outside of school. In placement my schools had makerspace and Lego walls all in the schools library set up. I feel this is great space to learn because on is surrounded by books that they can look up so much information. For example if their building a skyscraper and want to learn about the history. They will have books as reference. The 21st century competencies innovation and creativity and here are the students and creating with items such as Lego and technology such as robot, dash and dot as early as kindergarten. Makerspaces have no age and we all can create if something isn’t working out for the student the competencies of problem solving will come up. Collaboration is another example because in many make spacers one is working with others to create something, such as Lego robotics is ease rot paly and create with a partner then one your one. Makerspace foster chid social development and skills of thinking outside the box.

 

 

One observation I had is that, makers are in control they figure how things work, where makers of food and shelters. Something this simple such as making a sandcastle can foster much learning skills. The skills of construction and science stable structures and math skills. We are all being educators to next generation of makers. So it’s our job to foster inquiry and creativity in out lesson plan and curriculum. Learning form one mistakes is also important and is part of life. We need to teach students to learn form that mistake instead of being ashamed of them. This is skill I will teach in my classroom. The overall concepts is that we are makers and can create, This is smooth encouraging student to thick out side of the box there box and yes ether imagination as much as possible for leaning and making. 

As a primary/junior teacher, I can see how both the maker approach and the design process can be incorporated into a range of subject areas. Having this approach to teaching in general affords both students and teachers a mindset that is based on inquiry, collaboration, problem-solving, and innovation. A focus on STEAM would allow for the maker approach and the design process to be incorporated into lessons. As a way of incorporating this, I would ensure that students have the opportunity to learn with their interests in mind, whatever the subject area. In addition to this, I would incorporate a focus on real life problems/applications, as I believe that when students have a frame of mind that is geared toward applying their learning to the real world, the learning becomes more meaningful and thus students are more engaged. I think that learning this way opens itself to the design process, as students would be required to first define a problem that affects them in some way. Going through the design process essentially provides students with steps for how to approach learning tasks. 

I believe that the incorporation of different technologies can also contribute to the maker approach/design process. The use of technology in relation to STEAM education encourages students to be makers and innovators, utilizing their creativity to design, build, and create. For example, students could use technologies such as LEGO Robotics to design a machine that will do something to help them in some way (i.e., feed an animal).  This would allow students to go through the design process, but also incorporate a variety of subject areas (math, science & technology, language, arts, etc.). A project like this would also promote inquiry, and an emphasis on 21st century skills and global competencies, as it would foster collaboration, creativity and innovation, and critical thinking.

Something that I noticed from watching this video was the idea that for the last few decades, education has focused on what some might consider the more traditional subjects (math and language), and done so in a way that lacks a hands-on approach to learning. This reminded me of the discussion regarding how the current education system is very outdated, and was created with the intention of supplying students with skills that would be appropriate for the future careers that they would have. Evidently, it is clear that education has changed and continues to change, as the push towards making and innovation has began to take off. This is a result of the need for students to develop 21st century skills relevant for the careers of the future.

As a physics and math teacher, there is a lot of opportunity to include maker spaces/inquiry in these subject areas. Although there are lab components in these subjects, especially in physics, they always feel too structured, without much inquiry actually happening. Thinking back to my time in high school, I remember being very interested in physics but never truly being interested in the lab components. This can be for a variety of reasons, but I remember not being interested because it always felt like we were being told what to do instead of being given the freedom to create, make, and discover. It wasn’t a true maker space.

In Adam’s video he made a great analogy between kids’ allergies and their lack of inquiry based learning. He said that since it’s been proven that kids who grow up in antiseptic environments don’t develop their immune system as thoroughly, the same can be said about kids who grow up in environments where their creativity is not challenged and this has future consequences. I completely agree with this point in saying that it is crucial for students to learn in an environment where they are allowed to be curious. If thi does not happen, then they will not develop their inventive instincts that are crucial to making and creating in the 21^st century. The future is only as bright as what we create and discover today and that starts with how we teach our students.

As a Primary/Junior TC, I’ll be exploring all subject areas. The maker approach to education and the design process open lessons and curriculum to inquiry. Both provide a system with which a student-centered classroom can become student-driven; a classroom that functions as a result of student participation and interaction to share, teach, analyze, and understand information/concepts. In order to ensure that these systems are prevalent, it is our role as teachers to instill wonder into their learning. Students who are encouraged, motivated, and genuinely interested in their learning will become much more active in the process of learning itself. This will in turn feed into the inquiry processes and result in further understandings and practices of 21^st century skills. 

I completely agree with Savage’s identification of the risk-sensitive society. It’s very contradictory how parents and teachers encourage students to take risks in order to learn from mistakes, but educate against risk taking to avoid mistakes at the same time. When I think about last week’s theme of “focus on the future”, I consider the minute practice of conversing with our students about things like risk taking, what failure means, and the importance of learning from mistakes instead of dwelling on them negatively. Savage also alludes to the technological advancements of today’s age, which also connects well with our theme of last week. Maker movements are present everywhere in every technological device we use. Our students are growing up in a technological age, and need to learn the skills necessary to involve themselves in this movement and progression of technology.