Week 9- coordinate make space day

For my maker space I think the most important thing would be to make sure it was a place students wanted to come too. It would be fun to have some students volunteer to make posters and work on advertisements to put around the school. We want as many students to experience the space as possible. What I would be worried about with the experience I have had in my own schools maker space is that it wasn't used very much. This is also why there is no full-time maker space teacher. The room just wasn't being utilized enough to keep a full time position (gotta love budget cuts).

After the advertising was done with help from students around the school I think the next big thing would be to talk to all the teachers in the building and get any questions or concerns they have. I would also ask for help setting things up and get as many teachers involved as possible. Without them a maker space day would not be a success.

In researching other maker space days it seems like a huge part of a successful day is to have a schedule. I am personally someone who likes to know when things are happening and have a written plan for the day, and I think in a maker space day this would be a very important aspect. As with any classroom teaching it will be important to realize that the schedule will change and things will need to shift to accommodate students wants and needs. The schedule should be more focused on instruction, clean up and transition time as opposed outlining what students will be doing for blocks of time during the day.

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 20, 2018 at 1:34 PM

    I really enjoyed reading your post and think you have some great ideas. I think planning and preparation is key and you certainly have the right idea with advertising well ahead of the day. Getting all the teachers on board and making sure they understand what a Maker Day is a really great idea. Maybe you could have a short little Maker hour after school with the teachers to give them an idea of what their students would be doing? Having a schedule is a really important part to this special day and I think that is a really good idea. This way, students, parents, staff, and anyone else who is joining in will know exactly what is going on where. Great post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2- Growth Mindset

What is the link between Tinkering, hard play and the growth mindset Growth mindset I really enjoyed watching the Tedx talk by Carol Dweck. She had some fantastic points about how the wording of what teachers say can have a huge impact of student’s success. When students are faced with a difficult experience or problem with a fixed mindset they realize the problem is too hard for them and run away. They know its to hard and have the mindset of why should I try it because I am just going to fail. When students feel like they have failed it sets them up to not want to try and take risks with difficult problems again in the future. This mindset can have disastrous consequences later in their life (Dweck 2007). In contrast when students have a growth mindset students believe they “believe they can get smart and put in the extra time and effort (mindsetworks.com). I also liked how Carol spoke about how we praise our students. She reminded me that when students are only working ...
Read more

Week 10

Why does Baranof Elementary School need a maker space? The simple answer to this question is because they are a fun and beneficial space for students, but to convince administration I need to dive deeper. According to a recent report by the New Media Consortium Horizon Report for 2015 "makerspaces are increasingly being looked to as a method of engaging learners in creative, higher-order problem-solving through hands on design, construction, and iteration." This report also  discussed that makerspaces address the skills students will need to possess in the 21st century. Taking this into account I would approach my administration with this information. Powerful and empowering ways to learn When schools have makerspaces it provides students with a powerful context and opportunity to learn and develop new skills. Makerspaces can provide students with a outlet for students, fuel engagement, and curiosity. Makerspaces also empower students and help them shift from passive co...
Read more

Week 1

Do you believe Constructionism brings any new ideas to the table as a theory of education? Why or Why not?  I think that constructionism brings a lot of new ideas to the classroom.  In the school I work in there has been an intermittent Maker Space. I absolutely love and see the value in providing students with a way to learn information in a more hands on way instead of sitting in the classroom listening to a stagnant lesson.  In my personal experience I feel that students really enjoy the opportunity for a environment like a maker space, where they will experience materials they are unfamiliar with. But a barrier I see to a fully successfully implication is the willingness for classroom teachers to incorporate visits to the Maker Space in their weekly lessons.  In my school there was a full time teacher in charge of the Maker Space. He had Ozobots, Legos, and iPads to make movies but no teachers were regularly bring their classes and the position was vacated. I...
Read more