by Diane Brancazio (dianeb@mit.edu)
K-12 Maker Team Leader, MIT Edgerton Center, Office of Experiential Learning
An adaptable project is a generic activity that can be customized by students, such as making 3D printed coins, a laser cut puzzle, or an electronic quiz board. Teachers choose a project that has a customizable feature, and tailor it to fit their setting. This seed project could be a tool starter project designed to foster new skills, or a more complex activity that already works well for the teacher. Whatever custom content teachers apply to the project should be something students can relate to - personal interests, school values, academic content, etc.
At the K-12 Maker Lab at the MIT Edgerton Center, we believe that teachers can lead engaging, relevant, student-focused Maker projects in any academic classroom. The way we see it, the goal of a school Maker project is for students to express their understanding of the academic content and learn both fabrication and design skills, not just build something. Ideally, the process and the product will be meaningful to the maker. Throughout the making process, students need to consider the emotions or understanding they want their project to bring up in the observer. With this ethos of Making as expression in mind, students make choices on materials, colors, shapes, images, and functionalities in the project. When Maker education is carried out effectively, students learn much more than just the prescribed academic content. Students develop many life and work skills, as well as create a meaningful connection to the academic content.
This initiative, now known as K-12 Maker Lab, started eight years ago when I first learned about makerspaces. I had taken a pause from teaching technology and engineering classes in high school and middle school and was creating STEM summer camp curricula at MIT. At that time, many schools were rebranding their engineering and technology spaces as STEAM labs and makerspaces, and trying to integrate them with the rest of the academic curriculum. Having witnessed the siloing of education, disengagement of students and interest in using new technologies in schools, this seemed like a fabulous idea to me. I could help teachers like myself, who wanted to, or were required to, unite creative technologies with regular school subjects. Wouldn't it be great to compile a library of projects that use the makerspace but fit into academics as well?
As I searched online, I found about 90% of the STEM or STEAM projects were classic engineering and technology activities that required performance of a function (towers, bridges, catapults, solar ovens, rube goldberg machines, etc.), or modeled of physical phenomena (cell organelles, fossils, molecules, constellations, wave demonstrations, etc.). There was, however, that 10% or so that had academic content outside of science and engineering. I found projects such as 3D models of religious domes, games about energy sources, lanterns designed for the Chinese mid-autumn festival and fabricated on a laser cutter, and 3D printed chess sets redesigned for the visually impaired. These projects had space for more student choice and expression, while all involving the same fabrication methods and following one classroom workflow.
There was my “Aha!” moment, and the foundational idea for the K-12 Maker Lab.
Take away the long lesson plans and just share examples of engaging projects.
Keep the project summaries short and include lots of pictures.
Include suggestions for adaptations to other subject areas.
We collect, create, and publish a variety of Maker projects that teachers can adapt for their classrooms. Brief project writeups, as described here, can be found in our Idea Gallery: k12maker.mit.edu/ideagallery.
Projects are organized by product (what the student makes) and fabrication method (how it is made), providing teachers with two ways to approach the design of a new project. We encourage teachers to browse the Idea Gallery (or any compilation of project ideas), and find one they can connect to both their academic content and to student learning and expression. It then up to them to adapt the projects to their content, their students, their time frame, and their resources.
Examples of project adaptations are shown in the tutorials section of our website https://k12maker.mit.edu/tutorials. The rubber stamps projects is adapted for world geography, celebrating influential women, social movements in the 1960’s, and for tesselations.
The engraved mirrors projects can vary widely; we show one where many hexagonal mirrors comprise a large mosaic, and another where the mirror shapes are as important as the etched graphics.
In addition to adapting, teachers can differentiate projects to match students’ readiness by providing pre-made pieces, starting at different points in the project, or providing libraries of ideas or images.
While some Maker projects can span weeks or months, we feel they are most effective as short experiences that add creativity and cool tools to “regular” units of study. A teacher can create an academic Maker project by imbuing a hands-on activity with academic content and opportunities for student choice. A key feature of Maker projects is that the tools, materials, and processes are novel to the maker. Drawing with markers loses much of its appeal after elementary school, but graphics programs are the tools of professionals. Cutting by hand is nowhere near as precise or fast as cuts made by a vinyl cutter or laser cutter. And no matter the age, it is always magical to make things move or light up. Make the most of your class time and pull students into the topic with cool tools!
Starter projects are great for teachers and students new to hands-on projects or to Maker tools. The technical process is spelled out, but the student expression is not. With these projects, students all develop similar technology skills, while each one makes a product that is different from the others. Teachers may start with a theme or topic that is meaningful in their classroom, or choose a project based on the students’ readiness, their time frame, and the tools and materials available. We publish a variety of starter project tutorials at k12maker.mit.edu/tutorials. Each includes a step-by-step guide to the fabrication methods, and guidelines for the customized part that students design. Simple projects include Paper Lanterns (vinyl cutter), Quiz Boards (circuits), Rubber Stamps (3D printing and molding), and Personal Mirrors (laser cutter). All are intended to engage students in their school work with novel technologies and expressive products.
Maker projects are one tool for teachers to use in reaching their students and helping them become self-directed learners. Doing two or three projects a year in a subject area can infuse it with a creative and techy spirit. It is part of the Maker ethos to “hack” an existing technology, so why not do that with projects? Go ahead and adapt one of the many customizable projects already out in the world!
My biggest kick in life is helping others experience the joy of creating, learning, and doing new things. My favorite Maker tools are vinyl cutters, Arduinos, and scroll saws. My heroes include Richard Feynman, Woodie Flowers, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Activities that I love doing are ice skating, sailing, and dancing.
— Diane Brancazio
Link: K-12 Maker Lab Idea Library