Building Ideas....
Connecting Makerspace to Content Curriculum
Makerspace environments follow constructionist learning approaches, which is inspired by Jean Piaget's constructivist theory in which learners construct an individual understanding in order to understand their world around them, or knowledge schemata. Constructivism strongly encourages discovery learning, student-centered, and interactive approaches. Seymour Papert, a graduate student of Jean Piaget and father of the Makerspace movement, took Piaget's theory further to suggest that knowledge happens most effectively when learners actively engage to build or make a tangible object in the real world. Through the act of sharing learning artifacts, learners reflect socially, introducing learners to new perspectives. Through creative experimentation and building of social artifacts, the teacher facilitates problem based learning activities. These principals were used to build the origins of what would be come the LEGO Mindstorms curriculum program.
Project based Learning (PBL) is an instructional design method used to incorporate active learning within Makerspace environments. Task cards, or challenge cards, connected to content standards can be designed to incorporate small Makerspace activities targeting elementary and middle school students utilizing one of four workstations: the Artist, the Scientist, the Engineer, or the Journalist.
Project based Learning (PBL) is an instructional design method used to incorporate active learning within Makerspace environments. Task cards, or challenge cards, connected to content standards can be designed to incorporate small Makerspace activities targeting elementary and middle school students utilizing one of four workstations: the Artist, the Scientist, the Engineer, or the Journalist.
Designing a PBL Maker Unit
- Learning Goals
- Essential Questions
- Discovery process that foster opportunities for failure in a "safe" place
- Focus on learning process through making
- Small PBL activities using challenge cards.
- Student voice consideration fostering engagement and choice
- Showcase learning, consider inviting parents and other teachers to witness learning creations