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Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom (The 8 Elements of a…
Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom
Constructivism: "A well-established theory of learning indicating that people actively construct new knowledge by combining their experiences with what they already know... New knowledge is not delivered to the learner, but constructed inside the learner's head." (pg. 31)
Constructionism: Learning as "a reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge. Then we extend the idea of manipulative materials to the idea that learning is most effective when part of an activity the learner experiences as constructing a meaningful product." (pg. 32)
Making
"is about the active role construction plays in learning. The maker has a product in mind when working with tools and materials" (pg. 32).
"The IKEA Effect" - "people who make things value their creations, even flawed creations, more than the same things created perfectly by experts" (pg. 33)
"Teachers should be concerned with making thinking visible, or making private thinking public. Making is a way of documenting the thinking of a learner in a shareable artifact. Stages of a project 'under construction' offer important evidence of productive thinking or scaffolding opportunities" (pg. 43).
Tinkering
"is a mindset - a playful way to approach and solve problems through direct experience, experimentation, and discovery" (pg. 32)
"When we allow children to experiment, take risks, and play with their own ideas, we give them permission to trust themselves. They begin to see themselves as learners who have good ideas and can transform their own ideas into reality. When we acknowledge that there may be many right answers to a question, it gives children permission to feel safe while thinking and problem solving, not just when they answer correctly" (pg. 36)
"Adopting a tinkering mindset in your classroom allows all students to learn in their own style" (pg. 36)
"Tinkering is way closer to the way real scientists, mathematicians, and engineers solve problems. Tinkering is not just an uninformed or immature way that science happens... Tinkering encourages making connections, whereas school tends to favor 'clean' disconnected programs with clear, unambiguous step-by-step solutions" (pg. 45).
Engineering
"extracts principles from direct experience. It builds a bridge between intuition and the formal aspects of science by being able to better explain, measure, and predict the world around us" (pg. 32)
"the application of scientific principles to design, build, and invent" (pg. 39)
"Engaging children as quickly as possible in real projects creates an authentic context for learning a specific science formula ormath equation since students realize they need that skill or information to continue their project" (pg. 40)
Science is not the memorization of vocabulary and accurately following "the scientific method". "Science is about wonder and risk and imagination, not checklists or vocabulary memorization" (pg. 45).
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What's a Good Prompt?
1. Brevity: The best prompts fit on a Post-It! They are clear, concise, and self-evident.
2. Ambiguity: The learner should be free to satisfy the prompt in their own voice, perhaps even employing strategies you never imagined.
3. Immunity to Assessment: Students will want to do the best job possible when they care about their work and know that you put them ahead of a grade. If students are collaborating and regularly engaged in peer review or editing, then the judgement of an adult if really unnecessary.