As a retired teacher, I now have time to focus on the things that I am really passionate about. Other than my family and traveling, I am very concerned about climate change and maker spaces. Yesterday, my former administrator asked me to make a visit to seventh and eighth grade camp. I began the camp program during my last year at school and it is great to see it being carried on. Camp is a great example of authentic learning that is challenging and novel. Students really love the three days of camp, I believe because it gets them out of the classroom where lessons are so rigid. They love the camaraderie, the hands on learning, and the adventure and play involved in camp. So much so that they don’t even realize that they are engaged in learning.
The real challenge as teachers is how to we incorporate these concepts into our day-to-day lessons? Enter the maker space. Every discipline that we teach and every lesson that we teach should be examined for ways to correlate it to making. Can we study history and have students build a pyramid, a 3-D Washington Monument, a trebuchet? In English and literature can we have them write a script, make a set, act in a play? In Science, can they make a solar cooker, a hydroponic garden, build a circuit or rocket. There is NO limit to making your curriculum much more dynamic and giving children an exciting learning experience. It is just a matter of using your imagination, taking small steps, and building your repertoire of activities over the course of your career. Taking those steps will make you a better, more creative teacher, will enrich the learning of your students and will make your job much more fun and enjoyable.
Why not start today?
If you’re not sure where to begin, we’d love to help you. Download Designing a Maker Space today to get you started! Contact us or download some activities to get you started. One of our favorite methods to install this type of learning is through a Maker Space (or MakerSpace, Tinker Lab, Maker Lab and a variety of other names!). Sign up for our newsletter for ideas and support that we share with our Maker Space network!
