I facilitate a TED-Ed Club at the binational center where I teach. It's an opportunity for school-age students to explore and develop their own ideas and learn to share them in the form of a TED-style talk. TED-Ed provides a helpful curriculum which guides student discussions and explorations, and so I don't have to prepare a whole lot. One thing I do, however, is bring some kind of ice breaker to start each meeting. It might be a mixer, but it's often a game. If possible I'll try to connect the game to a concept or a skill we're considering. In recent weeks, though, I've brought in a few mini STEM challenges to get things started.
A few weeks back, I had students work in pairs or groups to build a support for a book. Following an idea adapted by Darci the STEM Mom, students used 20 toothpicks and 10 gumdrops to build a structure to lift a heavy book the height of at least one toothpick off the table. I only gave them the hint that triangles are a strong shape for support, and told them they could use their phones to search the Internet for more clues if needed. They opted for a hands-on approach, tinkering until they got it right. It took a bit of trial and error, but the groups were eventually successful.
I was especially pleased to see groups of different people working together. One student, whose usual friends didn't show up that day, was welcomed in by another group, and the experience of solving a problem together deepened the bonds of our community.
As the club returned to brainstorming their ideas, I reminded them that, just like the challenge, sometimes problems take a while to solve, and there's a struggle, and that's OK. The week before, we had watched TED-Ed student Malcolm Asher's talk about about destigmatizing hospitals with art. A part of the talk that stood out to the group was that his project wasn't an easy process from start to finish. It took time, paperwork, seeming dead-ends, and he had to deal with adults who discouraged his efforts. The end result, however, was a far-reaching non-profit that brings art therapy and health education to remote parts of the world. I encouraged them to keep this in mind as they worked on their talks.
After the STEM challenge, there were still many gumdrops that didn't get eaten or built with, and I wanted to use them up. I also had a bag of jellybeans at home that I wanted to get rid of. So, for the following week's icebreaker, I challenged the group to make a catapult, an activity I've done in a few classes with success. The rules were that the catapult had to shoot a piece of candy, and that students could make a target to hit out of the remaining toothpicks, gumdrops, and anything else they could find in the maker space. They could search for catapult models on the Internet if desired (I suggested a Google search of "STEM catapults"), and this time, they found it very helpful to have a model.
I had only had the connection to the TED-Ed exploration vaguely in my mind as the group started the challenge. I knew the focus in that day's exploration was planning the story arc of their talk, and I was picturing the projectile arc made by a catapult as a parallel example. I watched the students make their catapults, testing them to see how far they could shoot a jellybean. I watched them then make the targets and readjust them, as well as the catapults, until they were satisfied. Their laughter and the sight of jellybeans being flung through the air definitely turned a few heads on the other side of the glass doors. The group had way much more fun than I had imagined, even when facing unexpected challenges. That's when the connection hit me.
In a TED-Ed Club, it's the students who make their own goals. The exploration for that day encourages students to think about their target audience and the ideas they hope people will take away from their talk.With this in mind, they plan the story arc of their talk, deciding the best way to take the audience from point A to point B.
As we finished up the STEM challenge, I encouraged the students to think about this idea more deeply. They are the ones who choose if and how they want to give their talk, choosing everything from the topic to the visuals, all with their target audience in mind. They are the ones who set their own goals and expectations, and, with collaboration from the local and global community, they find a way to meet them. It's not the school or an adult telling them what to do, but they, themselves are finding a way to make their message heard and understood.
There's something empowering about making your own goal, whether it's out of toothpicks and gum drops, or something bigger. And the task of making something or reaching a bigger goal is not as daunting when done together in community. Time will only tell how deeply the message sunk in, but I am excited to see these students develop their talks and develop as individuals. I feel I learn as much, if not more, as the students, just from leading this group. As I watch them settle in to work, finding their own quiet corner of the makerspace, collaborating with peers, and getting feedback from folks whose viewpoints are extremely different from their own, I can´t help but be proud of them.
How have you seen students, and others, make and meet their own goals? What other deeper discussions can STEM/STEAM and the Maker Movement start? Share your thoughts, and let's make together!
A few weeks back, I had students work in pairs or groups to build a support for a book. Following an idea adapted by Darci the STEM Mom, students used 20 toothpicks and 10 gumdrops to build a structure to lift a heavy book the height of at least one toothpick off the table. I only gave them the hint that triangles are a strong shape for support, and told them they could use their phones to search the Internet for more clues if needed. They opted for a hands-on approach, tinkering until they got it right. It took a bit of trial and error, but the groups were eventually successful.
I was especially pleased to see groups of different people working together. One student, whose usual friends didn't show up that day, was welcomed in by another group, and the experience of solving a problem together deepened the bonds of our community.
As the club returned to brainstorming their ideas, I reminded them that, just like the challenge, sometimes problems take a while to solve, and there's a struggle, and that's OK. The week before, we had watched TED-Ed student Malcolm Asher's talk about about destigmatizing hospitals with art. A part of the talk that stood out to the group was that his project wasn't an easy process from start to finish. It took time, paperwork, seeming dead-ends, and he had to deal with adults who discouraged his efforts. The end result, however, was a far-reaching non-profit that brings art therapy and health education to remote parts of the world. I encouraged them to keep this in mind as they worked on their talks.
After the STEM challenge, there were still many gumdrops that didn't get eaten or built with, and I wanted to use them up. I also had a bag of jellybeans at home that I wanted to get rid of. So, for the following week's icebreaker, I challenged the group to make a catapult, an activity I've done in a few classes with success. The rules were that the catapult had to shoot a piece of candy, and that students could make a target to hit out of the remaining toothpicks, gumdrops, and anything else they could find in the maker space. They could search for catapult models on the Internet if desired (I suggested a Google search of "STEM catapults"), and this time, they found it very helpful to have a model.
I had only had the connection to the TED-Ed exploration vaguely in my mind as the group started the challenge. I knew the focus in that day's exploration was planning the story arc of their talk, and I was picturing the projectile arc made by a catapult as a parallel example. I watched the students make their catapults, testing them to see how far they could shoot a jellybean. I watched them then make the targets and readjust them, as well as the catapults, until they were satisfied. Their laughter and the sight of jellybeans being flung through the air definitely turned a few heads on the other side of the glass doors. The group had way much more fun than I had imagined, even when facing unexpected challenges. That's when the connection hit me.
In a TED-Ed Club, it's the students who make their own goals. The exploration for that day encourages students to think about their target audience and the ideas they hope people will take away from their talk.With this in mind, they plan the story arc of their talk, deciding the best way to take the audience from point A to point B.
As we finished up the STEM challenge, I encouraged the students to think about this idea more deeply. They are the ones who choose if and how they want to give their talk, choosing everything from the topic to the visuals, all with their target audience in mind. They are the ones who set their own goals and expectations, and, with collaboration from the local and global community, they find a way to meet them. It's not the school or an adult telling them what to do, but they, themselves are finding a way to make their message heard and understood.
There's something empowering about making your own goal, whether it's out of toothpicks and gum drops, or something bigger. And the task of making something or reaching a bigger goal is not as daunting when done together in community. Time will only tell how deeply the message sunk in, but I am excited to see these students develop their talks and develop as individuals. I feel I learn as much, if not more, as the students, just from leading this group. As I watch them settle in to work, finding their own quiet corner of the makerspace, collaborating with peers, and getting feedback from folks whose viewpoints are extremely different from their own, I can´t help but be proud of them.
How have you seen students, and others, make and meet their own goals? What other deeper discussions can STEM/STEAM and the Maker Movement start? Share your thoughts, and let's make together!
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