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driven by curiosity
Examples of project based learning and experiential methods applied to interdisciplinary topics such as global citizenship, science, art, and what it means to be a life long learner.
by Amy Holt Cline
Visual Examples of Dynamic Teaching
Evidence of teaching in interdisciplinary ways require color, exploration, design thinking, collaboration, invention of ideas and experiential learning. These photos are a few examples of what this work can look like.
- Images from an Interdisciplinary ClassroomThese images cover topics that are connected to or have occurred in a Biology Science class or in a Design Science Lab class.
- INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED FOR DEEP THINKING
International Service Learning Course and TripEngaging students in what Being of Service really means if it is on a partnership basis.Learning how to be “of service” is not as simple as it sounds. Students are asked to learn about themselves, the culture they will travel to, and to study the community dynamics before they ever begin the work that looks like service. The year long International Service Learning Course helps students understand the part they play when engaging in service learning.Students have traveled to Peru, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Belize, and beyond to learn first hand what it means to step out of their comfort zone while connecting with a new culture.
Senior SeminarThis unique interdisciplinary senior year experience!Traveling abroad naturally expands a person’s perspective of themselves as the world around them changes. New foods, sounds, smells and experiences constantly remind students that they are in a new land with new customs and norms. The senior class has traveled to such places as Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and beyond. The senior seminar experience is rigorous and immersive. Students begin the year by learning about the science, history, art, and literature of the place they will travel to. This epic field trip will help them choose their interdisciplinary capstone topic which will lead to deep research, a 12 page paper, a 20 min presentation and a hand-built 3D artifact of their research. Learning this way is deliberate and mindfully crafted. AIM Academy believes that each student can rise to the expectations placed upon them with a wide variety of opportunities for success. Check out the AIM website for more information about the details of the Senior Seminar learning experience.
- The International PortalThe experience of standing in the portal and connecting with someone across the world is an indescribable feeling. Although students and teachers walk out of the portal for the first time by saying "that was cool!" or "I had no idea we could do that." or with tears in her yes she said, "At first I didn't know what to say because I don't know much about Afghanistan but we just talked about learning chemistry in each of our countries and it was wonderful!"The Shared Studios Portal is incredible tool to connect across geographic borders so that we each connect across commonalities rather than distance ourselves across perceived difference. These photos include a sampling of portal moments which have changed the way the students see people and the world.
GLOBAL EDUCATION PROJECTS: LITER OF LIGHT
Liter of Light is a visionary project that brings hand made, solar powered lights to people that don't have it. This could include bringing light to those in hurricane stricken zones or those that live involuntarily off the city's power grid.
LITER of LIGHTStudents at AIM Academy learned about sustainable development and the simple ways they can provide marginalized communities worldwide with a brighter future as they build solar lights with the founder of the international non-profit organization Liter of Light.
The grass-roots non-profit is seeking to raise awareness for sustainable development issues by teaching others how to build solar lights as a solution to energy poverty. This project is directly aligned with the Oxfam Global Matrices.
Working to eliminate light poverty.Students learned to make the lights they are holding which were delivered to communities that the Liter of Light team would be traveling to. That model was designed by the Brazil volunteer team.
Building LightsOn their way across the country, the Liter of Light team stopped through our school and taught groups of students to build their own lights. Assembling the circuit boards, learning to solder and listening to why light education is important were a few of the key topics delivered.- 2015 ISTE Conference Poster # 1
The poster below was presented at the 2015 ISTE Conference in Philadelphia, PA.
The poster essential explains three projects that taught students science and technology through using Makey Makey Circuit Boards, Underwater Robots and Arduino Boards to create bioluminescent robots.
three STEAM projects
Learning about circuit boards through building robots and music trees
Underwater Robots
Using SeaPerch materials, lessons and direction, the lessons I created focused on the design and building process involved in building and underwater robot. Students first learned about deep sea research and the scientists that build underwater submersibles that carry sensors and travel to the sea floor. NOAA Underwater submersibles
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/subs/subs.html
http://www.seaperch.org
Bioluminescent Robots
Inspired by the Make Magazine coffee bot robot found o the website below, students in the Design Science Lab Class made bioluminescent robots that either away from light or ran towards light. This is a departure from how organisms in nature make their own light but overall, students learned a lot about both nature and how to make a robot. Using arduino circuit boards and a bit of coding, students made coffee can robots that resembled organisms.
check out the original idea at http://makezine.com/projects/make-34/coffee-bots/
Music Trees
The quick description is that students were given the task of creating a hand made tree that made music. We had makey makey boards available to use and garage band within our mac computers. We downloaded an Arduino code and changed a few things within the code in order to repurpose the back side of the makey makey board.
http://www.makeymakey.com/
Makey Makey Music Trees
This is a brief overview of a very successful collaborative project that took place between two very different schools.
This is a brief overview of a very successful collaborative project that took place between two very different schools.Music Trees: The Lesson
Lesson OverviewWhat: Students learned innovative thinking through imaginative and scenario based challenges; this unit introduced students to Makey Makey circuit boards, taught them basic circuitry and programming concepts, and included a culminating project which gave students hands on experience carrying out the steps of an engineering design process. Furthermore, as a part of their exploratory process,
AIM students Skyped and collaborated with Seniors from Newton North High
School’s Greenengineering Program sharing images and videos, as well as
interviewing each other regarding design developments throughout the project. Students in both schools had been charged with the task of making an interactive Music Tree using unusual materials. AIM Academy students used Makey Makey circuit boards to power and program their Music Tress, while Newton North students used Solar panels and a human powered stationary bike.
This Unit included multiple introductory explorations; with the culminating
collaborative project in which AIM students were asked to build a 3D prototype tree that stands on a table, and will - if touched in various locations, make harmonic music.
In lessons previous to this creative design exploration, AIM students were
introduced to engineering design processes and principles. In their creation
of an object that when touched makes music, AIM students were expected to use the design process to figure out how to build and create a working
prototype – identify problem/task, brainstorm, design, build, test and
evaluate, then redesign and repeat build/testing/and design process until
task is accomplished successfully, and then share their solution.
Throughout the design process, AIM students learned the importance of
defining the tasks at hand, were required to generate and share a multitude
of ideas with each other in collaborative and respectful ways, created
prototype guides on the development of their design documenting not only
their process, but describing their various observations and ideas as well.
The collaboration with the peers in their classroom required them to mediate
any differences of opinion that occurred and make compromises with each
other. And, their distance partners from Newton North High School’s
Greenengineering Program encouraged them to see their initial failures as an interesting learning opportunity. Prior to each Skype session with Newton
students, students were required to reflect on where they were in process of
developing their prototypes, and develop questions or observations to share
with their Newton North Partners.
MethodMethod: In this Makey Makey exploration unit, students were asked to make four projects using Makey Makey circuit boards to demonstrate their learning:1) re-assigning up, down, left, and right arrow keys on a keyboard to an object to provide access to playing a game on the computer without a keyboard, 2) reprogramming their keyboard to make electronic music using either an online drum, piano, or other instrument, 3) create a game or electronic music controller for someone who does not have any fingers, and 4) to build a 3D prototype tree that stands on a table which will play music when various parts are touched. (Each successive project increasing in complexity.)Prior to these creative explorations, students were given brief instruction on the Makey Makey kit showing and describing its various parts,
modeling how to hook up the Makey Makey to computers, explaining the Makey Makey interaction with the computer i.e. – that to the computer the MaKey MaKey is a keyboard because the MaKey MaKey is a circuit board which senses key presses, mouse clicks, and mouse movements – that there are input keys on the Makey Makey circuit board, with 6 for keyboard keys, and 6 for the mouse, which are accessed from the circuit board with the alligator clips.Through direct instruction students are also refreshed on the basic of electricity, and open and closed circuits were defined. Demonstrations on and closed circuit concepts were given and students were involved demonstrations in a variety of ways, such as demonstrating that people are
conductive by having students hold hands while one person touches “earth” and another the space bar while in a program. Basic concepts regarding computer programming are also discussed.Post direct instruction overview on Makey Makey use, students are asked
follow up questions such as, why it is important to connect to “earth” when creating connections with the Makey Makey. Students needed to understand that the Makey Makey will not work without being closed and recognize that when the lights are flashing that the circuit is closed.Students are then given time to explore the Makey Makey website with a
variety of pre-made Scratch programs using the computer keyboard prior to
demonstrating their learning with their design challenges to ensure a greater depth of understanding on how to use the Makey Makey. Student challenges are completed in successive classes; teams for challenge are assigned based on student performance in previous units as well as teacher knowledge of students who work well together.
MaterialsMaterials: The materials that were used in the construction of the Trees included left over lab material we had in excess:- Tubing
- Plastic Weigh Boats
- Hot glue/hot glue gun
- Thin and Thick Wire
- Cardboard – a lot of it
- Left over foam pieces
- Cardboard poster tubes
- Scroll Saw
- Box Cutters
Take AwayTake away: Throughout this unit, students were able to: demonstrate that a
continuous loop of conducting material is needed for an uninterrupted flow of
current in a circuit, distinguish electrical conductors (materials that allow electricity to flow through them) from insulators (materials that do not allow electricity to flow through them), and were able to recognize and demonstrate that some materials, including resistors, are partial conductors of electricity. This project also gave students the chance to work in smaller groups of two or three, learn some basic programming concepts, and to develop their creative thinking, collaboration, and design skills. It enhanced their learning and innovation skills through research and building, their information, media, and technology skills through online collaboration and research tools/methods; and life and career skills by giving them the opportunity to collaborate and discuss the complex design process with their peers as well as with the students from Newton North High School.- Music Tree ProcessStudents first had to learn about how makey makey circuit boards work and how to tweek the arduino coding before considering their design.
- Student Constructed Underwater RobotsThis unit helps students develop design, collaboration and engineering skills needed when building their own underwater robot. This is a great way to enter into the conversation of building waterproof robots. The students in this program did not focus on competition but the process instead. They became excellent problem solvers and perfected their techniques at soldering, design, understood density changes to achieve neutral buoyancy and more.
- Student Built Aquaponic SystemsWorking within a Biology class, 9th grade students learned about the nitrogen cycle after researching and building their own living units.
DesignStudents worked in small teams and were asked to first do research on the topics of aquaponics to understand the concept and the difference between hydroponics and aquaponics. Understanding the basic needs of plants and fish are essential along with understanding design, tool use and basic engineering.
BuildDue to a large 9th grade class 10 aquaponic systems were built. Each system used a wide range of materials. The image here shows a repurposed seed tray where plants would grow in hydroton on the shallow tray. All systems had pumps, access to light, hydroton, plans, fish and monitoring supplies. This activity relied on students ability to collaborate. More specific reflection on how they worked together would have been useful to them. This is a great opportunity to teach communication as well.
MonitorOnce their systems were built, students needed to monitor the ammonia, pH and nitrogen levels. This image shows a large lower tank where fish were added and the plants living above. Nearby plants are waiting to be transplanted. We started from previously grown plants and some students experimented with growing food from seed. Students also created a poster and give a video description of their projects. - A few reading recommendations
Root-Bernstein BibliographyRoot-Bernstein M & Root-Bernstein RS. (2005). Body thinking beyond dance: A Tools for thinking approach. In L Overby & B Lepczyk, (Eds.), Dance: Current Selected Research, 5, 173-202.Root-Bernstein RS. (1991). Teaching abstracting in an integrated art and science curriculum. RoeperReview, 13 (2), 85-90.Root-Bernstein RS. (1989). Discovering, Inventing and Solving Problems at the Frontiers of Scientific Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Root-Bernstein RS, Allen L, Beach L, Bhadula R, Fast J, Hosey C, Kremkow B, Lapp J, Lonc K, Pawelec K, Podufaly A, Russ C, Tennant L, Vrtis E & Weinlander S. (2008). Arts foster success: Comparison of Nobel prizewinners, Royal Society, National Academy, and Sigma Xi members. J Psychol Sci Tech, 1(2), 51-63.Root‑Bernstein RS, Bernstein M & Garnier HW. Correlations between avocations, scientific style, and professional impact of thirty‑eight scientists of the Eiduson study. Creativity Research Journal, 8, 115‑137.Root-Bernstein RS, LaMore R, Lawton J, Schweitzer J, Root-Bernstein M, Roraback E, Peruski A, Van Dyke M. (2013, in press). Arts, crafts and STEM Innovation: A Network approach to understanding the creative knowledge economy. In M Rush (Ed.), The Arts, New Growth, and Economic Development. Washington DC: National Endowment for the Arts & The Brookings Institution.Root‑Bernstein RS & Root‑Bernstein M. (1999). Sparks of Genius. The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Root-Bernstein RS & Root-Bernstein M. (2004). Artistic scientists and scientific artists: The Link between polymathy and creativity. In R Sternberg, EL Grigorenko, & JL Singer (Eds.), Creativity: From Potential to Realization (pp. 127-151). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.SEAD White Paper: http://seadnetwork.wordpress.com/white-paper-abstracts/final-white-papers/the-importance-of-early-and-persistent-arts-and-crafts-education-for-future-scientists-and-engineers/When I was completing a graduate degree in science/art education, I was stunned by the research the Root-Bernstein team discovered about Nobel prize winners. They stated that those that are excelling in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and winning the Nobel Prize are also good or proficient at some form of art or craft. Their research identified that these successful individuals have developed this ability throughout their entire lives; those that are not winning are not as good or proficient at art.
