Photo courtesy of Ashley E. McCombs.
Kindergartners Russell Chambliss and Chiles Novak display a dog and little girls they made with the 3-D printer.
Thanks to support provided from the PTO and through a Mountain Brook Schools’ Institute for Innovation Grant awarded last spring, Mountain Brook Elementary MakerSpace has provided a place where the imagination, creativity, problem-solving, and coding skills of our 21st century learners are coming to life. Teachers Jennifer Jinnette, Bill Andrews, Shannon Millhouse, Thea Patrick (MBE technology coordinator) and Donna Williamson (MBS technology director) continue to seek ways to correlate STEM (Science, Technology, Math, Engineering) content standards with computer programming and 3-D printing in order to make learning rigorous and relevant for students.
Here are highlights of the 2015-2016 school year successes in the MakerSpace:
Kindergarten: Kindergartners scanned and printed plastic replicas of sculptures they originally designed out of wood particles and glue composite.
Fourth grade: Project Ignite has been set up and enabled students to explore circuitry and 3-D design.
Fifth grade: Project Ignite and Tinkercad lessons are providing venues for students to design and print artifacts for their World Projects.
Sixth grade: Students completed a technical writing assignment where they explained aspects of the Tinkercad program and reflected on the outcomes. Since measurement standards can be found in both grade levels, fourth- and sixth-grade teachers are planning a unit of study where sixth-graders will teach fourth-graders area and perimeter lessons that involve designing floor plans with printed model houses. Sixth-grade student Isabella Donner states, “I really wanted to make a present for my sister. I wanted to make her a vase or a flower pot. I scanned a Mason jar, imported it into Tinkercad, and used Tinkercad to create and add decorations to the Mason jar. I learned that I could take an everyday object and change it to make it my own.”
PAGE: A technology and design interest group utilizes Sculptris in addition to Tinkercad to plan, create and print projects.
Shannon Millhouse provides a glimpse into the impact these experiences have had on student learning: “This year in the MBE MakerSpace, fourth, fifth- and sixth-grade students have learned to use CAD (Computer Assisted Design) programs. With these programs, they have planned, designed and printed three-dimensional items. They have created and printed chess pieces, animals, key rings, hairbrush holders for lockers, organizers for desks, and decorative pieces with sayings and initials on them. Some students created holiday gifts for family members. Through the design process, they applied many math concepts including: measurement, volume, integer, coordinate plane and spatial skills. Older students gained experience with the process of designing, evaluating results, revising and reflecting on the final outcomes.”
MakerSpaces are emerging all around the world at a rapid pace. Joining in on the exploration and discovery has resulted in increased engagement and ownership of learning for both students and teachers. Others in the school have expressed creative curiosity and have already utilized this innovative space after receiving training from their peers who initiated the idea. Ongoing professional development will be the keystone for the success of the maker movement at MBE.
The future holds many possibilities to expand these effective and challenging design practices to a broader audience where vertical partnerships and cross-curricular studies can be fostered.
– Submitted by Ashley E. McCombs, assistant principal
