In fifteen days, the class of 2018 will showcase their work at Maker Faire, deemed the “greatest show and tell on Earth,” and for good reason. Showcasing work publicly is a healthy form of external reward, allowing others to learn from and get inspired by your hard work. Hillbrook will be celebrating its third year hosting a booth to showcase our student’s inventions, and year after year our students stand out for their confidence, creativity and “can-do” mindset.

Practicing problem-based-learning in the iLab for three years, I have designed and researched innovative curriculum to study the benefits of Maker Programs in a PK-8 educational setting. As part of a cohort of researchers and practitioners at Stanford to discuss best practice and relevant research in Maker Education, this collaboration has taught me, and many others looking to our program for inspiration and direction, the real value of applying the design process in education.

Using the design process to help others, as a platform to engage students in science content or acting out the steps of the scientific process, is a classically human form of learning, and it works. In a recent New York Times post, using design to solve problems was credited for getting more girls to enroll in engineering course work. The best predictor of STEM career choice is whether they self-report by the end of middle school, as seeing themselves as scientists when they “grow up” (Maltese & Tai, 2011). Students who tinker, question and invent, are more likely to develop positive identities that encourage a life-long love of science, math and the creative process.

From Hillbrook’s smallest makers in Kindergarten, to Hillbrook’s graduating class of 2015, examples of living the design process and sharing work abound, and inspire.

For instance, in Problem based Science, 5th graders spend 2/3rds of the year discovering how to apply skills and content towards the creation of a complex artifact that fills a need on campus. With the help of 10 Hillbrook faculty and staff members, volunteers Lucas Wilson (mechanical engineer), and Chris McKenzie (parent to Madelynne ‘18), along with the promise of sharing work at this year’s Maker Faire, the class of 2018 has been deeply immersed in the design process.

Taking time for the design process encourages academic risk taking and collaboration. Deep projects also support literacy in science, math, research and writing. Mathematical literacy is applied when calculating ratios, geometric dimensions and scale. Students practice self-directed literacy and executive functioning when crafting a professional email to their adult collaborator asking to schedule a time to test their design. Knowing when your design is ready for testing and feedback without the teacher telling you…that is living the design process! Questioned how a trebuchet was filling a need, 5th grader Eli and his team spent hours crafting a persuasive essay in defense of the medieval weapon of siege. ”Knowledge of how to use a dangerous tool makes it less dangerous. If you know how to use something correctly, there is less room for error. The trebuchet will teach people to be more careful,” argues Eli, unaware of how cool technologies and learning about ballistics can support social emotional learning in boys. Understanding your ideas well enough to “sell” them to others? That is living the design process.

Members of the class of 2015 have also lived the design process. From an idea first formed in 2013, to seeing boxes of “10 Penny Nails” resting against an asymmetrical roofline, the building of the Hillbrook History House has been a year-long showcase of work in the heart of our campus.

Perhaps the greatest lesson that I have learned from Maker Education is that hands on learning, and real problem solving can bring out the creative genius in students. It has been especially successful for students with learning differences, such as 5th grader Morgan, who began the year with some trepidation having been diagnosed with dyslexia. Free of the pressures of dysgraphia or spelling, she used learner friendly technologies (such as Explain Everything and iMovie) to tell her learning story, and what a story it has been. In short order, Morgan learned to 3-D print, laser cut, make scale models, code in Scratch, design interaction devices for video games that teach math to younger students, and designed a board game that promotes creativity and teamwork. Solving problems in your community, working at your full potential, and making something that works…that is living the design process.

Once making the shift to a learning facilitator, I was able to expand my own understanding of how students learn and share that knowledge globally via webinars, local Maker Educator meetups, conferences and of course digital professional learning networks, such as Twitter. A story I proudly shared at this year’s CAIS regional conference came from earlier this year. A projector was broken and I was about to email for tech-help, my advisee Raya reminded me to practice a “maker mindset” when she exclaimed, “Ms. Flores, this is the ilab; we have tools. We can fix it!” and then she proceeded to do so. Access to real tools, knowing when to apply them spontaneously…that is living the design process.

Maker Education reminds us that real work takes time and trust in learners. Trust is formed when you keep an optimistic view of children, their desire to do good, and their ability to self-direct when engaged by relevant content. If you’re interested in seeing how making fosters a sense of agency, that can lead to making the world a better place, please come to Maker Faire, May 16th and 17th, and hear it from our inventors first hand.
Images of Spring Hard Problem Class of 2018

Works Cited

  1. Maltese, Adam V., and Robert H. Tai. “Pipeline Persistence: Examining the Association of Educational Experiences with Earned Degrees in STEM among U.S. Students.” Science Education 95.5 (2011): 877-907.