I had the privilege of presenting at the Personalized Learning Summit to school and district leaders from around the country. The topic of my presentation was "Growing a Makerspace." I wanted to give administrators a hands-on experience of what tinkering is and also provide them with a glimpse of the multitude of ways that we reach students through design and making.
I packed my car with what looked like the remnants of a large Rube Goldberg contraption which is pretty much what they were: dozens of 2x4 pieces of wood; marbles, basketballs and bowling balls; a remote control car; various tubes; and several rolls of duct tape.
I packed my car with what looked like the remnants of a large Rube Goldberg contraption which is pretty much what they were: dozens of 2x4 pieces of wood; marbles, basketballs and bowling balls; a remote control car; various tubes; and several rolls of duct tape.
Before my session, I arranged the materials on three tables in the back of a large lecture hall and cleared out all of the tables and chairs to make room for a Chain Reaction activity. Two years ago, I participated in such an activity at an Exploratorium professional development workshop for teachers. After successfully facilitating the activity with our Beijing visiting students earlier this year and with 3rd and 4th grade students in an after school tinkering class, it was my turn to lead it with a group of adults.
The instructions are simple. Each group of 4-5 people has a "Begin" block (laser-engraved in English and Mandarin since they were also used with our visiting students) and an "End" block about twenty feet apart on the floor. The challenge is to use any of the available materials to create movement between the two blocks in order to continue the chain reaction from "Begin" to "End" (the next group's "Begin" block is positioned so that it gets toppled by the previous group's "End" block). If everything goes right (it rarely does!), it's like a giant domino sequence or marble run.
My favorite aspect of the Chain Reaction activity -- besides highlighting important aspects of a maker mindset including curiosity, creativity with familiar and unfamiliar materials, teamwork, and perseverance -- is the energy in the room. There is a constant buzz as people explore materials, discuss ideas, and go through a process of trial and error. We see the same thing when we work with our students and the outcomes are also similar. As with many things in life, the process is more important than the product. But we also strive for a great product. And you can see, and hear, the excitement in the room in the video above. It's amazing what can be accomplished in a short amount of time (in this case, 30 minutes) by a group of people working as a team with a clear goal and manageable constraints.
— Tatian Greenleaf
My favorite aspect of the Chain Reaction activity -- besides highlighting important aspects of a maker mindset including curiosity, creativity with familiar and unfamiliar materials, teamwork, and perseverance -- is the energy in the room. There is a constant buzz as people explore materials, discuss ideas, and go through a process of trial and error. We see the same thing when we work with our students and the outcomes are also similar. As with many things in life, the process is more important than the product. But we also strive for a great product. And you can see, and hear, the excitement in the room in the video above. It's amazing what can be accomplished in a short amount of time (in this case, 30 minutes) by a group of people working as a team with a clear goal and manageable constraints.
— Tatian Greenleaf
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