Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Designing With An Impact!

This blog focuses on promoting students voices and actions not only in the classroom as well as in their community.  Patricia Fiorino and I have a 3D printer through Teacher Learning and Leadership Program. The Grade 6 and the kindergarten students  have worked on projects together,  The 3D printing experience has been extended for Grade 6 students by applying their problem solving, collaboration  and creativity skills to passion projects.

To encourage the students' interactions through the school community, early in the year I approached our school resource teacher if the students could design and 3D print  objects that could be useful for the school's special needs students. The problems were presented to the Grade 6 students to design and use the 3D printer for passion projects not only for solving problems, also for serving the community.

The following videos represent the process from iteration of prototyping to the end users.

            The passion project for sequencing blocks.


The passion project for Math skills:

Video 1



Video 2



This link is A screencastify of Joshua explaining the changes on the numbers

Through this process of designing the students learned:
  • To value each others ideas 
  • To rely on each other to problem solve
  • To initiate and take matter themselves by coaching each other
  • To iterate many prototypes through feedback of end user
  • To take control in their own hands
  • To 3D design by monitoring area, ratio, volume, dimensions, coordinates on the plane and determining their next steps
  • To find solutions for the school community (more projects still to be completed)
  • To impact others in their community through a process of solving complex problems and that designing is full of iteration
  • To impact others by their innovations
  • To use the instruments of ideas and technology for a passion
  • To commit to a process of creating and orchestrating solutions in a large group task
  • To get feedback and insight from the users on next steps
  • To initiate innovation of intimacy of consuming time with users and unpacking what works and doesn't work
  • To engineer and think together as a process of research that is lead by them, a shift that is usually lead by adults
  • To accept diversity of thinking and abilities for designing 
  • To bring skills together from technology to multidisciplinary by building tensions of thinking 
  • To experience a process with many intensities for sharing ideas and challenges by getting great insights and solutions in a controlled chaos!

The students always empower me with their creativity,  perseverance and their drive to innovation.  Their drive and diverse thinking brought skills together from collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication with energy and motivation to create. The main concept that the students acquired through this ownership of designing process, is that designing is the iteration from technology to multidisciplinary thinking tensions that creates great insights for creative solutions.

The students independently became equipped with a way of problem solving and continuous exploration with the passion of iteration for success. They mapped their own challenges!
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As educators how are we giving students experiences to connect and understand how to use their talent in serving their community?


6 comments:

  1. What a great learning experience Rola. Ur students are very lucky to have u!

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    1. Thanks Hanan, I learn with them. I am also looking forward to continue learning form you and your students. Thanks for the comment.

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  2. Thank you for providing us some insight into your learning design process... so excited to follow your journey and that of your students! Looking forward to hearing more! Your students and school community are indeed blessed!

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    1. Thank you so much Karen for taking the time and leaving a comment. I appreciate your insight and support. I am blessed to work with amazing colleagues form our board like you.

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  3. Students designing to help students with special needs learn. Purposeful problem solving and design.

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    1. Thank you for the comment it is so important to be part of a learning community.

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