3. Pedagogical theories and socio-emotional learning

This week I worked on laser cutting.

Laser Cutting & Engraving

I decided to make a birthday present for my math teacher friend. I was inspired by a blog I saw about M.C. Escher’s tesselating reptiles. So, I found a simplified image of one of the lizards, did a centerline trace in CorelDraw to vectorize the lines of the drawing, and then used the shaping tool “boundary” to make an additional outline to cut. The blue lines were engraved or “scored” by using settings that would not cut all the way through the wood. The red lines used settings that would cut through the wood. I found several pieces of scrap 1/8” wood to give the final product a more complex look with various colors.

Reflection

I have been a fan of Papert and Constructionism since I read the book “Invent to Learn” by Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager sometime around 2015. The first two chapters of their book were homework when I went to a Sparkfun Arduino training event. It resonated with me because I had been teaching in a Paideia School which emphasized constructivism through socratic seminar and dialogue. I was intrigued because if students could make meaning through thinking, imagine what they could do through making! Thus began my journey into the makers movement and eventually to move from a pure science teacher into a Fab Lab teacher (which I view as an applied science teacher in many ways).