Module 4 Field Activity: Interdisciplinary Work in Physical Computing¶
“The Birds Aren’t Real” - A Collaborative Project Between Shop and Computer Class¶
For this field activity, I collaborated with Paul, the 5th grade computer teacher, to design an interdisciplinary project that integrated media literacy, critical thinking, creative engineering, 3-D building, and block-based programming. In computer class, Paul had been working with students to explore how misinformation spreads online. They examined the satirical conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real” as a vehicle for discussing logical fallacies and the strategies used to convince audiences of false claims.
Together, Paul and I co-developed shared learning objectives, with a central goal: for students to express their understanding of misinformation and logical fallacies through a hands-on, creative engineering project. In shop class, students were tasked with building three-dimensional bird sculptures that represented both physical and behavioral traits of birds, while also incorporating elements from the “Birds Aren’t Real” hoax. Their sculptures needed to include coded responses triggered by environmental sensors, such as a bird spinning or lighting up in reaction to sound, using microbit microcontrollers.
List of Learning Goals:
Computer Class Learning Objectives:
- Students will understand how misinformation spreads.
- Students will be able to use inputs to trigger responses in block-based programming.
Shop Class Learning Objectives:
- Students will design and build a structurally sound 3D bird.
- Students will plan and edit their designs through drawing and notation.
Shared Learning Objectives:
- Students will be able to communicate media literacy through creative engineering projects.
- Students will be able to apply design thinking and block-based programming to animate physical objects.
- Students will be able to collaborate and creatively problem solve with peers while building and coding.
We began the conversation in shop. Students informed me about the conspiracy theory and the tactics used to convince people. After a brief discussion, pairs chose which part of the conspiracy they would focus on and sketched their initial bird sculptures. After running this part with kids, I developed a planning sheet to add to my Scopes lesson plan. I think the sheet would have supported some of my students who struggle with executive functioning better than an open-ended sketch and verbal instructions.
One group designed a Griffin.
Students began building during the first session. I limited the materials option to include scrap pieces and anything in our extras bins as long as there was no cutting. This was partly because our scroll saw was out for repair, and also to expedite the project.
In our second shop session, students finished building and painted their sculptures. This was the last day that they were allowed to use wet materials to protect the electronics, once they were introduced.
In computer, students worked in pairs and began their programming by completing microbit tutorials to learn the basics of block-based coding. Once they started building code specific to their project, they either adapted tutorial code to suit their project’s needs or built their programs from scratch. We encouraged them to build on the code significantly, employ flexibility in their outcomes, and creativity in their coding approaches to support individualized learning paths.
In our third session, I did a quick demonstration to show how options for wiring. I encouraged the use of copper tape, copper wire, and brads as much as possible because these felt in line with familiar art materials. For groups using servos, we did use alligator clips to connect to microbits.
After my demo, we brought it all together and students wired their microbit and attached servos & LEDs. They were allowed to add hot glue and details like feathers and googly eyes.
Throughout the project, Paul and I met weekly to align our planning, discuss student progress, and coordinate classroom support. We made a concerted effort to be present in one another’s classes whenever possible. As the projects progressed, students required frequent support during both the coding and wiring phases, particularly when integrating sensors and electronics into their sculptures. Having multiple educators in the room proved to be invaluable. During one class session, the 5th grade science teacher joined us, which was especially helpful as she had supported students with a similar microbit sensing sculpture in shop last year.
The project lasted approximately four weeks, encompassing four shop classes and four computer science sessions, including one joint class. By the end of the unit, about half of the sculptures were fully completed, and the remaining projects were approximately 90% finished. Overall, the collaboration was meaningful, and the interdisciplinary approach provided students with a rich opportunity to merge technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking about digital information.
Observations¶
All students were engaged in the lesson and excited about the opportunity to code using micro:bit. While some students quickly grasped the block-based programming concepts and progressed through the tutorials with ease, others found it more challenging to follow each step. These students often had to revisit earlier parts of the tutorial to correct missed or misunderstood instructions. This created a valuable opportunity to pair more proficient coders with peers who needed support, fostering peer-to-peer learning and reinforcing a collaborative classroom environment.
Although students worked in pairs to design and build their bird sculptures in shop, we made a deliberate decision to have them complete the coding tutorials independently. This ensured that each student gained direct experience with coding fundamentals and allowed for continuity in the event of a partner’s absence. It also reinforced personal accountability, as every student needed to be equipped to contribute to the coding phase of their project.
While we hoped the coding tutorials would take less time, we recognized that students bring a range of learning needs to the classroom. Some required emotional support, while others needed more direct instruction in navigating the technical aspects of coding. This resulted in a slower pace overall, as frequent teacher check-ins were necessary and limited our ability to move efficiently between student groups. Balancing individualized support with whole-class progress remains an ongoing challenge in collaborative, hands-on projects like this one. In the future, I would incorporate template printouts to help students who benefit from an off-screen support. This worked for one group in the moment, and I think that it could have benefited more groups if I had prepared templates beforehand.
The lesson served as an authentic assessment of students’ media literacy skills. When the sculpture portion of the project was introduced, students had not yet been told that it would connect to their prior work analyzing logical fallacies and misinformation online. This gave us a chance to observe what students had truly internalized from their discussions in computer class. During the class discussion about the “Birds Aren’t Real” conspiracy theory, students had to draw on their existing knowledge—without prompting—about how arguments are constructed to mislead audiences, and how logical fallacies contribute to misinformation. It was exciting to see them activate this understanding and apply it in a new context.
The second half of the project—representing the hoax through creative engineering—allowed students to express their understanding through 3-D design. This was an engaging and effective way to visualize their thinking in a tangible form. Their sculptures became artistic expressions of the hoax, making abstract concepts both physical and playful.
In the future, I would like to introduce microbit earlier in the year so that students are already comfortable with the coding interface and foundational concepts prior to this project. Doing so would allow us to spend more time focusing on writing original code for the sculpture’s unique responses, rather than covering the basics during the project timeline.
I was especially impressed by how quickly students picked up the coding once they got started and by the level of detail they brought to their sculptures. Even before I introduced feathers, students were already experimenting with popsicle sticks and scrap wood to create textural details alluding to feathers. Their thoughtful choices demonstrated a strong commitment to making their sculptures convincingly bird-like, even while playfully challenging the idea that birds are real.
Assessment:¶
This was my first time using an assessment protocol in shop. The culture of assessing students in the shop program has always been focused on student effort. A soft assessment of tool usage and engineering skills is discussed in reports, but we never grade skills.
To help inform our assessment, I began having students record video shares of their birds. They were instructed to share the story of the bird, how it relates to the conspiracy theory, and how it functions.
Paul and I have not had time to use the rubric (along with drawings, videos, code, and final projects) to assess each sculpture, but we have a plan to do this next week.
Without having looked deeply at their work, I would assess the class the following:
Understanding How Misinformation Spreads:
Meets Expectations
Communicating Media Literacy Through Creative Engineering
1/2 Exceeds & 1/2 Meets Expectations
Applying Design Thinking & Programming into a Functioning Animated Sculpture Over 1/2 Exceed Expectations
Using Inputs to Trigger Responses in Block-Coding
Exceeds Expectations
Communication & Collaboration
Exceeds Expectations
Gallery of Student Work¶
Surveilance Bird on Pole - It spins in response to loud sounds.
Griffin - The chest feathers spin in response to a touch of the tail.
Woodpecker - It pecks in respons to a button being pushed.
In flight - A scrolling message is displayed on the LED screen when the flap is lifted, tilting the microbit.
Lays an Egg in response to a button pushed.
Different messages are displayed with different button and pin pushes. Then a secret message is displayed when a bright light shines on the sculpture.
This is the first round of birds installed into the shop show.
Check out the video!
Individual Bird Videos:
Resources¶
Bird’s Aren’t Real Scopes Lesson
Link to Microbit Introduction Slides
Reflections:¶
1. Collaboration: Reflect on how you worked with colleagues or FLA participants during the Field Activity. At what stages of development and testing did the collaborator contribute? Please be detailed in your description. How did your collaborator’s perspective change the way you developed the lesson?
Paul and I collaborated well on this project. We have worked on projects before, and this felt like an easy partnership. We met weekly to plan the following week’s schedule and to coordinate where we could integrate into each other’s classes. Paul reviewed my plans for the individual lessons and gave me feedback on my timeline. More often than not, I was trying to accomplish too much in a session, and he would point this out so that we could scale back.
In general, I appreciate Paul’s perspective on digital literacy and his approach to engaging kids in critical thinking around their role as gatherers and dispersers of information. When we met to brainstorm potential collaborations, his introduction of The Birds Aren’t Real to 5th-graders was immediately intriguing. I had entered into the conversation thinking solely about a collaboration over microbit integration, and his description of the hoax and class discussions pushed the project into embodying their classwork through animated sculptures.
Instructional Challenges: What challenges did you encounter while teaching this lesson? How did you address or plan to address them? How are diverse learners’ needs being met in the lesson plan facilitation?
While we hoped the coding tutorials would take less time, we recognized that students bring a range of learning needs to the classroom. Some required emotional support, while others needed more direct instruction in navigating the technical aspects of coding. This resulted in a slower pace overall, as frequent teacher check-ins were necessary and limited our ability to move efficiently between student groups. Balancing individualized support with whole-class progress remains an ongoing challenge in collaborative, hands-on projects like this one.
Our initial plan was to have more teacher support available by way of more teachers in the room at once. This did help greatly. In addition to this, I would plan better templates and printouts to help students move along independently, as well as introduce the Microbits earlier in the year so that this was not students’ first encounter with the programming.
3. Integrating Disciplines: Where does your lesson plan fall on the continuum and why? How might you move the lesson plan along the continuum to the next level? Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Transdisciplinary
Our project falls in the interdisciplinary range, because while there is a nature theme, the learning goals are specific to computer and wood shop. In the future, it could be fun to push the curriculum into transdisciplinary and include a writing or science component.
4. AI Usage: If you used AI, describe how it was used and in which steps of the Field Activity.
I used AI to help me refine my rubric for this lesson. I gave it my learning objects, main skills that the rubric would analyze, the age group, a lesson summary, and to write it for a project based lesson. I then edited the rubric so that the assessment encompassed the skills I was looking for students to develop.
5. Reflect on the course in general:
How has your teaching changed as a result of this course?
This course has significantly transformed my teaching practice by equipping me with the skills and confidence to create my own teaching aids using digital fabrication and coding. I’ve moved beyond nature and object-based approaches, especially in science instruction, to integrate coding and digital fabrication in ways that make my lessons more interactive and exciting for students. This shift has opened up real possibilities for designing environmental data collection projects that align with my long-standing goals.
Additionally, I now have a broader toolkit to develop lessons that engage a wider range of learners, including those who thrive with hands-on, visual, or tech-based activities. This has deepened my commitment to inclusive, multimodal learning. It has also given me opportunities to create exposure to tech and digital fabrication for students who don’t have access or might not naturally gravitate to these interests.
What are some concepts that you would like to learn more about?
One area that sparked my curiosity during the course was the process of engineering bio-plastics. I found it fascinating and plan to experiment with different recipes over the summer to better understand the material’s potential for classroom use. Another area I’m eager to explore is the life cycle of electronics, from production to usage and disposal as well as AI and digital fabrication materials, through both sustainability and humanitarian lenses. I want to be able to bring these conversations into the classroom alongside the technical skills, helping students think critically about the broader impact of technology.
How can you support other teachers in your practice to use digital fabrication with their students?
Over the past year, I’ve actively supported my colleagues by teaching them how to operate the digital fabrication and tech integration tools we have available, like the laser cutter and Makey Makey Extension for Scratch. I’ve also collaborated with individual students who were interested in using these tools for projects in other classes, helping bridge digital fabrication into different subject areas. I see this role as a facilitator and advocate - helping to build confidence in others to try out new tools and showing how digital fabrication can enrich a wide variety of classroom experiences.