3. Pedagogical theories and socio-emotional learning

This week we worked on using the laser cutter. We tried using multiple programs to make a 2D design. The first one we tried was Shapr3D, but it was too advanced for my beginner brain. Then, we tried Inkscape, which angered me because the default color for shapes was “white” and it was not intuitive at all on how to change it. Also, everytime the program loads, your workspace is about 20 x 20 pixels and need to be super zoomed in, which requires the use of a mouse wheel which I didn’t have. So, I asked a few coworkers and found that most schools are using Tinkercad. I found out Tinkercad is simple and effective for making 3D and 2D products. Next, I needed to decide what to make. I needed a new stationary holder as this cup is just not doing it for anyone. I wanted to make something that can easily hold scissors, glue, and pencils for a table of four people.

So I went to TinkerCad, measured a glue stick, pencil, and scissors, and created a 2D object that would fit these things.

With a bit of help, we converted the file to be able to be read by our laser cutter and the PC that uses a specific program to print. We started printing it and it seemed to be going fine.

After printing, I took the top back to the classroom to see if all of our stationary fit, which it did very well. I made the holes slightly larger than the jobjects we have in case we have to use different brands of pencils/glue in the future.

Great success! I am sure once the bottom is also printed, many teachers will be begging for it for their tables too!

Reflection:

One lesson that I did before was about growing plants in a biodegradable pot. The learning outcome was for students to know how deep to plant a seed, and how to keep it watered enough so that it would turn into a seedling. To identify which cup was theirs, they used markers on the outside of the cup to draw pictures and write their names. In hindsight, if those seeds ever sprouted, the marker probably would have not been great for the ground. This is where a laser cut stick may have been an easier idea. This stick could poke out of the ground and each student could type their name into a text box which would be laser cut onto the stick to identify which student, grade, and even the seed planted.

Another lesson I had before was about the weather cycle. Grade 5 students learned about the 4 main stages of the weather cycle (collection, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.) We also did cycles for animals (frogs), bugs ( butteflies,) etc. Laser cut puzzle pieces with the animals different life stages, and a place to put the names of those stages, could be a fun hands on activity for kids.

The most important things I consider when I prepare a lesson are feasibility and lesson outcomes. There are a lot of things I wish we could do but they are just not possible with the limits of materials, location/space, or resources. For example, there are many science experiments I would like to do, but we don’t have the materials to do them, and sometimes ordering them involves a long, often impossible, process. Lesson outcomes always come from the curriculums learning outcomes for the grade they are in. In terms of the DF process, I am not sure if any curriculums (particually the British curriculum,) have updated their standards in the era of digital fabrication and Makerspaces. When I created our yearly plan last year, the British standards did not include anything about makerspaces, but included basic things such as “use a wide range of tools and materials to perform practical tasks such as cutting, shaping, joining, and finishing.” I would be happy to stretch this meaning to include DF!

When preparing lessons, I do not often consider socio-emotional learning as much as I should. There are some lessons where I incorporate it more than others, I feel like SEL lessons are usually taught by homeroom teachers. We even have essentially an SEL support teacher, who also is a counselor, who teaches each class one SEL lesson a week. I do consider learning difficulties of students when preparing lessons and incorporate that into my classroom management, seating arrangements, and assignments. This also plays into differentiation. For example, for students that struggle with fine motor skills, I can print out a chart for them instead of having them draw it into their notebooks. After this lecture, I realized there are ways to use DF to help with SEL as well. There are so many things we can make, with students and for students, that can help them grow up socio-emotionally. Hopefully I can use those ideas in future lessons!