Making in School – Resources


This activity is from the Systems-Thinking Playbook
Introduction
Participants must throw a ball or object in a particular order until it has been passed to every person. In this activity, page the goal is not to improve the time, find but rather to increase the number of objects being tossed at the same time. Debrief can include concepts such as exponential growth, overshoot and collapse, and shifting dominance
Equipment/Supplies
Simple soft objects that can be tossed around among students. Soft balls such as Koosh, Fleece, or Foam, small stuffed animals like beanie babies, juggling balls, tennis balls in socks, just about anything that can be easily caught in a single hand will work.
Activity/Process
Explain to students that they are tasked with this Group Challenge. Pass the ball around the circle until each participant has gotten it just once, and then return the ball to the leader. Each person must get it just once, and you cannot pass it to the person next to you. You must call out the name of the person who you are tossing the ball or object to. After the first round, time the group from start to finish. Challenge them to repeat the process, and beat their time. You can allow them a few rounds to beat their best time. When you feel the group has begun to feel confident at this task, introduce a second ball or object to toss. You can continue to introduce additional objects as the groups improves their time and skill with one or more balls or object. The systems thinking playbook: Exercises to stretch and build learning and systems thinking capabilities (1996) by Booth Sweeney, L, D Meadows

WHAT IS AGILE?
Excellent description of Agile Values and how they are applied.
Also descriptions of how it feels to work in an agile framework.

This comes from the Agile Manifesto of Software Development,
but can easily transfer and describe how we approach this in learning environment.

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

Agile Classrooms Website

The Daily Standup

WHAT IS AGILE?
Excellent description of Agile Values and how they are applied.
Also descriptions of how it feels to work in an agile framework.

This comes from the Agile Manifesto of Software Development,
but can easily transfer and describe how we approach this in learning environment.

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

Agile Classrooms Website

The Daily Standup

MindSet Works – Brain Research and the Growth Mindset

Edutopia Tools for Developing Focus – with Daniel Goleman
Educational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

The Social Neuroscience of Education
“The Social Neuroscience of Education shares the most current neurological and sociological intelligence about creating classrooms that offer and reward emotional empowerment,
where brains are “turned on” so that students can connect and enjoy learning. And just as important as turning on students’ brains, Cozolino points out, is supporting educators: Attachment learning provides the same fertile foundation to excite and challenge teachers.”

Rules of Extreme Programming
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-through-a-makers-lens-patrick-waters

Hybrid Pedagogy – Situating Maker Spaces in Schools

Reaching All Learners

How the Makers Movement is transforming education

Learning By Making – Agency By Design and the rise of Maker Centered Education Harvard Graduate School of Education

Learning by Making by Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Magazine