Tinkering
I've always loved technology and computers but when my oldest son was in fifth grade and designed a website for his state history project, my love for technology in education was sparked. Since then I've been on the never ending quest to keep up with Matt's tech skills. I think what I love best about technology and computers is the flow that I feel when I'm playing around and learning a new piece of software, a new app, figuring out a lesson that will engage my students, or creating something helpful, efficient, or just really cool. Matt is getting married this summer and we have been collaborating on a spreadsheet for everything wedding. This week, while updating a spreadsheet with wedding responses, I noticed he had replaced my clunky formulas for calculating the guest list =if(D4="yes",1,if(D4="no",0, )) and =SUM(E2:E187) with a much more elegant solution =countif(D2:D187,"YES") Although I love to tinker on my own, my biggest ah, ha moments are when I'm tinkering and collaborating and learning with peers, friends, children, and students. Thanks Matt for teaching me something new; for reminding me that we learn best when working with others; and for continuing to challenge me to keep learning!
As I was looking for books and articles for my summer professional reading (and yes my list is long), I came across, Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Although it's been around for awhile, I selected this book to read first as it aligned with my thoughts about myself this week as a tinkerer and learner. As I was reading Chapter 3: Thinking About Thinking many ideas resonated for me.
"When we allow children to experiment, take risks, and play with their own ideas, we give them permission to trust themselves. They begin to see themselves as learners who have good ideas and can transform their own ideas into reality. When we acknowledge that there may be many right answers to a question, it gives children permission to feel safe while thinking and problem solving, not just when they answer correctly. When we honor different kinds of learning styles it becomes acceptable to solve problems without fear." This quote really resonated with me. During the last two weeks of school, I introduced design thinking and Cubelets to my students. They had a ball tinkering and playing. They were completely engaged. I started with a quick mini lesson with a video on Cubelets to orient them to how they work. Then I gave them some time to explore just 3 of the Cubelets. It was a teaser. I asked them to find as many different robots that they could create in 5 minutes with just 3 Cubelets (battery, drive, distance). For some students it was really hard at first. They easily created one or two robots with different behaviors and then were stuck. However, by collaborating with peers and continuing to play, students discovered how to reposition and reorient the cubes to create different behaviors. Tinkering led to understanding. After this initial tinkering, I gave students additional Cubelets and asked them to use the Cubelets to create a robot that would carry a cup of Legos across the table and stop before falling off the table. As students began creating, many came to the testing table feeling successful because they had a robot they could control across the table. I congratulated them. And we talked about how they could improve their design. As they continued to revise their designs, several discovered they could use the distance sensor positioned toward the table to control their robot. Their excitement, as they created a smart robot, was awesome. Their initial answers were "right", but not the most elegant or most efficient. I am trying to help my students discover that there are many right answers. And sometimes the first right answer is just a stepping stone to an even better, more efficient, more elegant solution.
One of the things that my students struggle with is revision. They love to complete an assignment or activity and pronounce, "I'm done." The I'm done is often a product that is far from the student's best work. One of the ideas I really love in this book is the idea of rapid prototyping. I see this applying to my students in so many areas. They have an idea and want to get it put together quickly. However, the part my students don't yet understand is that rapid prototyping is an iterative design process. They need to learn to go back and check their assumptions, adjusting, replanning, fixing, improving, sharing and continuing to spiral through this process to improve their work. The authors go on to share a simple model for design thinking. TMI, Think, Model, Improve. It's simple enough for elementary students to easily embrace. I recently watched a video on the Launch Cycle. While I really liked this model and planned to use it as I introduce more design thinking next year, I also like the simplicity of the TMI acronym for younger students. I love the poster provided in the supplementary resources. https://inventtolearn.com/resources/
Although I agree with most of the ideas in this chapter, this statement had me rereading several times. "Tinkering, when presented as a way to approach problems in an iterative, contemplative fashion, can take its rightful place in schools next to analytical approaches to problem solving." I'm struggling to see that tinkering isn't an analytical approach. If tinkering is done well, it is analytical. While at first it's a guess and check approach. As one progresses to solve a problem through tinkering, they move from guessing to discovering principles and applying those principles to solve the problem. To me, that's analytical.
Looking forward to continuing to read this great book. Chapter 4 is titled, What Makes a Good Project. Signing off to keep reading. :)
