Page 28 - THE Journal, April/May 2017

STEAM
A makerspace at Montour School District in McKees Rocks, PA. Photo credit: Melissa Wallace, Montour School District
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| APRIL/MAY 2017
Maker culture is very new to many teachers, and starting small and simple can help them make the transition. According to Kosarych, “by allowing the teachers to go in there and just let their kids explore, it’s helping both the teachers and students get comfortable.”
Implementing the Makerspace
Once a school district has completed the initial planning phase of their makerspace initiative, it’s time to let teachers and students start tinkering, creating and designing. Here, our expert educators offer seven tips for successful makerspace implementation.
1. Find Teachers to Champion the Movement
Some teachers may be reluctant to venture into the maker- space. Finding at least one teacher in the school who has experi- ence with maker culture, or who is confident in trying it out, can help break the ice for other teachers.
“You can’t try these exciting learning initiatives without true champions for your building and your schools,” Montour School District’s Aglio said.
2. Offer PD for Teachers
Makerspace champions can help their colleagues learn how to operate equipment or integrate tools into a lesson. Winnetka Public Schools uses institute days as opportunities for teach- ers to teach each other. During an institute day in February, two makerspace teachers led sessions about how to use makerspace materials and what classes can do in a makerspace.
Another school in the district held a makerspace open house, with the students as the guides.
“They had students set up in each of the spaces, and the adults rotated through the spaces to learn about different activities that they could do,” said Miller, director
of technology in the district. “It was the students teaching the teachers.”
3. Allow Teachers to Borrow Equipment for Classroom Use
Some districts support a school-wide maker culture by al- lowing teachers to check out equipment and materials from the makerspace for use in the classroom. “We call it a lending library, where it’s a lending tech library, so people can come in and check out to use in their room and come back and check in,” Aglio said.
“If you’re trying to incorporate a specific concept or skill into your lesson, the lending library gives you the opportunity to take that item back to your room and make it a part of your whole lesson,” kindergarten teacher Kosarych said.
4. Let Kids Use It During Free Time
Makerspaces can serve as an ideal venue for students to develop the 21st century learning skills of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. “It’s all about play. You want the kids playing,” Miller said. “And they are playing, but they’re actually learning some valuable skills. They’re learning to collaborate and communicate and think critically and [learning] that failure is OK.”
While students may enjoy using the makerspace as part of the school curriculum, many are enthusiastic about working on their own projects outside of class time. At Winnetka Public Schools, the middle schools open the makerspaces to students before school and at lunch “and kids are taking advantage of that,” Miller said. “We have kids that are lined up to get into
the school at 7:30, when we don’t start until 8:25. Their parents used to be pushing them out of bed at 8:20 in the past, and now they’re there every day and anxious to learn and do in the makerspace.”
Several student clubs have also evolved out of the makerspace, including a sewing club, a woodworking club and a coding club.
5. Keep it Organized and Secure
With so many people using equipment and materials in the makerspace or taking them to the classroom, it can be easy for things to go missing or get broken. It’s important to create a system for organizing items — in clear plastic bins on shelves, for example — and encourage students to maintain that system.
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