We like to tell stories of student successes. That’s what we’re about.
Behind the scenes, though, our faculty are continually exploring and collaborating to set the stage for those great stories. Here is one small example involving a new 3D printing initiative in the MS:
At the end of last year, the MS purchased six portable 3D printers. Once they arrived, it quickly became evident that a smaller group of core faculty would need to take ownership of learning the intricacies of 3D printing and of developing 3D CAD skills. The Middle School Instructional Technology Team (ITT) was tasked with the initiative.
Under the leadership of 7th grade math teacher, Leslie Williams, the five-person team of cross-curricular and cross-grade level teachers meets weekly with the focus of enhancing student learning and supporting curricular goals via technology. The team explores educational technologies, trains middle school faculty, and supports implementation in the classroom. Members of the team, Katie Levinthal, Tyler Gaviria, Andrew Chiaraviglio, Kimberly Shaw and Leslie regularly present ideas and research at middle school faculty meetings during Tech-in-Ten time.
Starting in January, the team delved into the details of CAD and 3D printing. One afternoon I wandered into an ITT meeting and observed the messy and creative process of design exploration. The small printers (designed for children’s hands) were a challenge to calibrate with adult hands. There were printing issues until it was discovered that the designs were not adhering to print plates, and the measurements had to be absolutely exact. In this exploratory stage, the team modeled resiliency, perseverance, and a growth mind set (concepts we teach to our students) by continuing to plug away until it was successful with printing larger scale models.
At recent faculty meetings, ITT members shared team successes and ideas for classroom use. Several faculty members have now reached out to learn how 3D printing and CAD could be integrated into upcoming projects. For example, 6th grade world cultures teachers are interested in having students design items for their Japanese dioramas. In German class, students are creating a virtual German village in Prezi and will design models of the buildings to be printed. To wrap the project, the class will create a 360-degree video of its own. Ideas and connections are developing for future projects in other classes.
Excitement about designing and printing is being fostered on the student side as well. Last week, all middle school students were invited to participate in a 3D-design challenge to create a CA Middle School logo by the end of second trimester. Interested students must learn design skills through Tinkercad to participate. The response has been overwhelming positive, and we anticipate fierce competition and an outstanding product. To keep the initiative rolling, Ms. Williams is offering a third trimester club called Tinker, Code and Create which adds 3D printing design skills to her existing Coding club.
As with all worthwhile initiatives, this one is taking time and small steps, but big faculty and student learning outcomes are anticipated!