With classes starting remotely this year, Genoa Middle School teacher Lee Smith was looking for ways to provide hands-on learning experiences for his engineering students from home.
His counterparts at the district’s other middle schools were doing the same. So they decided to work together, taking a cohesive approach to curriculum for all middle school engineering students for the first time.
“We can’t do what we’ve done before,” Smith said.
These middle school engineering classes give students a foundation on the problem-solving and critical- and creative-thinking skills needed to thrive in engineering programs in high school and beyond. By shifting from in-person to remote learning, the engineering teachers have had to put into practice what they preach: think outside of the box to find innovative solutions for real-world problems.
“This is an awesome time to evolve,” Smith said.
Since August, the teachers — Smith, Bill Wetta, Bill Goldner, Patrick Schubert, Matt Fetrow, Dwight Back and Chad Bell — have met at the Shop at Westerville North each week to review current assignments and develop plans for the coming week.
Their efforts led to new approaches to lessons normally taught in the unique spaces in their schools: the Warehouse at Genoa, the Scrapyard at Heritage, the Island at Blendon and the Sandbox at Walnut Springs. Their rooms have vinyl cutters, laser engravers and 3D printers to support lessons and projects. In a virtual learning environment, the teachers have to take account of what students have access to — and what they don’t — in their homes.
In one project, students built blanket forts using materials they had available. They tracked the number of items used, how many were functional versus aesthetic and an item they wished they had for their fort. They documented their work with photos and videos.
Students embraced the project, going beyond what was expected of them. Some created time-lapse videos, others recorded blanket fort tours. One student has a two-story blanket fort.
In another assignment, students were on a scavenger hunt for household items made up of different parts. They identified each part behind items such as a mechanical pencil, water bottle, soccer trophy — an exercise designed to get them thinking about the dual purposes of each item.
This past week, the students’ lesson was focused on innovation and the unique habits that innovators possess. The design challenges were threefold:
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Break the rules and create a 30-second video using an object for a different purpose.
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Take positive and creative risks for 20 minutes and create an audio recording of what they did and how it impacted them.
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Write at least three sentences sharing what they are curious about and have always wanted to know more about.
As students return to buildings as part of the Blended Model on Monday, the engineering team has continued to develop engaging lessons for those working remotely. They put together design challenge starter packs equipped with straws, paper clips, fishing line, pencils, rubber bands, balloons and other materials for specific projects.
Schubert, who teaches engineering and science at Blendon, said the collaboration time with his engineering peers has been a rare, but welcome opportunity.
“This online experience is having us branch out and having us do things we haven’t done before,” he said.