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Challenge Based Learning in Makerspaces: How to Use Design to Cultivate Creativity
(Note: this presentation is a slightly updated version of Design Challenges in Makerspaces)
Design challenges have the power to encourage creativity in your students – by providing limitations and guidelines, students can actually become more creative. Learn strategies for creating design prompts, running challenges and incorporating the design process into projects with your students. We’ll discuss how to create open-ended challenges and material-specific challenges in a way that will maximize your students’ creativity, as well as how to create passive design challenges that require minimal supervision. We’ll talk about some of the problems that educators face when running challenges, how to help your students focus, and balancing guided projects, design challenges and open-ended exploration. Whether you’ve had a makerspace up and running for years or are just getting started with the Maker Movement, you will leave this session feeling equipped to lead your students through design challenges that will spark their creative genius.
Resources
Challenge Based Learning in the School Library Makerspace
My book that I co-wrote along with Colleen and Aaron Graves. Much of this presentation is based off of the content of this book, so if you find this presentation valuable, you’ll probably like the book too.
In this book, we go into depth about how to create a maker culture within your school, develop an interactive learning space and more. We discuss the logistics of hosting maker workshops, creating design challenge prompts and documenting the learning process.
Design Challenges at Stewart Middle Magnet School:
- A Student Designed Maker Cart (School Library Journal)
- How to Run a Rubber Band Launcher Challenge
- Stewart Cardboard Challenge
- The Stewart-Lamar Catapult Challenge
- The 2015 Cardboard Challenges
- K’nex Club and Digital Learning Day
- K’nex Club: Making Models of Real Places
Curriculum Connections:
More related posts:
- How to Run an Awesome Afterschool Makers Club
- The Value of Guided Projects in Makerspaces
- How to Run a Super Circuit Bracelet Workshop
- The 2016 Stewart Maker Fair
Other resources mentioned:
- Colleen Graves’ post on Makerspace Storage
- Colleen Graves’ Elementary Library Makerspace Resources
- Novel Engineering and Novel Engineering Challenges
Videos: