Student Engagement
App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth increases Learner Confidence and Problem Solving Skills through Maker Magic
“Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit.”-App Development Instructor
Becoming good at anything is a process. Educators know that students must develop confidence in the face of mistakes and failure, because they are truly an opportunity for learning. As Bob Lenz explains in Edutopia, “failure is an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths as well as their areas of improvement — all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher,” (Failure is Essential to Learning, 2015).
In this report from App Development and 3D Printing for At-Risk Youth, you’ll hear more about how a partnership at Helensview Alternative High School in Portland, Oregon, helped students build confidence and work through failure by developing 3D printed objects and apps. By integrating “maker” culture which focuses on DIY (do it yourself) engineering, students gained confidence and developed problem solving skills. Learn more below!
Why support students in making and developing?
According to the funding proposal “When Google released their diversity stats it came as no surprise that nearly every field was dominated by white men” so with an interest in building interest in STEM careers, the non-profit organization ChickTech partnered with high school teacher Brian Granse to offer making opportunities in the classroom. ChickTech, which focuses on increasing gender diversity in technology through hands-on activities, supported Helensview educators in pursuing the following project goals:
- Provide at-risk students from Helensview Alternative High School with technical workshops
- Allow students to create unique 3D printed objects and apps
- Improve students’ confidence and interest in learning
- Create lessons that can be improved upon next year and shared with others
How can you use 3D printing and app development to enhance learning and student interest?
In this project, students were offered access to workshops instead of their regularly scheduled classes. For five weeks, regular 3 hour sessions were offered on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Initially, others in the school were concerned about the length of the sessions, given that most students had a hard time staying involved in 45 minute classes. As the students became engaged and interested, the school community was pleasantly surprised. Students were not only engaged, but some stayed after school had ended to continue to work on their projects, a feat the report called “unheard-of” for this school.
Workshops focused on two types of making, 3D printing and app development.
3D Printing Layers Learning in Geometry and Measurement with Practical Knowledge
In the 3D printing workshops, students created multiple unique 3-D printed objects they could later take home. These included:
- personalized name plates
- custom-shaped containers
- bracelets (also personalized)
- toy cars
The workshops supported the students in learning important concepts and skills for 3D printing (explained here by 3Dify) over the course of creating the various designs, including:
- creating 3D objects using basic sketch tools such as rectangles and circles
- customizing objects with text
- adding loops to an initial sketch to build a 3D object in successive layers
- using a computer to navigate three-dimensional space
- drawing complex sketches using geometry for practical objects such as containers
- creating objects based on real-world measurements
- creating objects with functional wheels
- sketching flat designs onto curved surfaces
The more that the students learned, the more creativity they expressed. The most rewarding project for the instructors was the most complex and required the students to integrate all of the skills they were learning over time. By creating a custom built car model including customized mufflers, tailpipes, headlights, spoilers and wheels the students moved way beyond 3D modeling and into the real world – their designs even had to follow strict guidelines in order to be printable. “By the end, the students who clearly wanted to be designers stood out as did the students who wanted to be the builders of 3D printers” (Project Report) highlighting the effectiveness of the workshops focused on these skills.
App Development Builds Confidence in Problem Solving and Learning from Failure
The second series of workshops focused on app development, which also required the students to demonstrate complex problem solving skills. To get started, students followed a tutorial to learn TouchDevelop, an app creation tool, before brainstorming ideas for apps they would like to create. Once they decided what apps they wanted to develop they worked in teams to create them.
Learning how to develop apps required the students to practice and apply the following skills:
- problem solving
- content creation
- following directions
- managing time
- working in teams
Each app went through several iterations over the three week period. Two groups worked on two separate apps. One app taught about telling time on a conventional handed clock and the other taught about geometric math formulas that many students must learn for exams. Students also worked to incorporate a quiz feature that would test the app user’s knowledge of the content presented. Through trial and error, students learned about the complexity of app creation. According to the report, “Because the focus was on the process and not the finished app, students were able to explore many issues involved in developing technology for a wide audience of users. Students expressed how appreciative they were of apps that effectively solved problems as they understood how difficult it was to create and maintain a bug-free application.”
Although students came into the app creation workshops enthusiastically having already explored 3D printing, they needed a fair amount of encouragement to work through the challenges of app development. The instructor of the app development workshops wrote:
“Successful developers (app or otherwise) have a unique ability to manage frustration well, and this skill really only comes with practice and time. I did see students give up quickly at first. There was a lot of waiting for instruction rather than self guided discovery. My impression was that there was still a lot of fear attached with “failure.” Failure is a good thing in the development world, it teaches developers quite a bit. After explaining that to students, they were more inclined to try and try again without feeling frustrated. I noticed around this time, too, that students were starting to share what they were learning. If a student came up against the same bug or error message as another student had previously, it became an opportunity for those students to collaborate, and learn from one another.
We are fortunate enough to live in a world where apps are plentiful and most are very well made and fun to use. Once students learned how complex and time consuming the process really is, they were initially put off by the amount of work that loomed in front of them. Students came up with ideas that were really fun but ambitious. And once the hard work started, it was a struggle to keep the students motivated. The enormity of making an entire app that looked as flashy as something already on the market started to seem like a “why bother” scenario. But, by breaking our apps into smaller, more manageable pieces, the students had consistent success with creating new features.
There are almost infinite solutions to solving even the same problem in computer programming, so we really tried to communicate to the students that giving up is not an option. There is always something new to try. At points I know the students would have preferred to give up altogether, but I did see them gradually start to shift away from one problem to tackle another-rather than abandoning the entire project altogether. That is a very evolved problem solving technique, and one that even professional developers don’t learn until years on the job.”
Celebrating Results of a Maker Nurturing Project
After 5 weeks of workshops, the project team held a celebration party for all students, teachers, school and school representatives, and the workshop instructors. During this celebration, students showed off their projects and received feedback from the community.
Positive Response from Administration
The response was outstanding; Helensview High School administrators highlighted the value of partnerships for academic enrichment, explaining in writing:
“Schools are constantly challenged with the task of offering varied, meaningful hands-on projects, while public education is placing more focus on core academic standards and high stakes exams. Most programs lack the personnel, money, and equipment to experiment with cutting edge technologies. However, outside organizations can help tremendously with this challenge. In the case of our program, both the
McCarthy-Dressman Foundation and Janice/ChickTech have made incredible contributions that have provided at-risk youth with eye-opening, confidence-building activities that are both inspirational and academically enriching. The workshops facilitated in this program are the perfect example of how collaboration between schools and outside organizations can deliver fresh experiences that are meaningful, cutting edge, and connected to real industry people who operate beyond the walls of the public school system.By producing 3D printed objects and phone apps, our students learned that acquiring new skills isn’t just for passing tests and earning diplomas. They learned to take an idea, develop a plan, and create something real with several weeks of dense, action-packed courses in 3D printing and application development. We are grateful for the foundation’s support, and thrilled with Janice’s/ChickTech’s implementation of the programming. For everyone involved, this is time and money well spent on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for youth who will remember
this experience forever.”
Strong Evidence of Student Growth
According to results of pre and post surveys, students were definitely enriched by this program.
Of the group (93% non-white students – mainly African-American and Latino/a with a 63% parent education level of high school educated or below), some exciting increases were noted:
- “I plan to go to college”: 21% increase
- “I can work through problems”: 22% increase
- “I have resources I can go to when I have tech questions”: 22% increase
In addition, students self-reported an increase in technology skills. On a 1-4 reflective scale there was an increase from 1.9 to 2.9, a 52% increase. In addition, responses to the question “Would you be more interested in school if more classes were like this?” also on a 1-5 scale, averaged 4.2. The project team found this especially exciting, writing:
“Although this is a great experience for the students who attended, what if all of their classes were hands-on and interactive? What if they got to solve interesting problems, learn how to work as a team on things that affected them, and learned useful skills in every class? Can you imagine what the above numbers would look like for these students? I can, and it gives me hope for our society’s dismal track record of serving its highest-risk students.
All but one student said they would recommend that their friends take this class next year. We expect to see a strong increase in students who want to attend next year, and our instructors are so excited to improve and continue increasing their impact.”
Lessons Learned and Ideas for Improvement
ChickTech described the challenges for project implementation included finding experienced instructors, curriculum developers and drag and drop software for app development. They also noted that the educators involved were already meeting many demands in the classroom which affected the overall timeline – in fact, the student post-surveys were obtained after the project concluded which may have decreased the amount of enthusiasm shown in comments on the surveys.
In the future, the team plans to work with the same instructors so that less time can be spent on planning and their existing rapport with the students can be leveraged for more enthusiasm and interest.
Even though some of the students are moving on before next school year, some of them plan to come back as teaching assistants or to work on more advanced projects with the support of the instructors.
Funding for the project provided by the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation supported this effort in several areas including instructor fees, teaching assistants, curriculum development, materials and evaluation costs. Sixteen students participated (50% male/50% female) which was perfect for the availability of resources within the school and the number of instructors.
Learning More about Making Projects in Education
If you would like to learn more about integrating maker culture in the classroom to build student confidence, increase gender diversity in technology, and develop complex problem solving skills, we recommend the resources below.
- MakerEd Resource Library (Maker Education Initiative, 2016)
- Jaw Dropping Classroom 3D printer Creations (Edutopia, 2015)
- MIT App Inventor (MIT, 2015)
- Mobile Makers Academy brings Mobile App Development to Schools (Tech Republic, 2014)
- App Creation Inspires Student Entrepreneurs (EdWeek, 2012)
- A Guide to Teaching Mobile App Development (Scholastic)
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ESD: Expandng Sustainable Education Through International Understanding
“I learned that even though other cultures live totally different lives, many things are still the same and we do them alike.” – Student Participant
How do students learn about other cultures from studying sustainability? In a project like ESD: Sustainable Education Through International Understanding based in Orem, Utah, these things go together quite naturally. In our first update from this project we learned about how an international collaboration with Japanese students focusing on global issues and sustainability. They also worked within their local community through service projects to highlight local issues. Since we last heard from this team, they have busy growing their sustainability focused academic enrichment project to involve more learners, more educators and more conversations.
Exploring Human Equity Through Sustainable Development Education
During this second year of funding for the project, the goals expanded. The team wanted to stimulate and facilitate responsible sustainability awareness and interaction at the individual, community and global scales, so they planned to:
- Develop teacher collaboration;
- Build a Sustainability Retreat;
- Expand the Sustainability Fair;
- Conduct cross-curricular collaboration/training
and - Expose students to international discussions.
International Teacher Collaboration Fosters Partnerships and Training Opportunities
Educators from The World Studies team at Lakeridge Junior High School collaborated with teachers from Utah and Scandinavia on sustainable development education to establish partnerships and teacher training. This included hands on sustainability training in Hammarby Sjostad, Stockholm Sweden and at the European Union Offices for Environmental Education. In addition they visited schools and met with teachers where we were able to set up exchange projects between their students. This collaboration directly impacted student learning by giving students hands on and direct contact with students in Finland about sustainability.
Through the grant team members were also able to arrange an international exchange with students in Finland and pay for pen-pal letters to be sent to Finland, Japan and Pakistan. Students were also able to Skype with students in Japan and South Korea to discuss global issues and learn some of the language. They were also able to continue to work with Japan Society‘s Going Global project (from the first year of this project) to talk about current events with kids in Pakistan, Japan and Finland. These collaborations also inspired an end of the year international food tasting so that students could experience new foods.
Project Team members were able to present and train teachers at several conferences during the course of the year including Utah Council for Social Studies/Utah Geography Alliance Conference, Utah Environmental Education Conference, Utah Coalition for Educational Technology Conference, and Merinda Davis was a panel speaker for Finnish Educator/Author Pasi Sahlsberg when he spoke at BYU. Utah Education Network has also asked the team to submit lesson plans for these projects to share with teachers throughout the state.
Sustainability Retreat Prepares Students for Global Conversations
Using from the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Lakeridge educators were able to sustain the 3‐day, 2–night Sustainability Retreat. At the retreat this year they offered special schedule of University Professors and community specialists who came to speak to the students in a TEDTalk format.
Students who participated in the previous year of the project helped to serve as councilors and helped prepare the current students to be chairmen for the school wide Model United Nations Conference. During this time they were given the opportunity to learn about sustainable development topics and how they influence the local and global communities.
To share their learning, students who attended completed reflection videos from their experience. Through access to technology students completed sustainability based research, communicated with international partners on global issues and produced dynamic media in partnership with Adobe who donated software for all of the computers labs in the school.
Student Documentaries Evolve for Sustainability Fair
Using the model they created the previous year, the team made some changes to the ‘Sustainability Fair’ so that they could include more students. As the 9th grade students worked on their sustainability documentaries they created posters, trailers and PSA’s to advertise their documentaries. Each poster had a QR Code linked to their trailer or PSA and were posted throughout the school for Parent-Teacher Conference and for the rest of the year.
Another way they evolved the project was that they set up a school Student Film Festival, where each day student media was exhibited and students voted on the best documentary. The winners of the best documentary for each day received prizes being donated by local businesses as well as purchased through the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation grant. In addition, students created projects for the Fairchild Challenge, a sustainability based competition for Utah. Through these partnerships, the team was able work together to expand student participation in sustainability fair.
Model United Nations and Model European Union Conferences expand Student Perspective on Migration
In addition to the Model United Nations (MUN) Sustainability Conference that they offered on the topics of Water, Urban Planning, Energy and Agriculture in December 2014, in May 2015 they scheduled a Model European Union (MEU) Conference to discuss the topic of Migration. About 400 students participated in both conferences.
For MUN they assumed roles of diplomats from over forty different countries in ten different committees. Students studied their respective countries and their policies on the assigned topics, two topics per committee. They produced documents that outlined their countries’ policies and applied this knowledge, using parliamentary procedure, in debating, compromising and writing resolutions with fellow participants. For MEU they assumed roles of country leaders in the European Council. Much like MUN, they studied their countries and the impact of migration on both their country and the European Union using the most recent information available. Because this is a timely issue and they have contacts in Europe, students were able to learn about the perspective of European students.
Achievements Extend Beyond Curriculum
Students, in conjunction with watching the movie “Gandhi,” completed ‘Roman Kent Peace Projects’ for which the purpose was to help them understand how their actions make a difference. Students came up with a wide variety of ideas – as unique as the students themselves. All of the projects throughout the year had a cumulative effect in increasing awareness and student discussion.
One student decided to write kind notes on index cards and hide them in books in the library for people to find. Another sent 25 text messages to friends and family telling them how important they are, and said after, “I learned that everyone needs a little love no matter who they are, and the community as a whole should express more kindness and peace towards their peers.”
Another student taught a lesson on tolerance and avoiding discrimination to elementary school kids, because “I wanted to leave an impact on people younger than me. My generation and the generations following mine are responsible for the future moral values of society, so I thought it would be important to reinforce ideas about tolerance and peace to kids at a young age.”
Reflecting on their international and sustainability experiences students said:
“I learned that it is important to experience other cultures and talk with other people about their lives. I also learned that it is somewhat difficult but important to communicate with people from other countries.”
“I learned that even though other cultures live totally different lives, many things are still the same and we do them alike.”
“I learned that we have a great future map of Utah’s water which makes me happy. I did learn that we don’t have enough water if we just keep wasting, if we take little steps right now and start to conserve like shut off water then you are good and our future doesn’t need to be worried about.”
“I learned that I’m better at stepping outside my comfort zone than I thought, with talking to new people and things.”
“I learned that I can be a good leader and help people know what they can do to be helpful.”
“I learned that I have great editing skills. And I can also lead a group that doesn’t really work to get things done with. I didn’t wait until the last minute but I did at the same time. Next time I just need to take it and do little by little.”
“We learned that what we do personally can make a difference. But we can make a difference as a community to be more sustainable.”
“I liked how we were able to find out about a problem pertaining to sustainability in our community, Utah, USA, or even bigger, the world. It helps people to realize how many problems there are that may go unnoticed to many people.”
The program has also affected the learning of educators. Davis stated,
“The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Academic Enrichment grant has allowed for learning opportunities that I never expected. This grant has not only been transformative for my students, but for my school community and me. My curriculum is being revitalized in a way to engage and enrich students’ lives. It has given students opportunities that they would not have had otherwise. In addition to presenting to teachers throughout the state, I was able to present these projects to the Utah House of Representatives Education Committee and to the Governor during the Governor’s Education Committee meeting. As a direct result of these projects I was selected as a 2015 National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and a 2015 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator where I will be able to bring back more engaging projects for my students to enrich their learning. Additionally, in January 2015 I was one of twenty‐four international educators selected to attend the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz in Poland. Because of that experience and collaboration with international educators I was able to expand the sustainability projects to include social equality.”
What could other educators learn from this project?
The end of year project report from the team offered a few reflections for project improvement. Although the documentary project worked better this year with the adjustments that they made, next year they will continue to improve by making adjustments based on student feedback. The biggest challenge they faced this year was timing because of the new projects they implemented took extra time.
Team members plan to adjust the curriculum pacing to help build a stronger foundation for students to build on using these projects. They were able to develop projects with schools in Finland and will continue that, in addition students will have more exchange time in the following year. Although students had more time this year to work on sustainability projects, next year they will submit projects to the Fairchild Challenge and Davis will work with the district to help other schools get involved in this sustainability fair.
Next year as part of the curriculum redevelopment they are going to include more of the human rights as part of sustainability. As the three ‘E’s’ of sustainability are: environment, economics, and equity, next year will be a culmination of what they have learned these last two years.
All in all, at the end of the second year, more than 100 students were able to participate in a sustainability retreat with experts and professors.
More than a thousand students were exposed to sustainable development concepts, International exchanges and international culture/food.
As Davis explains, the funding was leveraged to meet many needs and sustain further academic enrichment in this area, “This McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Grant allowed us to support pen-pal exchanges, subs so we could get the resources, international teacher collaboration, and funding field trips to local restaurants with guest speakers. We now have a class set of computers, a multimedia lab so students have access to filmmaking equipment, filming studio, and training. These students have been able to exhibit their work and be recognized for their learning. We have been able to share these academic enrichment projects with teachers around Utah as well as internationally.”
Learn more
- Sustainable Education – putting relationship back into education
- Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO
- The Journal for Sustainability Education
- Sustainable Schools Project
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Microfinance In Action: Students Impact Global Economies
Microfinance in Action Revisited
It’s been an exciting, tumultuous, but ultimately productive three years for the educators and students at Southwind High School in Tennesee. Those involved with the Microfinance in Action (MFiA) project have seen a lot of success despite some setbacks along the way. But the outpouring of support from the community and other educators has helped keep the flow uninterrupted.
What is Microfinance in Action (MFiA)?
When MFiA was originally proposed, it was proposed as a three-year project that would take students through the process of learning about microfinancing, and how important it can be to stimulate the economy. Especially in resource and job depressed areas in this country and abroad. They were also tasked with learning about and distributing KIVA loans to small businesses. It also proposed that students travel to low-income areas, or areas affected by natural disasters to get a real look at what poverty looks like and hopefully become passionate about ending it. In our blog we explored what an integrated curriculum exploring globalization and economics looked like and heard about the real world skills and field experiences (Microfinance in Action, August 2013). Results were inspiring.
Exploring Local Economics through Field Experiences
One of their main goals was to leave the textbook behind and create an environment of practical learning, where students would interact with their community, and communities beyond theirs to get a greater perspective on what economics and Microfinance in particular means in their day-to-day lives. So they started a journey to some of the most economically devastated states in the nation. Beginning with their own.
Making a Global Impact
They began this journey along the banks of the Mississippi in Memphis and worked their way down through the Delta to New Orleans. From there they moved to the home of the Lakota Tribes and finally to the sugar cane fields of the Dominican Republic. No one could accuse them of being lazy travelers, that’s for sure. And while I could spoil you with the details of their trip, that would ultimately take away from what was the end game goal for this project; creating a book entitled Microfinance in Action: A Guidebook for Teenagers. They just recently returned from Guatemala where they finished filming the documentary portion of their proposal, which should be edited later this summer. That documentary, along with the book they plan on publishing, will be a great resource for educators who might want to try this model at their own schools.
Other goals they had proposed were setting up a KIVA Club loan program where students could work with accredited loan companies to set up microfinance loans for those in need at home and abroad. This ended up being far more successful than they had anticipated but came with an unfortunate cost. Biba Kavass, the innovative educator behind this proposal, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And while she continues to work on the project, she will soon have to take a step back and let others lead in her place. But the community rallied. Roughly to the tune of $150,000 and climbing. Because of this community support they’ve already made 148 loans out to people in over 50 countries. The next step is setting up a larger and more focused KIVA Club loan program, working with SME Uganda to make slightly larger loans available to people in need.
Follow MFiA Online
The project website, microfininaction.weebly.com, is also doing well, having received it’s 1000th unique visitor recently. This website is where Biba, and those who will continue in her stead, chronicle their work as well as get in contact with prospective partners.
Despite the unforeseeable setbacks they faced it would seem like MFiA has been a great success, in every avenue they proposed. The students, educators, and community all benefited from this project, which is something we value here at McCarthy Dressman. We hope to see many more innovative projects, like this one, funded in the future.
Further Reading
- KivaU
- OneHen
- Integrating Globalization into the Curriculum
- Three Ideas for a 21st Century Global Currlculum
- New York Times Learning Network: Globalization
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CFCO: Service Learning Builds 21st Century Skills, Engages Teens
Connecting lessons learned in classrooms to real world applications is one of the great challenges in teaching. Teachers and administrators at Harrison High School in Evansville, Indiana have come up with an innovative new classroom model to address that challenge.
What is the CFCO?
They have created the Center for Family and Community Outreach (CFCO), which aims to use student skills (built around academic content) to create documents, multimedia, events, presentations, and more for over twenty non-profit organizations in their community.
Educators are able to connect students with members of the non-profit community, creating a symbiotic relationship wherein the student gains valuable real-life skills and the non-profits get a free service. Not only is it easier to engage teenage minds directly if they feel a sense of involvement and contribution towards the betterment of their community, it also helps teens build invaluable skills for the transition into their adult lives.
How can service learning support non-profits and drive engagement for learners?
There are many service learning projects around the country, but few, if any, that drives content in the classroom around producing products for non-profits. The CFCO model has elements of numerous trends in education, such as:
- project-based learning
- student-centered learning
- and new technology,
but is truly innovative for the level of engagement it produces for students.
This program has seven distinct goals.
- Research the non-profit groups and social issues in students’ communities.
- Hold ‘Round Table’ discussions with local experts on special topic issues using the latest online literature and information.
- Tour the non-profit facilities and volunteer with local organizations and events.
- Collaborate with leaders on project ideas and write formal proposals
- Use project based learning and technology to design and create materials
- “Pitch” their ideas through benchmarks and final presentations
- Openly communicate with the community through blogging and video reflections.
Importance of Community Support
Students are immersed in the tangible application of skills from the classroom, and since students know what they are doing will have a real impact on their community, it is readily apparent how seriously they take it. The program has relied on a tremendous amount of community support and is currently in it’s third year of operation. Fortunately they continue to draw in new non-profit partners based on the satisfaction of their initial partners and publicity the projects have generated for the mission of non-profits in Evansville.
What is the impact?
So where are the teachers and students of Harrison High School now, a year into the program? Reports have come back with very positive results, including:
- Students have a sense of ownership and engagement in their work as well as their community.
- Non-profit data shows that the community’s organizations have much higher perception of the schools and teens’ abilities after working with the CFCO.
Moving forward they plan on moving the program to a half day model, to increase student exposure, as well as continuing to nurture community involvement and contribution.
With such an easily adaptable model, educators around the country should be looking to Evansville, and Harrison High School in particular. How they proceed could very well dictate how dozens of similar programs pop up in the future. Community involvement and concrete links between lessons learned in the classroom and real world applications are key in both advancing education as well as building a student body that is invested in the present and future of their community. While the saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” has been politicized as of late, I think we can all agree that fostering a child’s investment and involvement in his or her village can only lead to positive results.
For more information
Related articles
- NSSE Results 2013 (teachingresearcher.wordpress.com)
- Creating Space for Marginalized Voices: Re-focusing Service Learning on Community Change and Social Justice (knrajlibrary.wordpress.com)
- Online Student is Set on ReStore-ing Ethics (blogs.msbcollege.edu)
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Microfinance in Action
How can high school students learn about globalization in an economics course?
In an increasingly globalized world the standard skill set of a global citizen is rapidly shifting. While it would be impossible to give the students every bit of skill and knowledge they will need to be competitive in the global marketplace, one program is setting about to make a small change in how high school students approach economics that looks to be paying big dividends.
The teachers at Southwind High School in Memphis, TN have implemented a completely unique approach to teaching economics students about globalization and microfinance.
The project, currently in progress, involves the students in project-based learning to address multiple student skills including:
- critical thinking
- decision-making
- global citizenship, and
- responsibility
So how has this school approached this project and how successful have they been in its implementation? This ambitious endeavor is projected to take three years to implement.
Incorporating Problem Based Learning with Global Economic Issues
For economics students at Southwind High, things have changed. No longer the victims of textbooks and lectures, these students participate in an integrated curriculum on globalization.
What does an integrated curriculum exploring globalization and economics look like?
First, students work in groups to develop awareness of important concepts for the project. Research topics include:
- United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
- economic, political, and social issues of a particular developing nation
- use of microfinance to promote economic growth and sustainability
Next, using ‘future problem solving’ skills, the groups develop a solution to address those issues in their selected country.
Finally, students will present their findings to the Ambassador of their selected country. Presentations will also be shared in a guidebook entitled Microfinance in Action: A Guide for Teenagers that will be used to supplement other high school economics courses.
How are real world skills and field experiences incorporated into the project?
In addition to the web research conducted, student groups communicate via Skype to high schools in developing nations. Using social media, students promote awareness of global economic issues, publishing research to a global awareness blog and producing video documentary segments. The blog also invites other schools to get involved or start their own program.
Students also have the opportunity to travel to various locations in the United States and Central America to document individual stories of those most affected by economic issues. During that time students will produce presentations on research they have conducted on economic, political, and cultural issues on selected developing nations.
What is the impact of this project so far?
During year one, students created the project website where you can watch the project unfold. (http://shskivamemphis.weebly.com). Groups have completed their Global research and the first two chapters of the Guidebook have been drafted and are being revised. The students and participating faculty traveled both to the Global Youth Institute as well as to Mississippi to film their documentary projects. So far, the program served 150 students at Southwind as well as teachers from ten different schools.
How can this project inspire other educators?
By taking such a unique and global perspective on economics, teachers Biba S. Kavass and Landon Hawthorne are insuring their students will have a much easier time navigating the global market place due to the early exposure to real economic disparity issues and their subsequent research and involvement.
Project-based learning and integrated curriculum are powerful opportunities to engage students and build real world skills. Here are some resources to explore for developing similar projects for your students.
- Future Problem Solving Skills Program
- KivaU
- OneHen
- Integrating Globalization into the Curriculum
- Three Ideas for a 21st Century Global Currlculum
- Teaching Global
- New York Times Learning Network: Globalization
Related articles
- Pbl (pcreadingposts.wordpress.com)
- The Joy of Project Based Learning (nsparks89.wordpress.com)
- Project Based Learning in a 1:1 School (karenmcvay.com)
- The PBL Super Highway… Over 45 Links To Great Project Based Learning (21centuryedtech.wordpress.com)
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Inquiry, Relevance, and Citizen Science: A Roadmap to Successful Science Projects
When students tackle science hands on, they can save the world!
If inquiry is meaningful, real world practices improve student understanding.
Memorizing the periodic table, a formula to determine the circumference of an atom, or the genus of a frog can be important, but let’s face it… you’re looking at an uphill battle when you are staring down the barrel of sixty drooping eyelids trying to explain why it is important that the student retain this information.
There is ample evidence that students retain very little from lectures in science classes. There is a reason for this – when you are given lists of equations, tables, or dozens of names to memorize it can be difficult to see where this makes an impact in the real world.
So how do we change this?
Simple. We help students impact the real world using practical inquiry into local and global science. Or better yet, take the classroom to the science! Whether students are contributing data to global honey bee research or graphing the skies, citizen science allows students to participate in global scientific inquiry. As explained here, integrating inquiry based science meaningfully in the real world is a tall order for any educator. In this post, we will share with you an example project and supporting resources to inspire this integration in your classroom.
How do educators integrate scientific inquiry and real world relevance?
The Water Quality Project: A Map to Understanding was reported by Linda Weber of Natick High School in Natick, Massachusetts. The goal of this project at is to let students “do” science like real scientists by observing, questioning, and ultimately coming up with a solution to a problem that can be shared with the larger community. In the short term, participation allows students to see and experience the process of scientific inquiry first hand, rather than having someone dictate it to them. In the long term, students who participated would see how the decisions they were making now would impact their lives in the future. According to the National Science Teachers Association’s position statement:
“Scientific inquiry reflects how scientists come to understand the natural world, and it is at the heart of how students learn. From a very early age, children interact with their environment, ask questions, and seek ways to answer those questions. Understanding science content is significantly enhanced when ideas are anchored to inquiry experiences. “
What strategies can be used to increase the real world relevance of the inquiry process?
One of the long term goals of this project included helping students see how the decisions they make today influences their future. This ambitious goal required teachers to frontload curriculum earlier in the year and to engage students with relevant narratives (like PBS’ Poisoned Waters) and a guest speaker assembly including local and regional water quality scientists.
All of this preparation helped students prepare for real world and hands on activities for the project. These included:
- Helping out their community
For the annual Charles River Watershed Association’s clean-up day, students and teachers removed a variety of trash, from traditional cigarette butts and paper to more unusual things like television sets. For the nearly 50 students that participated (on a school vacation weekend, mind you) the experience was insightful. Class discussions about and concern for their environment lingered into the following weeks in class. These shared experiences became the “reason” to investigate water quality in the community rather than the “just the wrap up activity” of the project.
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Environmental Science and Robotics classes at collection sites test and launch robots, then collect water samples to be analyzed at the site and in class. Photo from Linda Weber, Project Awardee. Collecting local data
After the students had returned to the area to collect water samples. They used collection robots they built during their classroom time to reach water samples they couldn’t normally get to. Using technologies like wikis, blogs, and Google Maps they were able to share their results instantly with their classmates. - Contributing to global datasets
The project also included research for the testing parameters of The World Monitoring Day Organization or World Water Monitoring Day. The Water Quality Project isn’t the only program in the United States doing this. Many other schools (in over 24 countries) are participating in The World Water Monitoring Challenge. It charges its members to educate and engage students and citizens in the protection of international water resources.
- Presenting the results
When all the research was said and done there was a “massive poster presentation” where every student was required to present his or her findings and share ideas for how to improve the water conditions in their community.
Why does it work?
When learning is meaningful, the impact is tangible.
When students have the opportunity to showcase their skills to a larger audience than their teachers or peers it helps to internalize the lessons they learn in the classroom. This benefit accumulates when the students can see themselves using inquiry-based science to make a real difference in their communities.
Learn more about integrating Citizen Science in education
- British Science Association: The 3Rs of Citizen Science in Education
- Zooniverse
- Audrey Watters: Five Apps that Encourage Citizen Science
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Flickr Set: New York City Urban Debate League
Don’t miss this engaging Flickr slideshow from NYC Urban Debate League
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycudl/sets/72157631812818648/
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New York City Urban Debate League
When debate and students come together, great debates happen.
This month’s blog presents the New York City Urban Debate League (NYCUDL) and how it has flourished despite few resources. It’s been rated among the nation’s top after-school programs by many leading education organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, National Council for the Humanities, and First Lady Michelle Obama calling it, “one of the top arts and humanities based programs in the country.”
According to Erik Fogel who is the driving force behind the NYCUDL,
The Great Debaters program is so successful and so simple and can be replicated to any school. All students can be Great Debaters!
Why debate?
With our nation slipping behind many other countries in the subjects of math and science (2013, CNN) one may find it hard to justify a course of study with no immediate application to tests on basic skills. Unless you’re a lawyer there are very few jobs that will pay you to research and argue a subject.
So again, why debate?
Debate engages students on a deeper and more meaningful level than most classes because it forces students to engage in more serious subject matter and view important issues from many angles.
What type of knowledge, skills and abilities does debate support?
- Rigorous and Critical ThinkingDebate participation promotes problem-solving skills, viewing issues from multiple angles and teaches students to synthesize a large amount of information.
- Master Multiple Subject AreasDebate students learn about current events, politics, philosophy, critical studies, economics, environmental studies, international studies, geography, culture, race, and public policy.
- Listening and Note-taking SkillsDebate requires that you become an excellent listener and good note taker. This helps students learn the material more profoundly and helps them to get better grades.
- Cognitive and Academic Vocabulary SkillsDebate students often read and write at a level 25% higher than their peers.
- Mental and Emotional MaturityDebate forces students to engage each other in a mature and professional manner. It teaches students how others think, how to stand in the face of adversity, and ultimately teaches them self-confidence.
- Academic and Professional AchievementThe average debate student is in the top 10% of their class. Ninety-five percent go on to college and many debaters go on to have very productive professional lives and tend to be more politically active and engaged.
A great many leaders and important thinkers participated in debate. A few famous examples include Justice Sonya Sotomayor, and President’s Kennedy and Johnson.
…I joined the debating team…. That’s where I developed my speaking skills and learned to think on my feet…. You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your brains won’t get you anywhere.”
-Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler
So what does a model debate program look like?
Debate competitions traditionally have been reserved for only the schools that could afford the very steep price tag. This means that the vast majority of inner city public schools lack the debate opportunities of their more well off counterparts. But if you want to see the exception that proves the rule, one need look no further than the New York City Urban Debate League (formerly the Bronx Urban Debate League) to find an ideal model. From humble beginnings in a single school in the Bronx, they have since expanded to over thirty-five schools, covering the entire New York City area with plans to expand further. Mr. Fogel said, “Thanks to the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation we were able to expand our debate team to the entire Bronx and New York City by offering free debate tournaments to all students.”
Essential components of the program include outreach to schools and a wonderful website – but that’s not all. Once a school is identified, “we meet with schools and customize a plan to start a program (recruitment of debaters, curriculum, and teacher training). We match paid and/or volunteer high school, college, and alumni debaters to each school to serve as assistant coaches.”
The League offers specialized programs including policy debate, public forum debate, parliamentary debate, a girls debate league and more. Along with community and school efforts, NYCUDL also holds a free debate camp each summer. Alumni of the program receive college and career advising.
So who is the New York City Urban Debate League (NYCUDL)?
The NYCUDL, led by Erik Fogel consists of a collection of teachers, administrators and other volunteers. They meet with schools on an individual basis to plan customized programs, build a debate curriculum which includes hundreds of files of arguments and evidence, recruit student debaters, train teachers and other volunteers, and organize leagues. They provide the schools with free debate resources (books, handouts, lessons, and videos). Additionally, with all that they also hold two free tournaments every month, more often than not with free transportation to and from schools. Fogel explains, “These tournaments are foremost educational and motivational and so we distribute numerous awards. We provide support for member schools to participate in city, regional and national tournaments for free.”
So what has the impact been thus far?
One need only look at the NYCUDL’s yearly report to know that any resources spent on them is well worth the cost.
- Originally planned to expand into three to five schools, NYCUDL expanded to over twenty.
- Instead of offering a few free tournaments, they offer whole free leagues including an after school league, a weekend league, and a young woman’s league.
- NYCUDL teams have won the City Championship, State Championship, and 3rd, 4th and 5th places at the National Championships (a first for that Title I school).
Most importantly, students in the NYCUDL have 100% college acceptance among their graduating seniors. In fact, NYCUDL alumni often win multiple scholarships. If those facts don’t inspire a debate about the academic enrichment efforts you are implementing in your school, perhaps they should.
Considering starting a debate enrichment program?
To learn more about NYCUDL and the strategies highlighted in this project, visit these resources.
A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Forensics and Communication Education on Critical Thinking
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BOOM! A Writing Program With a Mentoring Focus
When student publishing and mentoring come together, student engagement and writing skills explode!
When students write for an authentic audience, research has shown that they take more pride in their work. Throughout a student’s school life, they are writing stories, book reports, research reports, “What I Did Last Summer,” etc., but it is often for a very small audience, perhaps just the teacher.
This is not to say that this writing is not important in the learning process. However, it becomes a different kind of writing project when you are actually writing for a real audience and writing for a real purpose.
According to Anne Rodier, “Over time we have discovered that our students are just like us: They have to grow into being writers. They have to believe that what they have to say is important enough to bother writing. They have to experience writing for real audiences before they will know that writing can bring power.” In this blog you will learn about an innovative program called BOOM!
How are mentoring and literacy combined in an after-school program?
BOOM! is an after-school program and literary magazine produced by students at Manual High School in Denver, Colorado for their fellow students and their community. The mission of BOOM! is to develop the writing skills of students in a positive, mentoring environment that equips them for success in high school and beyond.
Two afternoons a week BOOM! writers work with community volunteers (many whom are professional writers) who tutor them as they write articles and fictional stories. The students sign contracts with their volunteers to ensure their attendance and timely completion of their articles. They also work with professional graphic designers to design the 30-page publication. A few of the article categories include: The Pulse of Manual, What’s Good in the Hood, We Got Game, and Creative Fiction.
BOOM!’s program and its one-on-one mentoring help kids of all abilities, from extremely talented to barely literate writers.
The program focuses on three key areas which support students in:
- expressing themselves
- improving writing abilities
- gaining confidence and life skills
The program was funded by McCarthey Dressman Educational Foundation and is a collaboration between the school and the Volunteers of America Community-Connect office at Manual with a goal of having students write about their school and their community which culminates in a professional publication.
What is the impact of an after-school literary magazine project?
Over the past three years that BOOM! has been operating, the program has mentored 30 students, produced 11 publications and reached more than 4,000 student and community readers.
BOOM! is not only improving literacy, it is making a difference in students’ lives. Mentors serve as role models and often remain close to the students after they have exited the program. Teachers see the program as another tool in assisting students in becoming writers and successful in school. And, as students see their name in print, it makes them proud and allows them to see themselves as authors and to find writing to be an outlet for their creativity. It is no small surprise that all graduating BOOM! students have been accepted into universities. This makes combining literacy and mentoring an excellent model of a collaborative program between a school and a community organization.
What do the participants say?
Some quotes from BOOM! students, teachers and principal at Manual High School:
- We don’t have people to help us in the classroom. There’s one teacher and 26 students. But here it’s more like 7 mentors and 10 kids. They help you make sure you are writing the correct way and going outside what you normally can do. I find now I can go more in depth with analysis in class when we read books. My grades have gone up in my English classes and I feel more confident. It’s helped me create better personal essays for college scholarships. Even though you might think BOOM! is about writing, it’s about being able to express yourself and have someone help you along the way to express yourself. – Ronnie
- I joined BOOM! to get involved and meet new people. I see now that I’m in college how it helped me become a better writer. From all the interviews I did, I feel confident talking with new people, meeting new people and having very professional conversations with them. I feel comfortable writing longer college essays. – Dani
- BOOM! was the major factor that got Dani to college. She went from a passive student to taking an active interest in her future. – Manual teacher
- BOOM! offers students the individual attention and instruction they need. – Manual teacher
- We have to find a way to get this program to reach more students! – Manual principal
To learn more about BOOM! and the strategies highlighted in this project, visit these resources.
- BOOM! Creating a new voice at Manual High – The Denver Post
- Getting Real: Authenticity in Writing Prompts
- A Cure for Writer’s Block: Writing for Real Audiences
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