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Preparing for GID + Making
Each school may have different maker options, depending upon the needs and interests of the site librarian, classroom educators, and learners. Before beginning a Guided Inquiry unit the instructional team should consider how and who will be assisting students learn these skills. During the GID + Making units, school librarians and classroom educators used multiple strategies to facilitate the integration of STEAM and maker learning.
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Skills Inventory
What skills already exists?
Conduct a skills inventory survey for learners, both students and teachers, to see what expertise already exists. How much do they already know about design, construction, 3D printing, cutting machines, textiles, art, music, productivity software, apps, etc?
Use a Likert scale (e.g., 1. nothing, 2. a little bit, 3. I can do this, 4. I can teach this) to find experts and mentors. This can also help identify areas where students may need more help and online tutorials.
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Examples & Models
Can you show me what it looks like?
Show a variety of examples of previous student work. This can be done using actual products, posters, slide presentations, a website, or an ebook. Share the advantages and disadvantages of working with each tool, material, or technology.
Because of the emphasis on learner voice and choice, be careful not to emphasize one type of product over another or else you may end up with everyone wanting to do the same thing!
Have students brainstorm and discuss ideas for products. Encourage learners to stretch themselves (i.e., level up) and try something they have not attempted before.
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Peer Mentoring & Co-learning
What can we learn from each other?
It is impossible for a school librarian or classroom teacher to be an expert at all the tools, materials, and technologies that learners may want to use. Develop a community of learners culture by encouraging students to mentor each other and recommend resources for the community. These resources might be existing video tutorials, websites, or student-developed help documents.
When there are no "experts" it is still beneficial to group students during project creation for co-learning. For example, if three students have each selected an animation product, suggest that they use a jigsaw strategy, each learning a different technique and then teaching the other two.
At middle and high school levels, use student library and technology assistants as a mentoring resource. These students can select one or more skills to develop and then teach, to other students and classroom educators.
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Pre-teach STEAM Skills
How can we front-load STEAM skills and a Maker mindset?
Provide makerspace tours to orient learners to new technologies and materials.
Offer maker challenge activities - rotating centers in the library or makerspace. Use QR codes linked to videos, or simple 1-2 page instructions to help learners try new skills independently. Remember that pictures of steps in a skill may help learners more than words.
If your learners require more guidance, establish a guided maker time. For example, in a rotating schedule, the school librarian and other educators work together with small groups of learners on a specific skill, material, or technology. The activities can be customized to a specific grade content area, or be based on a theme or concept.
For older learners, offer a short course (4 - 9 weeks) that teaches some of the more advanced skills such as 3D design and printing, video and audio production, game design, etc. Students who participate in this course can then serve as mentors to other students. This could be taught during a dedicated exploratory time, after school, during lunch or after school.