Using processing.org to explore math concepts

Sixth grade honors pre algebra class has spent the last three weeks learning processing, a java-based programming language that very quickly lets one manipulate geometric shapes on the screen.  Below is an image from a student's laptop during the first week. Now they are deep into their final project work, making a new math program, inspired from math games on the math pickle website. I can't wait to see what these creative, and oh so capable young people come up with using their newly acquired programming skills.

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Recycled Materials Make Music - 7th Grade Science Acoustics Lesson

The 7th-graders had a lesson on acoustics last week when their Science teacher, Mr. Hamilton, shared with them how a stringed instrument works. In particular, his own violin, which he played for the class. They learned about the importance of the bridge, the f-holes, and the taught strings. Then they set about making their own instrument prototypes, using inspiration from the Recycled Orchestra - Cateura, Paraguay.

In two class periods, they experimented with cereal boxes, cardboard scraps, rubber-bands and other materials found around the EurekaLab. The results had to be a stringed instrument with strings that could change pitch.

MacBeth Garment Project Underway

Mr. Tahmaseb's 7th grade English class are creating garments for a character from MacBeth.  They are writing an argument to explain how their original design of the garment (pattern, fit, texture, color) supports their thesis about how the character should be interpreted. They are also making an original pattern by measuring the 16" wooden art models and transferring that information to graph paper. Next week: cutting their fabric from their patterns, learning how to use a sewing machine, and doing some hand sewing. The knowledge of MacBeth is impressive and the creativity is palpable.

Busy Week of Making

Senior Kindergarten started making a bat house. Step 1, roughing up the interior so bats can grab onto the wood and climb in. Chisels and hammers in use. 

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7th graders studying MacBeth came by for a day to build representations of a motif from the play.  

 

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Sixth graders built and tried their first low resolution prototypes with the junior Kindergarten students on Friday. They are deigning toys to teach our young students about the animals and birds on our campus. 

 

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Start of the year faculty meetings

LEGO Serious Play and ​imagination playground blocks were used by the faculty today to explore collaboration  ideas, hopes, and potential challenges for the new school year. A great start to a year of big changes and exciting adventures at Meadowbrook School.

Discussing what collaboration means using LEGO bricks as metaphors.

Discussing what collaboration means using LEGO bricks as metaphors.

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Collaborating to create something on a BIG building block scale.

Collaborating to create something on a BIG building block scale.

New Student Orientation - Fun with Engineering and Electronics

First a group of new fourth and fifth graders learned how to use wire strippers and complete a circuit while building Artbots; both skills that will come in handy in the future.

Then a new crop of middle schoolers took on the design engineering challenge of building pasta cars. The. They returned after lunch to open their new laptops and get started in Tinkercad. It was an awesome day one with new students at Meadowbrook.

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Reflections from Constructing Modern Knowledge

Teachers playing with our project, "The Cooperative Etch-A-Sketch", at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2016.

Teachers playing with our project, "The Cooperative Etch-A-Sketch", at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2016.

CMK is a week of learning created specifically for teachers who want to gain some first-hand experience of what it feels like to work in a collaborative student-led project-based-learning environment.  The annual event is organized by Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez, authors of Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. It took place last week and I learned so much by putting the student hat on and attending.

After being a student for a week I learned:

  • Group projects are never really about making an object. They’re about relationships and learning to work with people.
  • Transitions from one subject to another, at the end of a class period, are hard for students. They interrupt the learning and create stress because of it.
  • It is compelling to help someone else realize their vision for a project.
  • The resources available on the internet allow students to learn what they need on their own, if only they know where to look for them.
  • Coaches engaged in working on their own projects help inspire life-long learning by students.
  • Document the answer to each question you have as you find it (photos are great.)
  • Celebrate with your team each successful step forward because they are sometimes far and few between. Celebrating helps to keep the team working together.
  • Verbalizing your knowledge is a good way to know that you understand it clearly.
  • Sometimes it is more effective for each team member to make individual contributions to a project as specialists rather than asking everyone to learn everything.
  • Do your own reflecting, even if your facilitator doesn’t ask you to. It’s worth it!

I took some videos of various conference attendees trying our creation, here, and wrote a more detailed account about my 5 day experience, here.

Sue Fisher, EurekaLab Coach

Cooperative Etch-A-Sketch

Cooperative Etch-A-Sketch