As part of the Creativity Lab’s mission to empower thoughtful, capable people through making, we disseminate best practices by offering professional development to educators from around country. This past year we offered several opportunities, from a new Making Math workshop — designed to focus on integrating making and abstract mathematical concepts — to Designing Making Experiences. The latter is our standard two-day workshop, in which educators learn the pedagogical underpinnings of maker education while developing a project or curriculum to bring back to their schools. We also partnered with Agency by Design — a Harvard-based research group that explores the benefits of maker education — to help facilitate workshops for teachers in the Bay Area interested in learning about maker empowerment. Here are several highlights from some of our events.
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- Teachers learning to work with a variety of technologies, including Makey-Makey
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- A design challenge at the Agency by Design PD asks participants to create a structure that will keep a small ping ball moving for as long as possible.
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- Fraction books are a great way for students to begin exploring complex ideas around fractions and equivalence.
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- A wind-powered car designed by a physics teacher eager to expose students to ideas about motion and energy.
In addition to offering these opportunities this upcoming semester, this semester we will begin helping several schools in the Bay Area to open up their own maker spaces. Stay tuned to find out more. And if you are interested in signing up for one of our PD opportunities, visit our Eventbrite page. Educators from Title I schools or Oakland Unified School District can attend for free!
