A Dispatch From the STEM Lab

The STEM Lab has been a flurry of activity over the last month. So much so in fact, that I have neglected the blog. So, in the spirit of pulling my act together, here is a run down on what each grade level has been working on since I last managed a post.

Kindergarten & first grade:

These two grade levels usually work on similar units, though adapted for their different abilities. After completing the Math Stories unit, these grades are getting a week of creative computing using the Scratch Jr. programming language. Code.org teaches programming concepts and algorithmic thinking through a series of puzzles and is a great resource for getting students started with coding. Scratch Jr. is an open-ended coding environment where students code what they imagine rather than a solution to someone else's puzzle. For the kindergarten students this week is an introduction to Scratch Jr. and the idea of creative computing. Most of the first graders are returning to Sinclair and worked with Scratch Jr. last year, so this week is more of a next steps series of lessons. Later in the year, both grades will make Scratch Jr. projects that address a prompt.

Second grade:

The 2nd graders have been spending a lot of time working on their cardboard construction skills during rounds 2 and 3 in the STEM Lab. Cardboard is the most common building material in the lab, but it definitely takes some time for students to become familiar with its quirks. Round 2 had them planning and building marble mazes from single ply cardboard. The focus of this was learning to use the L-brace in their builds. My other goal, and honestly the main one, was to give them some practice using old fashioned white liquid glue to join the pieces. The glue sticks that have become a staple of elementary school supply lists are sadly not up to the task when it comes to the projects we get into in the lab. My hope in starting them on white glue early is to have fewer frustrated calls for tape when they get to the kinds of things we do in 4th and 5th grade. Round 3 continues our work with cardboard, this time using slots and friction to join pieces. The theme is lifted from my summer journey to the Galapagos Islands. Each day we learn about a different species unique to the islands and then make slotted cardboard body parts to build 3D models of the day's animal. Another part of round 3 is the students' first Skype-a-Scientist experience. Skype-a-Scientist connects working science professionals from a variety of disciplines with teachers in K-12 classrooms. Students get the opportunity to have a discussion with an actual living scientist and the conversations and questions are always amazing.

Third grade:

The switch from 2 week to 1 week magnet rotation blocks, a symptom of Sinclair's increasing enrollment (yay!) and the pandemic (boo!) induced shift to 6 week grading cycles, has been a challenge. The lab was founded on having 2 weeks to complete big projects. This was less of an issue last year when the lab could not operate as usual. However, this year, as things return to normal I am working to adapt those big projects to the constraints of my new time frame. The solution for some projects has been to split them between rounds. Third grade's round 3 and 4 work is an example of this. During round 3 the students selected a grade level science concept to research. They took notes and then planned and created a Scratch project to share their learning. One of their constraints was that the project had to run off of key press events. This set them up for round 4 which has them creating an interactive poster that is used to control the Scratch project created in round 3. This use of a physical creation to operate a digital project is made possible by a device called Makey Makey. (Make + Key = Makey.)This works like a typical USB keyboard, though with fewer keys available. It makes it possible to use any conductive material to trigger a key press. After creating their posters, students added brass fasteners and copper tape and attached these to the Makey Makey. The culmination of this 2 part unit is the 3rd graders getting to share their projects with a visiting 2nd grade class.

Side Note:

Having upper grade students share their projects with lower grade classes is something I have really missed the last year + and I am really excited to be able to start bringing it back.

Fourth grade:

As students move up through grade levels in the lab, the projects become more of an integration of physical and digital elements. (The 3rd grade project described above is one example.) Round 4 saw the 4th graders taking a deep dive into the programming concept of broadcasts in Scratch. This was a purely digital project, but necessary to projects that will combine the digital and physical worlds. The emphasis in this unit was creativity. It is a lamentable condition of our current educational system that students are conditioned early on to believe that there is a single correct answer or response to any question or task set to them by a teacher. I see the lab's purpose as countering that mindset and helping students develop their creative confidence. My prompts in the lab are purposely vague and open ended because I do not want 22 of the same thing from each class. I was generally pleased with the results from this project which can be viewed in this studio. I was especially proud of the work done by students who are new to Sinclair this year, most of whom are completely new not just to Scratch, but to computer programming in general.

Fourth grade's round 3 project was one of those that combines digital and physical elements. First students learned to use the Music Extension in Scratch. This set of commands lets students compose music played by different instruments and backed by various drums. They also used the Makey Makey Extension which is a set of key press events, but also allows for combinations of key presses to be used as an event. The students created beautifully cacophonous programs, many with accompanying visual effects. Next they used cardboard, construction paper, and copper tape to build a 5 key keyboard to play their program using the Makey Makey. My favorite part of this unit ended up being something completely unplanned. One week a student discovered that the keyboard they built could be used with any Scratch project that uses key presses. That class period ended with everyone playing Super Mario and Geometry Dash on their handmade keyboards. One student exclaimed, "It works with EVERYTHING!". Ah, the joy of discovery... The music projects are in this studio. 

Fifth grade:

Rounds 1 through 3 for 5th grade were built on the experiences I had in the Galapagos Islands last summer. That expedition was made possible by Fund for Teachers, an organization that supports self-designed teacher summer professional development. When I applied for the Fund for Teachers grant, pre-Covid, the projects that were central to my implementation looked quite a bit different. That made this project feel a bit more experimental than it might otherwise have. Still, I think all in all it turned out well. I did find though that a project stretched over 3 magnet rotations is a bit of a stretch in terms of attention and motivation. 

Students began by researching the Galapagos Islands. I provided them with my travel blog, videos, and pictures. We covered how the islands were formed, how the various speices arrived there, and how they have adapted over time to live in the islands. In round 2 students selected an animal, plant, or idea to focus on and conducted more research on that specific topic. Most students chose an animal, though some selected ideas like "human impacts on the Galapagos" or "invasive species" which was really great to see. They used their research to create a Scratch project that shared what they had learned form their research. They were instructed to make something akin to a virtual museum room about their topic, a digital tour guide of sorts set to begin speaking on a key press. For the final round students built a paper and cardboard model of their digital museum room. They used copper tape to make the door to the room a switch that they connected to their program with the aforementioned Makey Makey. Opening the door to the room triggered to virtual tour guide to begin telling the user about the room's contents. The digital rooms mostly turned out really well. Those projects are in this studio.

Check back in a few weeks to see how 4th and 5th grade did with Micro:bit. Kindergarten and first grade will be programming Robo-mouse soon, while 2nd and 3rd have new adventures in computer science on the horizon as well.

Third Grade's Turn to Cardboard Arcade

 In an effort to get things back on track after last year's disruptions, I followed up 4th grade's cardboard arcade unit with the same for 3rd grade. (Third grade is the grade that usually does cardboard arcade and this year's 4th graders missed it last year.) 

Below is the highlight reel from each class' presentation day. Each class had a group of kindergartners to share their games with. Everyone did an amazing job and I was quite impressed with their creativity.

Wilson:

Waters:

Lauritzen:

Banner:

Books + Numbers = Math Stories

The math stories unit has become a staple of the primary grades curriculum in the STEM lab. One of the many things I love about my work in the lab is that I get to tear down the walls between the core subjects. Too often each subject, math, reading, science, etc., ends up in what I think of as the Knowledge Zoo where each one is isolated from the others, and no mixing is allowed. This is, of course, completely out of step with reality where each subject is inextricably wound up in all of the others. Students are genuinely taken aback when a teacher tries to incorporate some ELA into a math lesson. (The severity of this problem struck me when I got the chance to teach self contained 3rd grade after years of departmentalized math and science. I told my students it was time for math and then introduced a picture book to open the lesson only to have a student interrupt with, "I thought we were doing math now". One of the founding purposes of the STEM lab was, and continues to be, helping students discover connections between the various "core" subject areas.

The books for each year's math stories unit are always a little different, though there are a couple of regulars. We always read The Greedy Triangle and Rooster's Off to See the World. How Big is a Foot? and Inch By Inch are regulars as well. I try to mix it up with the math concepts represented in the stories every year. Our transition to 1 week blocks (as opposed to the 2 week blocks we used to have) has made story selection a real challenge. With so many wonderful books to choose from, how does one narrow it down to 4 or 5? 

At any rate, I always enjoy the math stories unit and the students seem to enjoy it as well. This year first grade read The Greedy Triangle, The King's Commissioners, How Big is a Foot?, and Grandfather Tang's Story. Kindergarten read Inch By Inch, Rooster's Off to See the World, Two of Everything, and The 512 Ants on Sullivan Street. These books touch on concepts of geometry, measurement, doubling, skip counting, and number sense. Students made pictures with tangrams and paper triangles. They modeled doubling with counters. They estimated lengths and used inch tiles to measure for the actual figure. The pictures do not truly capture the fun and excitement, but they hopefully give and idea of what we have been up to.

Cardboard Arcade Returns!

For obvious reasons, there was no cardboard arcade at Sinclair in the 2020-2021 school year. That was a bitter disappointment for me as it has become one of my favorite projects. Typically cardboard arcade has been a 3rd grade project and that meant that this year's 4th graders missed out on it last year. Several students who were eager for their turn with the project asked about it last year. There were many dismayed groans when I said that cardboard arcade would not be possible.

When planning for this year I knew that I wanted 4th grade to do cardboard arcade first. I made some adjustments to the usual building guidelines we follow in the lab in order to keep with the current Covid protocols. One change that had to be worked around was the shift to 1 week blocks from the 2 we had pre-pandemic. In order to keep the Friday presentation students would have to be finished building and testing after about 3 class periods. I am pleased to say that everyone did a fantastic job of finishing within the time available. 

Each class had the opportunity to present their games to a visiting class of 1st graders. We did this outside so as not to overcrowd the lab. Our "customers" gave overwhelming positive feedback. Below is a short highlight reel from each class.

Third Gets Unstuck in Scratch

 Last year I got the chance to participate in the creation and piloting of the Creative Computing Lab's Getting Unstuck Curriculum materials. The Creative Computing Lab is part of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and oversees a number of programs designed to support teachers and students in using Scratch. The Getting Unstuck materials grew out of a summer experience they organized for educators in 2018 and 2020. There are 10 modules, each with a variety of elements that help teachers plan for instruction and to guide students through the unit. One of the best things about the documents is how flexible they are. It is possible to pick and choose activities that are best for each particular group of students, and to fit the time available.

At the end of last year I introduced the second graders to Scratch. In a sense, they "graduated" from Scratch Jr, which they had been using since Kindergarten. They worked though several short projects that helped them become familiar with the interface and what it could be used for. I did not have them work in the online version of Scratch because of the distractions created by the ability to comment on projects and see inside other people's projects. This first unit of the year introduces the students to the Scratch online community, project sharing, and collaboration.

We started with a review the digital etiquette expectations and online safety guidelines. These have been part of every computer programming unit since these students were in Kindergarten, and I was pleased with how well they were able to recall them. Next students logged into Scratch for the first time. Once they were logged in, students have some time to explore and refamiliarize themselves with the coding environment. It has been amazing to see and hear their excitement as they create and share their work with others.

I selected the module on "parallelism" (2 or more things happening at once in a program) for this unit. It is an accessible concept for those students who are new to computer programming, and it has a lot of room for creative expression. We started by exploring some "inspiration projects" collected in a studio by the Getting Unstuck team. Students tried the projects, tinkered with code, and made observations about how they projects worked. This was also a chance for them to experience one of the most powerful features of Scratch, the ability to see the code behind someone else's project and to make changes to that code (without altering the original). It's a digital equivalent to taking your toys apart to see how they work without having to worry about putting them back together again.

Next students planned their own parallelism projects. The prompt reads: "Create a project that uses multiple green flag blocks to make things happen at the same time". I gave the students a planning page where they could write or draw their ideas. Then they got to work. So far, I have been impressed with how different the project ideas are. One of my goals in the lab is to give my students creative confidence. That is, I want them to feel safe to follow their own ideas and interests rather than looking around the room to see what others are making. 

Each day I introduced them to another element of Scratch and how I expected them to work in the community. They shared their projects to the studio. They completed the project page including instructions and a reflection. We discussed the importance of commenting one's code and the students added comments in their projects. The week ended with learning to leave helpful comments on other people's projects. For this we follow the Heart and Star model. A "heart" is a specific positive comment on project, something like "My favorite part of your project is...". A "star" is a suggestion for s fix or improvement. I stress to the students that the star is not necessarily a problem to fix (though it could be). A star could be a suggestion to add music or more challenging levels. It could also tell an easier way to accomplish something in the program. Each student commented on at least 2 projects in the studio.

There are a couple projects embedded below (just click the green flag to run them). The full studio of projects can be found here: 3rd grade parallelism.

It's Code.org Season in the STEM Lab

We have had a fantastic first 2 weeks in the Sinclair STEM Lab! Things are not exactly normal, but a bit more so than last year and I am grateful for that. I have enjoyed seeing familiar faces in person rather than on a computer screen, and it has been great to meet so many new-to-Sinclair students. 

Each year, my Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classes begin with a computer programming unit based around Code.org activities. For the Kindergarten students this is their first taste of computer programming. The lessons are a mix of screen-based and unplugged activities. The goal is to develop their algorithmic thinking skills and prepare them for more creative computing tasks to come later in the year. 

I like to start 1st and 2nd grade with Code.org every year in order to review with the returning students, and to introduce students who are new to programming. These older students also participate in a mix of plugged and unplugged activities. Creative computing is a central part of what students do in the lab and the Code.org puzzles help those new students become comfortable with block based programming before they are exposed to Scratch Jr, and later to Scratch.

The last day of the week is what is popularly called Free Build Friday. Students get creative with whatever materials are supplied that week and build whatever they want. I am always so impressed by what they think to construct.

Is There Summer on the Equator?

 Greetings Sinclair Families!

I hope you have had a safe, healthy, and wonderful summer. I spent several weeks teaching computer programming, physical computing, and robotics to middle school students. It was a wonderful experience, but I have to say it REALLY made me miss my elementary age students. (Middle school teachers are a special group with a special set of skills that I must confess that I do not have.) 

The undoubted highlight of my summer was my time in the Galapagos Islands. This experience was supported by Fund for Teachers, a Houston-based non-profit that makes grants to K-12 educators for self-designed professional learning. The expedition my wife Kimberly Boyce and I made to the Galapagos was about deepening our understanding of the National Geographic Learning Framework and their GeoInquiry process. Elements of this fellowship will be incorporated into a number of learning units throughout this coming year, across the grade levels. You can read about our travels on our blog: Tortoise and the Finch and on our Instagram: Tortoise_Finch. 

There is still, of course, a bit of uncertainty about how this year will look in the STEM Lab. That said, I am so excited to have all of the students in person and hopefully with more opportunities to collaborate on projects. There were so many activities that have become staples of the STEM Lab that it was not possible to do because of the various health and safety protocols in place. Students missed out on Robo-mouse, cardboard arcade, Makey Makey, and Raspberry Pi, just to name a few. 

The Magnet Team will continue with our practice of sending weekly messages through Living Tree. These should arrive by Sunday evening from the Magnet teacher whose class your child will be visiting that week. If you have questions for any of the Magnet teachers, please use their Houston ISD email rather than Living Tree. We check our email several times each day, but we do not visit Living Tree with the same regularity. 

I am looking forward to a great year. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Winding Down This Most Peculiar Year

My best intentions for keeping a schedule of posting have come to naught under the weight of other digital responsibilities. That is not to say however that we have been idle in the STEM Lab. Quite the contrary, we have been designing, programming, and building up a storm. 

So here is the short version of what the various grade levels have been up to these last couple of months. 

Kindergarten & 1st grade

We spent several weeks exploring the nature to be found on campus. Students used their senses (not taste) to make and record observations about the living and non-living natural things they saw. We walked around campus noting the different types of trees, the birds, and even visited the habitat to see the pond. One of the most exciting things was getting to monitor the progress of a robin nest in a crepe myrtle outside one of the kindergarten classrooms. We made leaf rubbings and created pictures using natural materials as well.

The next unit was a return to computer programming. However, the focus this time was on creative computing rather than solving puzzles as we do in Code.org. We used the language Scratch Jr. for its ease of use. Each class began with a guided lesson followed by an independent practice challenge. Once students had completed the challenge they were invited to create their own programs with self designed characters and backgrounds. One of my main goals for the lab is that students see computer programming as a tool for self expression and sharing their learning. I start teaching them that lesson early and I am endlessly impressed with their creativity.

2nd grade

One of my favorite things to do with my second graders is to introduce them the "real" Scratch. Most of them have been using Scratch Jr. since kindergarten and stepping up to the full version make them feel like they are now the big kids. This was a 2 part unit (on account of the fact that I only have one week with the class rather than two. The first week was guided practice using the various commands and relating them to the Scratch Jr platform that they are familiar with. The second week involved planning and then programming an "All About Me" project in which clicking each letter of their name shared something about them.

Second grade's final unit of the year is, like their introduction to Scratch, about preparing for next year's STEM Lab projects. This one aims to develop the students' cardboard engineering skills. In the lab, our primary building material is cardboard. It is plentiful, easy to work with, and sturdy enough to build large structures. The students practiced constructing models using L-braces, flanges, and slotted pieces before combining these methods into a stabile. I have discovered that most students do not know how to effectively use liquid glue, so that is another one of the goals of this unit.

3rd Grade

The third graders also experienced a 2 part unit, this one involving the BBC Micro:bit device. This is a microcontroller that students program using a block-based language called MakeCode. The first week was spent becoming familiar with the various inputs and outputs found in the Micro:bit. The primary inputs students learned to use are buttons, the accelerometer (tilt sensor), and the I/O pins. They used these inputs to trigger outputs to the 5x5 LED screen and sound effects played through an add-on speaker board. The next time they visited the lab, students built a model animal with cardboard and construction paper and incorporated a Micro:bit running a program of their own creation to make their animal interactive.

The last 3rd grade STEM Lab unit was an introduction to the concept of "broadcasts" in Scratch. A broadcast sends messages between different elements of a program allowing the students to coordinate their these elements to create projects of greater complexity. Here are a couple examples.

4th grade

Our 4th graders spent a few extra units on Scratch this year. We were involved in piloting lessons and activities put together by the Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. These projects seek to develop students' coding skills while also developing their creative confidence. One of my overarching goals in the lab has always been to make students comfortable with open-ended tasks with many possible solutions. The general emphasis on standardized test results tends education toward standardized answers. Students display this training by point at whatever they are working on and asking, "Like this?".  A collection of the projects they created for these units can be found here: When Clicked, Broadcasts, Ask & Answer. 

After so much computer programming we took a break to do some purely physical making. This was the "biography bottles" research project. Students researched an important figure from the sciences. They then built a model of that person with plastic bottles, cardboard, and construction paper. They completed their display with a timeline of significant dates in that person's life and a notecard detailing their contributions and accomplishments.

The 4th grade is finishing the year setting up a project for next year when they are in 5th grade. My wife is also an elementary STEM lab teacher (at another school of course) and in 2020 we were awarded a summer study grant from Fund for Teachers, an organization that funds self designed professional development experiences for teachers. Our grant will help us visit the Galapagos Islands to create a model GeoInquiry project based on the framework created by National Geographic. This type of project engages students in geographic thinking and encourages them to take action to improve their communities. Students have been researching things to see and study in the Galapagos and will begin writing questions for us to ask the naturalists and guides we meet with on our expedition.

5th grade

My 5th grade students are often "asked" to be a beta testing group for new STEM lab units and this year is no different. Related to the aforementioned GeoInquiry project related to the Galapagos, I want to include GIS mapping next year when we review the data related to our expedition. Never having used this kind of technology with students, I wanted a test drive. I find 5th graders to be brutally honest about what works and what does not when given the chance (and when they trust the teacher enough to be honest with them). We worked with a number of resources including surveys and map explorations. I am extremely grateful for the feedback the students provided. Another part of this unit was a set of Skype-a-Scientist meetings. They facilitate connections between scientists in a variety of fields and classroom teachers. 

The 5th grade finished the year with a couple units based on art. In the first they used their skills in Scratch to "hack" a famous work of art. The result is a painting that one can interact with by clicking the different parts. Here are a couple examples: 

The other art-meets-programming project used Turtle Art, a language based on Logo that allowed students to draw with code. This drew (haha) not just on their knowledge of coding, but on their geometry skills as well. I was quite impressed with the things they were able to make.

So there you have it, everything we have been up to the last few months. It is certainly been a strange and taxing roller coaster of a year and I certainly hope that the 2021-2022 school year will be a bit more normal. 

Check here for updates on the Galapagos expedition.

Have a wonderful summer!