Week 1- Practice Photo Blog - Anna Krasin

SmartLab 

Cobly-the Code & Go Robot

Dr. John Spencer created a Design for Thinking Cycle with his colleague AJ Juliani as a way to describe the process of product development. The Kindergarteners spent two days in SmartLab, their monthly STEM lab time, this past week and had a chance to learn about Colby, a code and go robot mouse.

I saw Dr. John Spencer’s Hands-on and Minds-on Learning, and more specifically, his Launch Cycle framework play-out as the SmartLab teacher introduced the activity to the students. Here is what I witnessed:

L- Look, Listen, and Learn

In the phase, the students watched, listened and learned about the robot kit and how to use each piece. The kit consists of interlocking green track squares, command cards (that tell Colby what to do), a magnet block of cheese (the end goal), Colby and all its buttons, and some fun orange arches to incorporate (a fun design element). 

The teacher demonstrated how you create a plan with the command cards, wipe Colby’s memory, and enter in the code for Colby to follow. She demonstrated the end goal-for Colby to reach the cheese. Through this teacher-led demonstration, the students learned the basic process of their activity.

A- Ask Tons of Questions

Before they got started, both teacher and students asked questions:

T: What do you think Colby needs to do 1st?

S: Go forward!

T: Correct, we need to place an arrow card to tells him to move forward.

S: Can he go diagonally?

T: Good question. No, he can only go forward, left, right, or backwards.

T: What does Colby need in order to reach the cheese?

S: Directions!

U- Understanding the Process or Problem

The students experienced this phase when they began experimenting with Colby, but the teacher did create a failed scenario, before the went off to work. This led to questioning why her code did not work and what she should do differently. This part in her demonstration allowed her to check for understanding and what she had to re-teach. 

As the students began working with Colby, they quickly figured out what the true assignment was-get Colby down their track to the cheese!

N-Navigate Ideas

As the students worked with their partners, they had to work together to create a path for Colby to travel and plan a set of commands as well. This task had varying levels of learning curves as Kindergarteners are still navigating partner work and resisting the urge to not just play with the kit materials. With guidance, students began working and planning together.

C-Create a Prototype

This is where the students created their plans and were ready to test out their work.

H-Highlight and Fix

I found this phase to entice the most critical thought. Most students, as their first attempts, did not get Colby to the cheese. Oftentimes, they needed another forward arrow card or they forgot to have it turn. Some kids did not plan with the directions cards and had to restart altogether and follow the directions. Still, this phase proved to elicit questions around why Colby didn’t make it to the end. With the help of the teachers, we were able to ask the kids ‘what do you need to do in order to fix the problem?’ The students began to see and learn what Colby needs in order to travel down their path and get the cheese.

L- Launch to an Audience

Once the students fixed their problems, they were able to showcase how their design got Colby to the cheese. The excitement on their faces for themselves and for each other was so fun to see, and with their success, came an eagerness to try new ideas or simply watch Colby get the cheese over and over again. 

During our second day in Smartlab, we came together as a group and talked about what we learned. Dr. John Spencer said ‘the deeper learning often occurs in the midst of it (the activity) as you engage in meaningful discourse’ (Spencer, J. (2020, October 23). The students were able to recount their experiences with Colby and the problems and success they found. We know that humans learn through teaching, and I believe this conversation allowed for deeper understanding as they verbally processed their experiences. 

The conversations before and after the lesson also reminded me of what we learned from the Inquiry Project on Productive Talk. In the video, they describe Productive Talk as a way to promote learning as students listen to their peers' ideas. We sat in a circle and the students shared their ideas of how they got Colby to follow their directions. 

S: I had to put two forward cards and then a turn card to make Colby find the cheese.

S: Yeah, I had to do that, too.

S: Sometimes Colby went off the track.

T: Why do you think that happened?

S: Because he wanted to!

T: Hmm, does Colby make decisions on his own, or does he need you to tell him what to do?

S: He needs us to tell him what to do!

Within the transcript of Classroom Discussions of The Inquiry Project the teacher stated ‘Teachers are facilitating the conversation by asking students to say more, to dig deeper in their reasoning, to clarify their explanations, and to think together’ (Library of Resources, Professional Development, The Inquiry Project. (n.d.). 2008). This is exactly what I heard and saw the Smartlab teacher doing. She asked open ended questions that created inquiry and thinking. I saw every student participating either by actively listening or contributing the the discussion. Productive Talk is definitely a teaching strategy I plan to use when I become a teacher.  

We did not have a formal social studies lesson, but I did not want to show how materials are adapted for our visually impaired student. We use Scholastic newsletters every month and this month we learned about Valentine's Day. The students sit on the carpet and follow along with their magazines as the teacher uses the interactive version of the magazine. Our vision student always has a special education teacher or para talking to him about what is on the board, but the student also has a brailled version of the magazine. You can see from the pictures how the school makes learning accessible to all students. Not only did they braille the magazine, but also created a second document of the inside text.

References

Library of Resources | Professional Development | The Inquiry Project. (n.d.). 2008. https://inquiryproject.terc.edu/prof_dev/library.cfm.html

Spencer, J. (2020, October 23). It might be hands-on learning, but is it minds-on learning? - John Spencer. John Spencer. https://spencerauthor.com/hands-on/