I Spy With My Little Eye.....Tink..Tinker...Tinkering and Engineering

I spy with my little eye...a mindset for learning. A place to tinker and design, create and build- a makerspace. Tinkering is a uniquely human activity, combining social interaction with individual creativity, forging a place where play and learning intertwine. When we allow students to take risks- create, destroy, rebuild, tinker, alter, rebuild- we are letting them experiment with their own ideas. We are letting them discover their own voice. A makerspace lets teachers take a step back and give students permission to trust themselves and think independently. Tinkering is what happens when students try something new, something they do not quite know how to do, guided by whim and fancy rather than rules and instructions. When you tinker there are no directions, there are also loads of mistakes but no failures, no rights and wrongs, simply trial and error. In a classroom this is the synergy of student ingenuity, making connections and habits of mind, an opportunity to see things in a different way by manipulating and altering your surroundings.

Engineering is more concrete. Engineers make things work in the real world. They are precise and definitely follow a set of rules. Engineers plan but they also tinker. In a classroom we need to nurture the playful, creative inclinations our students have. Rather then merely drawing a diagram, why not let them use play-doh to create one. Tinkering and engineering are both rooted in thinking. Yet, this is a topic often neglected in education. There is a lot of discussion about learning, classroom design, relationships but little about the process of thinking. Thinking is not merely a process of the mind it is a development of ideas and discovery of new knowledge. How we put these together is what makes us creative and innovative. How do we know what a child is thinking? We don't. But we can tell if they are bored and uninterested. This is visible. But, if we offer a chance to tinker and engineer, thinking will come to the forefront and students will be engaged.

Students need to find nurturing places in real life to geek out with others who share their passion. They'll thrive in spaces that perpetually rekindle their desire to make meaningful contributions toward personally relevant issues, ideas, people and interests. A makerspace allows for students to collaborate and construct their knowledge into tangible things. Today, more and more schools are adding educational makerspaces to classrooms across all levels:  elementary, middle, and high school. In the makerspace environment, students are set free to be makers limited only by their creativity. They are unhindered by instructions and guided by pure unfettered imagination. A makerspace mixes all aspects of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and allows for creativity in an exploration of “what if?” This brings inquiry, mystery and engagement into any classroom.

I spy with my little eye... a makerspace and students laughing and playing and learning. Through collaboration and tinkering a model is born. An examination of catastrophic events is happening in class. The "what if?" Demonstrate what happens to an ecosystem during a flood, hurricane or tornado, using play-doh, pipe cleaners, and Popsicle sticks. Not only are they tinkering, they are seeing these events in a different light, not what they are but their effects on the environment.