STEAM Learning Tools for K-12 Education by Allison Chen

1 + 1 = Squiggly

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

1 + 1 = Squiggly STEAM Learning tools for K-12 Education Thesis project BFA Industrial Design Rhode Island School of Design by Allison Chen

1 + 1= Squiggly

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Pg 10

Foreword

Ch 1 Pg 13

Proposal How might we implement STEAM in K-12 education?

Ch 2 Pg 25

Research How might we understand our users?

Ch 3 Pg 41

Analysis How might we define constraints and opportunities?

Ch 4 Pg 51

Toolkits How might we design meaningful learning within educational constraints?

Ch 5 Pg 67

Website How might we create a support system and community?

Ch 6 Pg 77

Conclusion How might we continue?

Pg 80

Afterword

Pg 82

Appendix

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This book presents an overview of my Senior Studio project (aka Thesis) as it progressed Fall 2014 Spring 2015: part research, part curriculum design, part graphic design, part product design, part web design, and part writing. It is intended to be a light read for educators, students, design thinkers, and general public stakeholders, and an open invitation to conversation, critique, and collaboration.

Foreword

I am currently completing my BFA in Industrial Design (ID) at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). This project is the topic of my Senior Studio, a Spring Semester Advanced Studio course in RISD’s ID Department that provides seniors with the opportunity to apply the design process to an independent project of their choosing. In short, my senior thesis. Eager to go out with a bang, I selected my project based off an accumulation of my interests: combining the arts with science and math, working with kids, facilitating playful experiences. Thus I set out to pursue these interests through the human-centered design process, with the goal to arrive at a conceivable solution by the end of the year. I playfully named this project “1 + 1 = Squiggly” to symbolize my learning philosophy - that we cannot always learn through memorization and purely didactic processes. Sometimes we have to learn by navigating through the unknown, and embracing the unexpected and unpredictable. This can often be confusing and even frightening, but necessary to discovery and reaching our potential. And by imbuing this philosophy into my work, I was able to follow it in practice myself.

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Proposal

Proposal How might we implement STEAM in K-12 education?

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Let’s look at the big picture. STEAM = science technology engineering art math STEAM is a framework that combines these different fields of study in a way that applies to education, research, and industry. It is a relatively new concept that has grown considerably since Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) championed the STEM to STEAM movement in 2012. Paired with STEM fields, the arts elevate the value of creativity, imagination, and expression to provide avenues for innovative work and critical thinking. In this way, STEAM serves as a catalyst to economic and technologic development without losing sight of humanistic values. Branching off from this general definition, there are many individual interpretations of STEAM as to how it can be manifested. Oftentimes we question what is and what is not a “legitimate” STEAM activity versus an artistically-inclined STEM activity or vice versa. Along with other advocates of the movement, I believe in approaching STEAM as holistic way of thinking rather than a superficial attachment to STEM.

(Study) Math Science

(Make) Art Engineering (Tools) Technology

Researchers have debunked the myth of left-brain and right-brain thinkers, and similarly defining STEAM as STEM on the left and A on the right does us no favors. Rather, I define STEAM as the relationship between studying through math and science, making through art and engineering, and both using and building tools through technology. This triad of interactions provides us with many possibilities, for how we use tools to study phenomena to advise our making, or how what we

Proposal make informs our study, or how what we study advances technology to create new tools for making.

Sounds great, but why isn’t it sticking? Despite receiving enthusiastic response, the STEAM movement has not grown as considerably as the STEM movement, or its other cousins the Maker movement or Design Thinking movement. Why is this? I believe there are two main reasons: They’re easily understandable. These are STEM fields, here’s how to prepare for them. Maker culture creates physical objects. Design thinking is about problem solving. They have a defined process. The scientific process, DIY step by step guides, the human-centered design process - these are all guides that can be disseminated and followed. These movements play an important role in education specifically because today’s students are the most important leaders of our future. Many K-12 schools have jumped on the STEM bandwagon, and some have included Maker culture and Design Thinking into their programming as well. Because STEAM is still at a more conceptual stage, it is more difficult to define and therefore more difficult to implement. My goal this past year was to find a concrete way to carry out STEAM in the U.S. education system.

How might we implement STEAM in K-12 schools? By understanding our users in context, teachers and students in the classroom. 15

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Based in Providence, RI, I began my research visiting a variety of different K-12 schools - independent, public charter, and public - and observing science, math, and art classes in grades 1-8 for patterns as to how they’re conducted and what materials they use. I also interviewed teachers, students, and stakeholders in STEAM and education to determine their opinions, challenges, and values.

In my primary research, I observed some important trends. •

Teachers are incredibly busy. Not only do they teach, but they pre-teach to plan, post-teach to evaluate, and often manage student activities.

•

Teachers and students operate under specific requirements. Most of these requirements are mandated or incentivized by the government, e.g. Common Core standards.

•

Students believe they’re restricted by their classes, e.g. “you can’t do science in math class”, or “reading in science class”.

Proposal

I also more clearly defined “barriers to entry” for STEAM. • •

Lack of precedent. There are currently no proven, successful models to follow. Lack of materials. There are plenty of STEM kits, guides, lesson plans, afterschool programs, summer camps, but not so much for STEAM.

Within all of these constraints, how might we design meaningful STEAM learning? Do we even have room to implement STEAM within such a regimented education structure? After analyzing the research, an important insight arose.

Educational standards mandate what teachers should teach, but not how they should teach it. Because education is constantly changing, teachers are open to new ideas as long as they are formatted for their classroom structure. 17

1 + 1= Squiggly Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not looking at two separate problems, but rather one possible solution. By designing STEAM curriculum that is applicable to classroom standards, we can provide resources to teachers, playful learning experiences for students, and begin experimenting and establishing a STEAM pedagogy. I propose a solution that combines pragmatism with opportunity, to encourage the development of STEAM that values the user needs of teachers and students.

To appeal to teachers, it must be: Affordable, Accessible, Customizable, Applicable to standards, and Applicable to different levels To appeal to students, it must be: Tactile, Playful, Creative, Exploratory, and Interdisciplinary 18

Proposal

Squiggly School Squiggly School is an online resource center of STEAM learning tools for K-12 schools. It provides teachers with support by sharing curriculum and materials, and creates community through online forum and feedback.

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1. Identify

k Loo

2. Customize ...

Hmm

???

Proposal

3. Use !

ime t o G

4. Give feedback/advice

.. orked. w t a h W idnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t... d t a h W

1 + 1= Squiggly

Electronics

Music

Data Viz

Astronomy

Anatomy

Geometry

Let’s give teachers something to work with. Let’s provide tangible ways to introduce STEAM programming piece by piece, step by step. Resources are shared in the form of a product line of toolkits. Organized by topic, toolkits suggest possible ways to approach STEAM learning, from workshops and projects to games and toys. Each toolkit is comprised specifically of: • • • •

Activities that provide ideas and outline actions, Manipulatives that guide exploration and play, References that explain visually/audiovisually, Materials for creating and building ideas,

as well as a description as to how the activities relate to national educational standards and STEAM integration. Teachers can choose to

Proposal use the entire toolkit, use individual components, combine elements with other curriculum, or take inspiration to create an entirely new lesson plan.

(Above) Geometry tools at Nathan Bishop Middle School

(Above) Anatomy workshop at Jewish Community Day School Overall, this project is a systemic approach to curriculum design. The toolkits provide the framework - what types of resources are they? The website provides the platform - how are the resources distributed? And the community that we build provides the content - what are we learning and why is it significant? Because the fields of STEAM are constantly changing and the movement itself is very much in flux, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to not only learn from best practices but also to gain inspiration from current or potential work. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work together to build STEAM!

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Research

Research How might we understand our users?

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Expectation

Research

Analysis Ideation ModelMaking Feedback

Prototyping

Testing & Iterating

The design process is messy! I learned to embrace unpredictability while simulta process on my process blog (studiosquiggly.tumblr.com/). 26

Research

Reality

Secondary Research

User Research

Ideation

Feedback

ModelMaking

User Testing

Prototyping & Iterating

aneously carefully planning my next steps. You can view the entire messy

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STEAM Learning

Teachers

Students

Educational Constraints

Research I employed the human-centered design process for a number of reasons - I believe it’s the appropriate procedure for a social impact endeavor. I think too often in education reform are the actual users ignored in development stages. And I felt the strong, personal need to grasp the context in which my design would potentially be implemented. I prioritized primary research early on so that I could truly get a feel for the everyday procedure of K-12 classrooms and the education system at large. Though I was aware that I’d perhaps bitten off more than I could chew early on, I was fortunate enough to work with two great advisors, Melita Morales and John Fitsioris. Both had a great deal of teaching experience and guided me through navigating STEAM, lesson planning, and educational standards. My focus for research lay at the intersection between four main considerations, where I sought to combine pragmatism with opportunity. Pragmatically speaking, I knew I had to focus on teachers and the educational constraints by which they’re evaluated. Teachers: What is your teaching experience? Why did you start teaching? What do you find most challenging - about your subject, about transitioning grade levels, about teaching in general? What is most rewarding? Educational Constraints: What types of educational constraints are there? What are the motivations or reasoning behind them? What are teachers’ experiences with them? Opportunity presented itself in the form of STEAM learning as a way to possibly engage and interest students. STEAM Learning: What is your individual definition of STEAM? Why is STEAM beneficial? What organizations/institutions are already working with STEAM? Students: What are you most interested in learning about? What are you least interested? Why do you think you’re drawn, or not drawn to them? Do you ever combine subject matters you’re learning about?

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I visited 9 local K-12 schools and 1 higher ed institution to observe classes and interview teachers and students.

7 8 9 10

Research

2 3 5

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I was struck by how different they all were from each other. Even though I took a small sampling of the national education data pool, it was clear that each school had its individual culture, driven by the needs of the students and the outlook of the teachers. No wonder the “one size fits all” approach of national education requirements is difficult to implement - they don’t take into account this tremendous diversity.

Learning Community Center Public Charter School, K-8

Jewish Community Day School Independent School, PreK-5

Nathan Bishop Middle School Public School, 6-8

Harry Kizirian Elementary School Public School, K-5 32

Research

Moses Brown School Independent School, PreK-12

Lincoln School Independent School, K-12

Paul Cuffee (Lower) School Public Charter School, K-5

RISD Continuing Education Post-Secondary Program

Urban Collaborative Acc. Program Independent Public School, 7-8

Paul Cuffee (Middle) School Public Charter School, 6-8 33

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Research

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A classroom user journey typically consists of: Introduction Discussion Activity Conclusion Interestingly enough, this basic structure applied to multiple grade levels and subjects. Students go through enormous amounts of information per day, with separate teachers after elementary school, so the introduction and conclusion is necessary to bracketing their class. Logistically, they also usually include setup and cleanup of materials and workspaces. Most classes incorporate a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do Nowâ&#x20AC;? for the introduction that either recalls a previous activity or prepares students for the upcoming activity. Discussions and activities vary according to the subject. For many art classes it consists of a tutorial/demo, where a technique was shown to the class to practice or use. Math and science class discussions usually consists of a lecture to introduce topics and concepts, and open up to experiments or question sets. Both include frequent question and answer moments. The conclusion is typically a quick wrap-up, sometimes in the form of reading and writing, sometimes in the form of a quick discussion. Classroom layouts (right) often affect user journeys in terms of what the space allows them to do. Some classrooms include a large rug or desk for students to gather around for a large discussion, and many have students seated in groups.

Research

1 + 1= Squiggly I scheduled interviews with teachers and stakeholders individually, while casually interviewing students during my classroom visits, learning some fascinating things on the way.

STEAM and Arts Integration are keys to opening up our minds. “I think first and foremost as a parent and a teacher that the arts keep students’ minds really sharp, active, and alive. I think they really nourish the brains and the curiosity of children in particular.” “Practical exercises, forward momentum, and tangible solutions - that’s the value of STEAM.” “To me STEAM means helping people integrate multiple modes of inquiry. I think that both artistic inquiry and scientific inquiry begin with questions. The beauty and elegance in science is starting with a question and then structuring an experiment. Artistic inquiry is divergent, if we want we can look at fifty or a hundred outcomes.” “If you don’t compartmentalize your education, you’re not prone to compartmentalizing people and their skills. Art is everywhere and science is everywhere and math is everywhere.”

Interdisciplinary collaboration requires time and initiative. “Teachers need time to work together and really come up with meaningful interdisciplinary objectives and activities. In order to be truly interdisciplinary you’ve got to be collaborative and think about how the different disciplines can complement each other.” Oftentimes the art teachers that I interviewed would create interdisciplinary programming by working with other teachers, whether 38

Research in STEM fields, history, or English.

Teachers aren’t lone wolves. Many make use of outside resources through websites, apps, and books. Some schools have mentorship programs so that teachers can support each other as well. “The teaching career has changed tremendously, it’s no longer 9 to 3, September to June. It’s 24/7, and if you love your career and you want to gain more knowledge, it’s all summer long.” “Common Core gets a really bad reputation. At the heart of what it is I believe Common Core is a phenomenal idea, my biggest issue is that there’s very little direction in terms of the “pathway of implementation”, in that you’re provided a list of standards, but there’s no suggested order or district curriculum map.”

Students overdefine because we overdefine. We define, specialize, and separate various subjects so that it’s easier to manage them. However, this indirectly limits how students view their education. In speaking with various students, I noticed a trend in how they labeled their learning. One claimed you couldn’t learn two subjects at the same time, or else you would get confused and get bad grades. Some believed reading doesn’t belong in science, it belongs in ELA. Some are involved in activities that they recognize involves science and math, but don’t believe involve art. “Education is like a pendulum. We have been experiencing a more conservative movement, but now we’re swinging back to more integrated classrooms.”

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Analysis

Analysis How might we define constraints and opportunities?

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I had to determine early on - what is my role as a designer and as an outsider? By defining my role, I can also define the impact I can have. Part of it is recognizing my limitations - I don’t have the power to increase funding, decrease the significance of standards and standardized testing, or change the way the majority of schools are run. At first, it would appear that my options are severely limited. However, as a designer I’m in the business of making things. Best case scenario, I would make things that can be used in the classroom. It was important to determine how to position myself to my users, teachers and students. I accepted early on that there is no “one size fits all” model of success to reach students. Each has their own individual learning style, and are excited and motivated by different things. This provides an opportunity for how to position STEAM - because of it’s interdisciplinary nature, it can draw from various subjects and interest students who may not feel an inclination toward a subject unless it related to their preexisting interests. It was also clear that physical objects and experiential learning engage students in multiple ways and provides a holistic approach to education. This would inform the final curriculum and product design. In turn, I determined that teachers are the “primary customer” so to speak, for they have control over what they bring into their classroom. Therefore it is necessary that though the design will be used primarily by students, clear communication would determine how successfully they can be disseminated to teachers. What exactly is this? How can we use this? Why is this beneficial and/or better than what we’re already doing?

Analysis I considered Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Chart a great reference for creating different types of resources. While I certainly emphasized the importance of open-ended, creative thinking, I also recognized the importance of memorization, especially at the beginning of the learning process.

Extended Thinking design, connect, synthesize, critique, analyze, create, prove, apply concepts

Strategic Thinking assess, critique, formulate, hypothesize, draw conclusions, differentiate, investigate, construct

Skill/Concept categorize, graph, classify, cause/effect, estimate, compare, relate, interpret, distinguish, summarize

Recall memorize, recall, repeat, recite, recognize, identiy, list, label, measure, name, report (Spoilers for Toolkit Section) The “Recall” stage signified the need for References, the “Skill/ Concept” stage for Manipulatives, and the latter two stages for Activities and Materials. 43

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I chose to focus on a specific point in the teacher’s journey - their preparation time.

Student Receives Class Schedule

Stud Atte Cla

Teac Facili Cla

Teacher Receives Goals and Requirements

Teacher Plans Lesson (LongTerm and ShortTerm)

Teacher Preps Classroom for Lesson

Communication overwhelming and/or unclear

Too much freedom or pressure, not enough time

Lack of resources, technology, or training

THIS IS WHAT I’M DESIGNING

THIS IS W LEARN HAPP

Analysis

WHERE NING PENS

dent ends ass

cher itates ass

Didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand, unmotivated, lack of resources

Student Does Homework Teacher Reflects

Student Takes Assessment

Student Reflects, Continues

Teacher Gives Assessment

THIS IS AN INDICATION OF LEARNING

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And to focus on a crucial transitional stage for students, grades 4-8.

counting numbers, building blocks adding, subtracting exploring form, senses, the world around us day spent with one teacher, one class fingerpainting, lots of art projects

chemistry introduce moving fr abstract m day spent teachers a class

ELEMENTARY play time, nap time, recess making friends, playground fun, safe environment

puberty, h emo iden awkward f finding ou image/ide

y, biology, physics ed separately rom concrete to math concepts t with different and/or different

Analysis

more choice in classes more detail, advanced/accelerated classes college prep increased standardized testing extra-curricular opportunities (e.g. art camps, science fairs, math challenges, etc.)

MIDDLE

hormones ntity crisis friend cliques ut who you are entity issues

HIGH still figuring out who you are dating, dating, more dating first car, dances, more freedom

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What is my goal? In simple terms, my goal is to provide a feasible way to implement STEAM in K-12 schools. But at what scale? To what extent? As with any education movement, it would be ideal to have a nationwide effect. So how might we achieve that? Speakers, conferences, and other events already exist in order to promote STEAM in name and provide a persuasive argument. It made sense to avoid repeating these preestablished developments and position myself differently. This project seeks to provide the next step - once schools understand what STEAM is and why it might be beneficial, they can begin to introduce STEAM programming with the resources provided. And just as â&#x20AC;&#x153;one size fits allâ&#x20AC;? does not apply to students, it does not apply to schools either. It was clear that schools would differ in terms of how integrated and committed they would be in terms of STEAM implementation depending on their individual goals, facilities, and cultures.

The goal is to provide the first step to introducing new programming and encourage experimentation. These levels of commitment would vary according to how invested the school is in terms of time, energy, and interest. A light commitment would consist of learning within an individual subject that draws heavily on other subjects, showing how they are all related to each other. Collaboration between different classes and subjects to create interdisciplinary projects and activities would constitute the next step.

Analysis

Furthermore, a specialized STEAM elective class or course track would provide more opportunity to go more deeply into the subject matter. And finally, integrating STEAM into the core plan and mission of the school would be the most committed course of action. I believe that the more integrated STEAM is with the school and within itself, the more time, energy, and interest is necessary. Some schools may know immediately what level of commitment suits them best, but others might not know until they test it out. That is why my goal is to provide the first step, to say that if you’re unsure of STEAM, the best way to move forward is to experiment. If we can save teachers the time and energy it takes to plan the programming and position the resources in a way that’s relevant to education standards and mandates, then we would be able to provide a low risk, safe platform for experimentation.

Let’s be creative by failing forward. I often define creativity as the courage to fail. A good idea is a rarity, and can only come out of several bad ideas. To be truly innovative means being creative and encountering failure time and time again. However, being innovative within a school environment is difficult, not only because of the constraints of schedules and requirements, but because we often have one chance at giving students these experiences. Having been a student for most of my life, I can recall a few times when I felt frustrated hearing a teacher is “trying something new” and we will be their “guineau pigs”. I was confused, thinking that if they’re figures of authority they should know what they’re doing. I understand the risk of disappointing students first-hand and that it can be a barrier to experimentation. But if we provide avenues that allow schools to not only fail but fail forward, then we can truly encourage creativity and innovation in education. 49

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Toolkits

Toolkits How might we design meaningful learning within educational constraints?

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A toolkit is a collection of resources that is geared toward a specific topic and meant to guide classroom learning. After analyzing my research, designing toolkits was the logical course of action because it allowed for a versatile range of products to brainstorm and iterate upon. Each toolkit is made up of four main components:

References

Manipulatives

Materials

Activities

References include slideshows, diagrams, infographics, gifs, and videos. They help explain and provide examples through a more didactic teaching method. Manipulatives are hands-on, experiential learning tools that guide learning by being manipulated (i.e. played with) by students.

Materials are used for making and building, and might include everything from paper and pencil to plywood and paint. Activities are step-by-step guides for lesson plans. They recommend how and when to use the other resources, and include descriptions for how they are related to STEAM subjects and educational standards. Toolkits are subsequentially organized by topics, such as geometry, astronomy, and music to name a few. These topics have room for overlap as well, through individual resources that apply to multiple topics or reference each other. By no means should these materials mandate how teachers should run their classrooms. Rather, they provide a framework to implement new ideas into their curriculum that can be customized so as to best serve individual students and school cultures. In this way, they appeal to teachers seeking support for lesson planning. They also appeal to students by emphasizing playful learning that engages them beyond textbooks and worksheets through activities that include exploratory making and building.

Electronics

Music

Data Viz

Astronomy

Anatomy

Geometry

1 + 1= Squiggly

I took inspiration awesome toolk there, with a sp making and

Toolkits

n from the many kits already out pecific focus on d building.

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I brainstormed and prototyped various resources for the Geometry, Anatomy, and Data Viz toolkits. DATA VIZ - VISUAL ELEMENTS

LINE

FORM

COLOR

Toolkits

GEOMETRY TOOLKIT

GRADES 6-7

1 + 1 = Squiggly is a user-centric design project that is developing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) learning tools for K-12 schools. It aims to connect national educational standards with playful learning to create engaging interdisciplinary experiences in the classroom. The Geometry Toolkit delves into exploring Geometry as the building blocks to the world around us in both man-made and natural scenarios, both on the macro and micro scale. The activities provide a tactile way of learning about geometric properties and creating possibilities. How is it STEAM?

How does it relate to Standards?

ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

ART

SCIENCE

MATH

This toolkit promotes creative thinking and hands-on building that is rooted in logic.

Common Core Math Geometry - solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume. Draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them. Next Generation Science Engineering Design - defining the problem, developing possible solutions, improving designs. National Core Art Creating - organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

Activities

These are suggestions for activities that promote STEAM through connecting the disciplines in ways that are playful, tactile, exploratory, creative, and interdisciplinary. • • • •

Derive Equations Build Challenges Tessellation Design Discovering Geometry

Products

These are more in-depth descriptions of the designed products included. • • • •

Geotiles STEAM Sketchbook Visual References Visual Templates

Here’s an inside look at their development, and in some cases their testing! 57

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Geotiles are a set of manipulatives in the Geometry Toolkit. Geotiles are connected by double-sided velcro straps at each side. One face is colored, the other is gridded, and both faces have dry erase surfaces that allow one to draw on and erase them with markers.

VELCRO

COLOR FACE

GRID FACE

3”x4”

3”x3”

3”x4”

4”x4”

3”-sided

1.5”x3”

4”-sided

2”x4”

4”-sided

3”-sided

4”-sided

3”-sided

Toolkits I was inspired partially by other math toys (such as magna-tiles) and partially by geometry requirements in Common Core to design a manipulative that encouraged more open-ended play in creating patterns and structures.

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I rendered some possible configurations for the tiles

Toolkits

and was able to see them in use at Nathan Bishop Middle School!

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“Design Your Anatomy” is a workshop that combines design thinking with comparative anatomy. Part 1: We start with a discussion of different animal traits, the underlying structures, and how that relates to their different environments. Part 2: We introduce the design challenge by assigning students an ecosystem, such as the rainforest or desert, and they’re tasked to redesign their own anatomy to help them survive. Students are given time to research their environment and the animals that live there. Part 3: Now students can visualize their redesign by drawing and/or building their ideas. Part 4: Once they’re done, students have the opportunity to share their environment and their redesign. For this workshop, I had the privilege of being part of KinderSTEAM group, a collaboration between RISD, Brown, and Jewish Community Day School RI. Students had the opportunity to lead various workshops during STEAM week in April 2015, ranging from musical instruments to optical illusions.

Toolkits

I designed and collected a range of resources for this workshop. (left) Slideshow to introduce and discuss

(left) Nature Lab books and specimens

(above) STEAM Sketchbooks to record research

(above) Ecosystem cards to assign and introduce ecosystems We were also able to access JCDSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s computer lab and design lab, where students could use computers to research and various drawing and building materials to work with. This workshop was co-created with Melita Morales and Amy Zhang.

(above) Stickers as reward incentives 63

1 + 1= Squiggly I was inspired by biomimicry and prosthetic devices, and wanted to introduce these concepts to young students in a fun way. The lesson plan went through many iterations, eventually focusing on â&#x20AC;&#x153;form follows functionâ&#x20AC;? as the driving objective.

Toolkits

I facilitated the workshop with Melita and Amy and had a blast!

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Website

Website How might we create a support system and community?

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The website creates an information network and community. It is a communication tool that serves as a distribution channel of toolkits, an easy-to-use online customization interface, and a platform for an online forum to post feedback and suggestions. In short, the website provides support and empowerment by centralizing information and connecting schools and teachers to a network of schools and teachers all trying the same thing.

Toolkit Product Line ready-made

Community Forum

User Account

feedback

customize

Website A toolkit webpage is comprised primarily of activity modules shown in comic book format, with callouts indicating what materials, manipulatives, and references are recommended. An overarching description and table of contents provides context for the toolkit. General Description

Activity Description Callouts

STEAM relation

Standards relation Table of Contents

Activity Lesson Plan

1 + 1= Squiggly

I white-boarded and card-sorted the interaction design,

Website

and created wireframes and prototypes of the interface design. About

Browseb

Toolkits

Geometry

Topic

AstronomyA

Music

BrowseL

ogin

natomy

Data Viz

Coding

Electronics

Optics

About

Browse

Derive Equations Students will understand not only what the geometric equations are but how they are derived and how they relate to each other.

eoti es

You might begin by asking students to confirm what they have already learned at the beginning of the lesson, and then transition to asking them

You might begin by asking students to confirm what they have already learned at the

Students will understand not only what the geometric equations are but how they are derived and how they relate to each other.

You might begin by asking students to

Geotiles are geometric confirmtiles whatstudents can use to build both two- and three-dimensionally.

Students will understand not only what the geometric equations are but how they are derived and how they relate to each other.

You might begin by asking students to

Students will understand not only what the geometric equations are but how they are derived and how they relate to each other.

You might begin by asking students to

About

BrowseL

Original Toolkits

Jane Doe Anatomy

Music

Electronics

Coding

Edit Profile View Dashboard Feedback History

Customized Toolkits

Social Media

Geometry of Anatomy STEAM elective

Senior projects

Cool ideas

Design Thinking

Coding Music

Electronics + History Collab

Coding Music (DRAFT!)

ogin

1 + 1= Squiggly

User Flow

I need an idea for a lesson plan! What can I do?

Homepage

Browse

Toolkits Activities Manipulatives References Materials

(activity page)

Description

(icon and text)

Topic Subject Standard Grade Level

(product feature)

Website This is great! Download, print, and order. This is almost there, can I customize it? Create Account Save to Dashboard

Customize

View Dashboard

Download, print, order

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s try this out!

Feedback 73

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I sent out PDF proposals to communicate the tools I designed and roughly prototype webpages. GRADES 6-7

GEOTILES

ACTIVITIES These are suggestions for activities with Geotiles and geometry that connect math, art, and science together to create a playful, STEAM experience!

Geotiles are a set of manipulatives that provide a tactile way of learning about geometry. Through playing with Geotiles, students may understand certain properties of geometry and how they apply to both the natural and man-made world, as well as gain confidence in creative building. How is it STEAM?

How does it relate to Standards?

TESSELLATIONS DISCOVERY Activity - Ask students to discover various ways to create tessellations by using 1-3 different kinds of Geotiles. Encourage them to experiment and also find ways that don’t work. Possible tessellations include but are not limited to: • • • • • • • •

Next Generation Science Engineering Design - defining the problem, developing possible solutions, improving designs.

Geotiles promote creative thinking that is rooted in logic and laws of nature.

National Core Art Creating - organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

Objectives - Students will understand that to create a tessellation (flat pattern) the corners of the shapes must come together to equal 360o. They will gain creative confidence through hands-on building. They will be able to classify shapes based off their properties (angles) and apply this in different ways.

Geotiles are connected by double-sided velcro straps at each side. One face has a color finish and the other a gridded dry erase board surface.

VELCRO

Hexagons only Equilateral triangles only Squares only Right triangles only Squares and right triangles Hexagons and equilateral triangles Squares and equilateral triangles Hexagons, squares, and equilateral triangles

BUILDING WITH VOLUME Activity - Ask students to explore various ways of creating 3-D structures with Geotiles. Students will create a variety of structures, some with gaps/overlaps and some without gaps/overlaps. Ask students to calculate the volume of their structures, either exactly if it’s a rectangular prism, or estimate of it’s irregular or not a solid shape. Objectives - Students will understand the concept of volume as a solid figure through the process of building, exploring, and trial and error. They will gain creative confidence through hands-on building.

COLOR FACE

GRID FACE

GEOMETRY TOOLKIT

GRADES 6-7

GRADES 6-8

DATA VIZ TOOLKIT

The Geometry Toolkit delves into exploring Geometry as the building blocks to the world around us in both man-made and natural scenarios, both on the macro and micro scale. The activities provide a tactile way of learning about geometric properties and creating possibilities.

The Data Viz Toolkit focuses on Data Visualization - how we observe, collect findings, and communicate and analyze those findings in visual ways. It encourages students to think critically about the interactions and systems in the world around us.

How is it STEAM?

How does it relate to Standards?

ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

ART

SCIENCE

MATH

This toolkit promotes creative thinking and hands-on building that is rooted in logic.

How does it relate to STEAM? ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

Next Generation Science Engineering Design - defining the problem, developing possible solutions, improving designs.

ART

SCIENCE

National Core Art Creating - organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

MATH

This toolkit promotes critical thinking through visual analysis and communication.

How does it relate to Standards? Common Core Math Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems. Represent and analyze quantative relationships between dependent and independent variables. Statistics and Probability. Next Generation Science Analyze and interpret data - Matter and its Interactions, Energy, Ecosystems, Biological Evolution, Earth’s Place in the Universe, Earth’s Systems, Engineering Design. National Core Art Producing - develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.

Activities

Activities These are suggestions for activities that promote STEAM through connecting the disciplines in ways that are playful, tactile, exploratory, creative, and interdisciplinary.

• • • •

• • • • •

These are suggestions for activities that promote STEAM through connecting the disciplines in ways that are playful, tactile, exploratory, creative, and interdisciplinary. Derive Equations Build Challenges Tessellation Design Discovering Geometry

Products

Product Specs These are more in-depth descriptions of the designed products included.

These are more in-depth descriptions of the designed products included. • • • •

Comparing Visualization Methods Self-Portrait Infographic School-Wide Data Visualizing Systems Visualizing Space

Geotiles STEAM Sketchbook Visual References Visual Templates

• • • • •

Drawing Templates Mapping Board STEAM Sketchbook Visual References Online Tools (no description available, but downloadable at studiosquiggly.tumblr.com)

Website This was a quick, low-tech way for me to mimic the service of the website and reach out to request user testing. It became clear that though interesting to look at, the proposals were rather vague in what exactly should be prepared, carried out, and evaluated. In developing these proposals, I became increasingly more specific in my directions and recommendations, which helped inform the layout and user experience of the website.

Let’s provide open-source resources that we can hack. The term “hacking” traditionally refers to illegally breaking into someone’s computer. But today amongst tech-savvy designers and design-savvy techies, “hacking” refers to using a preexisting framework and taking or changing components to apply to another project. Processing is a great example of an open-source software and web platform that allows people to learn how to code by copying and hacking other code. This works well as an introductory learning model because when navigating through unknown territory, the best first step is to copy/paste and see what happens. This website intends to follow this philosophy of coding, but applied to curriculum instead. We can’t learn code by discussing it conceptually, we learn by writing it out line by line. So let’s design specific, detailed, step-by-step STEAM curriculum to provide that preexisting framework. Then, let’s encourage schools and teachers to hack them, customize them, and see what work comes out of it.

1 + 1= Squiggly

Conclusion

Conclusion How might we continue?

1 + 1= Squiggly

Squiggly School is a scalable, potential venture for social impact. Design is playing an increasingly significant role in social entrepreneurship. I envision this project could potentially grow as a startup focused not only on STEAM, but on out-of-the-textbook learning in general. STEAM naturally lends itself to experential, interdisciplinary learning, but I believe this methodology and creed can also be applied to subjects such as English, History, Language, and Health to provide more integrated experiences altogether.

Like any creative process, there are areas for improvement. Looking back at my process, I see numerous ways to improve my research and design methods. For example, my primary research was very teacher-centric and I believe I would’ve benefited from interviewing more students. I was so focused on implementation that I didn’t enough time to fully brainstorm and explore my possibilities. I could have explored the possibility to develop professional development and training programs as well. I also realized my limit as an individual. Within the toolkit, the activity component lies at the heart of the content and curriculum development. Yet in creating activities I was limited by my own experience and knowledge of STEAM. It became clear to me that creating STEAM curriculum was not a lone endeavor, but rather one that is better served from drawing from a community. Given this reflection, my immediate next step is dedicated to helping create a STEAM community that focuses on individual projects and connecting people through the power of social media through a blog series called “STEAM Stories”. This way, we can draw inspiration from a diversity of work to help inform how we design curriculum.

Conclusion

This is only the beginning. When starting out, I was mostly alone in this endeavor, but this past year I was able to meet and work with some amazing people. Connecting with people and building relationships was probably the best part of this project, whether it was to mentor or be mentored, to interview or be interviewed, and that’s the part I’d like to continue. I’ve always been fascinated by learning, and meeting people equally impassioned to improve education has been truly inspirational. That’s why I’m extending an open invitation to conversation, critique, and collaboration through this book. I mean it - if reading this gives you ideas about learning programs, let’s chat! Or if you’re appalled by how I conducted research or arrived at my solution, let me know because I want to hear your side of things. If you’re seeking a partner in a project that addresses STEAM, arts integration, design, education, and learning, let’s work together! Like much of my work at RISD, the end of this semester merely marks the start of opportunity, and in this case continued work in designing for learning. And through my experiences, challenges and successes alike, I can only hope to become a better learner myself.

1 + 1= Squiggly

Thank you to my advisors and collaborators for your incredible support. RISD ID: Soojung Ham, Andy Law, Nick Scappaticci Education: Melita Morales, John Fitsioris Collaborators: Amy Zhang, Savanna Li Melita Morales Melita (RISD MA Art + Design Education 2014) is currently the EPSCOR|STEAM Engagement and Communications Coordinator at the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work at the Nature Lab is focused on the pedagogy of art + science collaborations, especially as it relates to the STEAM dialogue. With an emphasis on the creation of educational models that give equal value to the types of inquiry that take place in a lab, studio and workshop setting, she uses opportunities in classrooms, informal and after-school settings to experiment with curriculum that encourages students to move between divergent and convergent thinking, and to formulate a systems understanding of how things work. This includes breaking down academic, economic and cultural silos to collaboratively tackle complex challenges. Prior to coming to RISD, Melita created and directed a design + science summer public/private partnership called WonderLab in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she also taught art in schools for 15 years. The efforts of her latest academic work looked at the ways in which question posing by a teacher-as-facilitator can encourage a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal pathway to research and discovery within the studio context. John Fitsioris John is huge fan of mathematics, education, and mathematics education! His 15-year career (and counting) includes experience as a high school math teacher and online college math instructor. Currently, John works a curriculum developer for a company that publishes print and digital math curricula for grades 6-12 and higher ed. During evenings and weekends, John tutors a variety of students in topics that range from elementary school arithmetic to college-level calculus.

Afterword

Thank you to: all the individuals I spoke with, interviewed, and asked for advice, all the schools that allowed me to visit, observe, and test my ideas, the GoFundMe supporters that made prototyping possible, and the critics for your feedback during our final review. Navigating through the education and learning playing fields was no easy task, and I was fortunate enough to have your support in this journey.

1 + 1= Squiggly

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an overview of the nitty gritty research details. Organized by time (earliest to most recent) within the type of research. Primary research shown only. Classes Observed Toy Design Rhode Island School of Design | Continuing Education 5th Grade Science Harry Kizirian Elementary School 4th Grade Woodshop Moses Brown School 1st Grade Math Harry Kizirian Elementary School 7th-8th Grade Art Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program 2nd Grade STEM Paul Cuffee Lower School 3rd Grade Art Paul Cuffee Lower School 7th Grade Science The Learning Community 5th Grade Jewish Community Day School 7th Grade Math Nathan Bishop Middle School

Appendix

7th Grade Science Nathan Bishop Middle School 7th Grade Art Nathan Bishop Middle School 7th Grade Science Paul Cuffee Middle School Surveys Sent Educatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Questionnaire Student Photo Survey Geometry Visuals Feedback People interviewed STEAM/EPSCoR Coordinator Rhode Island School of Design Math Curriculum Developer Carnegie Learning Visual Arts Department Chair & Coordinator Moses Brown School 5th Grade Teacher Harry Kizirian Elementary School Nature Lab Director Rhode Island School of Design Young Artist Program Coordinator Rhode Island School of Design | Continuing Education Head of Visual Arts Department Lincoln School

1 + 1= Squiggly Middle School Art Teacher Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program STEM Specialist/Teaching Partner Paul Cuffee Middle School Visual Arts Instructor Paul Cuffee Middle School Curriculum and Assessment Developer FOSS Government Relations Office Director Rhode Island School of Design Education Design Principal & Founder PlusUs 7th Grade Math Teacher Copper King Elementary School Math Instructor, STEM Advisory Board Member West Valley College 6th Grade Science Teacher John Witherspoon Middle School STEM-Robotics Teacher John Witherspoon Middle School Visual and Performing Arts Department Supervisor Princeton Public Schools Inspirational Events Lecture: LEGO Education Attendee Panel: PPSD from a Student Perspective Attendee

Appendix Lecture: John Warner, Green Chemistry Attendee Lecture: Theo Jansen, Strandbeests Attendee Workshop: From Processing to Lasercut Facilitator Panel: PPSD from a Teacher Perspective Attendee Panel: Access to Education Through Design Panelist

1 + 1= Squiggly

“1 + 1 = Squiggly” is a user-centric design project that aims to design STEAM learning tools for K-12 education. It progressed Fall 2014 - Spring 2015 as Allison Chen’s thesis project at Rhode Island School of Design.

Allison Chen BFA RISD ID 2015 www.allisonychen.com