Personalized, Immersive and Engaging Experience Thrive in Our Innovation Labs. Here's Why.

BY STEPHANIE STEPHENS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LEARNING INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Having written calculations all over the glass walls and tables, a small team of Grade 5 students deeply contemplate the error in their Genius Project design, clearly evident from the remains of an unusable 3D print scattered in front of them. Undeterred, they happily tussle with some tough questions around angles and measurement, while two eager students take my clue about circumference to heart and excitedly hunt for more information. There is an audible groan when I say it is time to clean up and return to their classrooms. “How could 90 minutes have just passed so quickly?” they ask. “If we work on it together tonight, can we come back in the morning to print it?”

Moments later, the busy after-school crowd arrives. Two excited Grade 9 students cautiously approach, hoping that I will entrust them with loading the printer/cutter on their own so they can prepare the huge trade-show banner they have spent hours designing. Could Julian 3D-print his product

"The essence of these spaces is that you have choice and that’s how I learn best, and I think my classmates would say the same."

–ALEXANDRA COLBY, HEAD PREFECT

prototype too? A patient Grade 12 art student helps an eager group of Lower School students from the club downstairs, as she sets her intricate etching work aside to laser-cut the jigsaw puzzle they have specially designed themselves. “Not to worry, Mrs. Stephens – I’ve got this,” she says with a smile.

As the rest of our Middle School Young Innovators team arrives, one student proudly shares the coding that he has finally got to work with his microcontroller project, and he is excited to try soldering again. On the adjacent collaboration station, a few more eager arrivals excitedly lay out their game-board prototype for a group of willing friends they

have brought to test it out. Over much mad scribbling, new ideas and new sketches for version 3.0 emerge. Through the wide open sliding glass doors, the sewing machines hum busily in the art room next door. LED lights, conductive thread and delicate laser-cut silk flowers are scattered all over the tables ready for an exciting creation to take shape, and Emily happily swirls around the open space showing off her latest costume design for the upcoming drama performance.

This is a typical afternoon in our innovation and design labs. These remarkable spaces have fuelled creativity, inspired learning and facilitated powerful collaborations all year long. Without a doubt, we all have exciting times ahead as our students, staff and extended community, including parents and alumni, have only just begun to dabble with the opportunities the spaces provide.

Bright, beautiful, open design and flexible furnishings frame the space. Being equipped with an incredible set of tools and resources makes it easy to feel inspired, but true learning doesn’t happen without one more special ingredient: courage. Here is where everybody plays a part.

For our learners, they begin their journey with big ideas and dreams and learn to tackle them step by step. Where do I start? What are my goals? Whom do I learn from? What are my options? It takes courage to stay the journey, embrace failure, honour feedback and iterate many times over. And don’t just assume the “learners” are strictly students. On any given day, you will see staff learning the ropes. Even parents and alumni have been involved in workshops this year.

Like many other teachers using the space, I realize how our roles are also changing for the better. Students are designing their own pathways for learning, and our role

has shifted from creating learning experiences to facilitating them. We coach our students to explore their strengths and interests and build upon them. We help them create realistic goals, and we work with them to find the right tools, resources and expertise that will get them where they want to go. Courageously, we embrace this new model and take heart in what we see our learners accomplish.