Maker Culture in Bush Alaska

First Thoughts on Making in Rural Alaska

Maker culture can be briefly defined as "learning through doing in a social environment." Making often involves technology, but may be something tactile like paper folding, woodworking or an open-ended art project. Maker culture relies on the learning theory of constructionism, which grew out of Piaget's constructivism, and holds that we learn best by doing. But there is also a touch of Vygotsky's socio-historical theory which says that we learn in a "zone of proximal development" which describes what a learner can do with help and what they can do without help. This is an important consideration when implementing maker culture in the classroom. So I asked myself these questions:

• Who are my students and what are they ready to do? 
• How much help will they need?
• What can they do on their own?

Teaching bush Alaska gives me the opportunity to work with a diverse range of ages and abilities.  this year, for the first time I will teach math to all grades 6-12 with one 7-8th grade elective class to be determined in early August. Although there is a chance that I will use the elective as a computer-based maker space, it may be designated for PE instead. So I will focus this implementation plan on weekly scheduled "maker days" that can be used for experimentation and discovery learning. 

Project Goals

Implementing the classroom hydroponics project last year was a fantastic improvement to my learning environment. However, only a few students were ready to jump in and get involved. It generated a lot of curiosity and questions, but not a lot of action on the part of most students. This was largely due to the fact that my teaching load did not allow for a course in horticulture, and most students in the village just want to do the minimum to pass the class. Students need a lot of help and guidance for a big project of this type. It was too open-ended for most of my students.

My main goal for the "maker days" is to introduce a number of interesting maker projects with multiple entry points so that I can offer enrichment to all of my students. I will vary the project types based on age groups and academic readiness. My aim is for students to work independently or in groups with minimal direction. 

One of the devastating affects of poverty can be learned helplessness (Payne, 2013). Living with minimal resources has well-documented negative consequences on learning, behavior and achievement (Jensen, 2009). But project-based learning (maker culture) along with the arts, music and physical activity have been shown to have a positive affect on what Jensen calls the brain's operating system. The problems of poverty can be reversed in many cases. 

Specifically, the academic operating system can be improved by using maker projects to engage students. My goals for the students are to use projects to help develop: 

• sustained effort
• auditory, visual, tactile processing skills
• attention and focus
• short-term and working memory
• sequencing skills
• confidence

All projects will be evaluated based on rubrics that integrate these academic skills with the Alaska Mathematics standards. Projects with a high degree of connection to the standards-based curriculum will give students a better chance of long-term academic success and will be given preference. 

I will also look for strong ties to the arts: music, visual and kinetic. There is a huge gap in the arts curriculum in our school. We have no art or music classes, no drama or dance (except for the occasional Native dance) and these have been shown to be critical enrichments that develop the academic operating system. Jensen states, "Arts can and should be integrated into all subject areas" (2009, p. 126).  

Because of my full teaching load and technology background I will also implement technology-based projects that integrate the arts as well as mathematics concepts. So called "virtual" projects have an added benefit of engaging students through technology.

Project Implementation

This year each of my math students will have an extra period assigned to "math lab" which is an elective class in our district that supports the math curriculum. Math lab is not intended to be used strictly to finish homework assignments and may be an excellent platform for enrichment with maker projects.

I want students to be engaged with making on a weekly basis. Because my students are very conditioned to a traditional classroom of direct instruction and individual or group assignments, and because I have a set of standards based curriculum resources available for this purpose, I will focus Monday through Wednesday each week on these types of lessons. Math labs during the first three days of the week will be used for ALEKS, an online program that supplements the curriculum.

Thursdays will be "maker day" when students work on web-based or physical maker projects, and Friday (which is a half day for students at our school) will be used for independent project work or review and make up work depending on individual student needs. My students thrive best on steady routines which add stability to their lives. Working on maker spaces incrementally also allows for more processing time which is critical for my students.

Research has shown that regular formative assessment is critical for working with students who come from poverty (Jensen, 2009), because it helps us see what is working, what is not, and to make adjustments to differentiate instruction. I plan to reassess this implementation every 6-8 weeks and to work with my site administrator and colleagues on project details.

I find that my plans to create more Maker culture in the classroom are, in fact, like a teacher Maker project. I am learning by doing in a social environment. The details of implementation are always subject to change based on what I learn and what works best for my students. For ease of implementation I will define several projects for this Fall semester that I have some experience with and add new projects over the course of the school year.

A Starting Point for Maker Projects

Because of the interest generated in growing last year I will continue the classroom hydroponics project as an open-ended volunteer based project. We had a lot of fun with it and I will look for ways to extend the projects through grants and community involvement. The following list is a starting point for projects this Fall by class group. Duration and pacing will be project specific and will be adjusted depending on the individual needs of each student group. The 7/8th Grade group is 

Geometry

• Line Design is a great way to begin the year. Students will use the tools of geometry: ruler, paper and compass, to create art pieces for the classroom. Duration: 8/11-8/25 (3 weeks)
• LOGO programming supports geometric concepts and introduces the basics of programming and sequencing. This is a free online tool found at http://turtleacademy.com/. Duration: 9/8-11/17 (10 weeks)
• Yup'ik Parka design applet, a culturally-situated design tool also known as "ethnocomputing" that supports transformational geometry. Duration: 12/1-12/15 (3 weeks)

Algebra I and Pre-Algebra

• Animation computer programming on khanacademy.org. I have found that this is a very engaging tool for most students which supports the concept of algebraic functions while students create fun animations. I expect this to take the whole semester. Duration: 8/11-12/15 (16 weeks)

Grade 7/8 Math

• Basket Weaver project is another ethnocomputing project that I will use to support understanding the coordinate plane. Duration: 8/11-9/8 (4 weeks)
• Minecraft collaboration with Dr. Lee Graham will support a number of math concepts including area, volume and proportion. Duration: 9/15-12/15 (12 weeks)
• Codehs.com programming with Karel. Supports sequencing and other math skills and introduces programming at a level more suited to this age group. I may also be able to use these tools as a computer-based elective class. (To be used in place of Minecraft if a suitable collaboration is not available with Dr. Graham) Duration: 9/15-12/15 (12 weeks)
• Paper Circuitry looks like a great hands-on maker project that I may be able to introduce later in the year as I learn more and gather materials.

Grade 6 Math

• Codehs.com programming with Karel. Some of my 6th graders did well with this last year and I am excited to introduce another group of 6th graders to programming. Duration: 8/11-10/6 (8 weeks)
• Making music with recorders. Our school already has a classroom set of student soprano recorders which I will use to teach basic music theory. Music supports math on many levels, but my initial implementation will discuss frequency proportions: octaves, thirds and the perfect fifth. Students will also practice and learn songs for the Christmas program. Duration: 10/13-12/15 (8 weeks)

Last Thoughts

Changing the culture of the classroom to increase engagement is a primary goal of the maker movement. Enrichment and high expectations have been shown to be essential in working with students from poverty situations. In fact Jensen (2009) names increased activity in the Arts, Athletics and A.P. classes as essential factors in upgrading students' academic operating systems. Our school is weak in all three areas so I find myself compelled to work on integrating new teaching methods into my math classes. 

But the primary factor that is given by every student who has moved out of poverty into the middle class is that they had a good relationship with a mentor who was a role model for what Ruby Payne calls the "hidden rules" of the middle class which are the basis of academic culture (2013). My most important contribution to student learning may be my efforts to keep a positive classroom environment and to develop long-term relationships with my students. My aim in introducing Maker culture is to help students develop a more resilient and robust thought process  and learn the value of education that will serve them their whole lives.

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It. Alexandria,VA: ASCD.

Payne, R.K. (2013). A Framework for Understanding Poverty: A Cognitive Approach. Highlands, TX: aha! Process.

Creating Maker-Culture in the Classroom and the Community

Reflecting on the ideals, pragmatic possibilities and real-world challenges of creating a sustainable maker-culture in my classroom I find one key ingredient which is absolutely necessary for success which has not really been touched on directly. The key ingredient is passion. Passion for the project and subject matter, and passion to engage students in new ways.

In a previous blog post I mentioned the success of funding my classroom hydroponics project in a short time and I am sure this was due to my high degree of enthusiasm for growing vegetables, and for learning new ways to grow indoors. Because of my own passion for the subject the project sparked curiosity in my students. However, I have not yet created many lesson plans that directly link this project to the curriculum in my math classes.

I was able to use the growing seedlings to discuss rate of change, and we used proportions to mix nutrients to the desired levels, but there is so much potential here for STEM related teaching and cross-disciplinary lessons that I know I will continue this project in my classroom. Growing in the classroom improves the classroom environment for my students and myself and it has seeded (pun intended) a longer term vision not only for my classroom, but also for the potential benefits to the community I live in.

My school is in Tununak, a small village on the Bering Sea coast with a population of just over 300 people mostly Native Alaskan. Several community members who come to the school have shown enthusiasm for the project and I am looking for new ways to engage the community in this aspect of maker-culture in my classroom. My dream and ideal is to experiment with various forms of indoor growing and to inspire interest in a community-based school greenhouse that could supply fresh vegetables to the village.

Photo linked from the Redoubt Reporter

Some of the people in the community have grown vegetables indoors and some remember teachers who grew small gardens in the Summer. But agriculture is not a traditional aspect of the local culture which is more attuned to hunting and gathering for subsistence. So I intend to continue to to integrate growing more into my curriculum while researching grant opportunities and promoting local interest. In my opinion maker-culture works best when students are led by their own curiosity and when they see the real value to the community

Certainly there is value in virtual maker-spaces like the Minecraft collaborations I learned about at the Virtual Learning Conference. And I plan to implement a number of technology-based maker spaces that fit my core-curriculum, possibly including the Arduino system or paper circuitry, once I have done enough preparation and experimentation to approach these projects with knowledge and enthusiasm. With a full set of mathematics classes next year from 6th grade through high school I will have ample opportunities to integrate with the math, science and technology curricula.

As a music lover and woodwind player I am also very passionate about the potential for integrating music, math and science in some of my lessons this year. I have purchased a recorder to practice for my own enjoyment, and because I know we already have a full classroom set of student recorders at the school which is not being used. Potential lessons could include study of proportions in the octaves, number theory and the concepts of frequency and wave theory. I know that there is enthusiasm for music from many students and music represents a gap in our school's elective offerings.

One more area where maker-culture could play a part in my classes in the future is related to the Alaska Water Sewer Challenge, a state initiative to find new innovative solutions to the problems related to honey-buckets and lack of running water in rural Alaska. One of my senior robotics students last year inspired my to create a proposal that I submitted to the Samsung STEM competition involving researching and prototyping sewage systems for rural Alaska homes. My proposal was one of five Alaskan schools that was considered from the state entries, but did not proceed to the national level.

It is a fairly ambitious project that will require a lot of planning and community involvement, but I will look for ways to engage my students in the process since they are all directly affected by the issues involved. One way I will do this is by following the results of the state initiative listed above that are being shared at a conference this Fall, Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes.

My goal is to engage students with relevant projects that may also become community-based. Realizing that I more easily create projects in areas that I am passionate about I will also look for and create maker-projects that are open-ended and student-driven so that they may find areas that they are passionate about. I have ambitious and far-reaching goals, but  I will create an implementation plan that is practical for my current teaching situation and student-base.