The Power of Collaboration

The collaboration between first and seventh graders has brought numerous benefits to both groups. Seventh-grade students take on the role of mentors, guiding the younger students through the design process and helping them utilize the more complex and advanced tools available in the CLI. This mentorship not only enhances the seventh graders' leadership skills but also fosters a sense of responsibility and pride in their ability to support their younger peers. For the first graders, this collaboration means greater ownership of their projects. With the guidance of their seventh-grade mentors, they can bring their original ideas to life more effectively. The prototypes they create are a true reflection of their creativity and problem-solving skills.

In today’s fast-paced world, where creativity and entrepreneurship can lead to exciting new possibilities, we want our students to experience firsthand the skills and mindsets needed to build, design, and innovate. That’s why I offered a trimester long middle school elective course called Innovative Entrepreneurship—an engaging class that introduces students to both the hands-on and business sides of creating a product. This course has been designed to inspire young minds, letting them tap into the tools of a makerspace and the essentials of business planning, while gaining the confidence to pitch their creations to potential "investors." This was a course offered to 7th and 8th grade students as an elective. For 12 weeks, students have this class 3 times a week for 50 minutes.

Preschool students learned about the “Black Rosies” and then practiced their riveting skills, first on a magic square, and ultimately on a replica B-17 plane—one of the planes the Rosie the Riveters worked on--made of cardboard.  Students also designed control panels for the plane and added decorations as tributes to the “Black Rosies.”  This project was a collaboration between Preschool and the Center for Leadership and Innovation (CLI).

21st Century Learning in Action

The Mi Casa project empowered students with 21st-century skills by integrating:

• Collaboration and Communication: By working together in shared Delightex environments, students developed teamwork and problem-solving skills while creating their scavenger hunts.
• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Students applied adjective agreement and spatial vocabulary creatively, using context to challenge their peers.
• Digital Literacy: Using TinkerCAD and Delightex introduced students to 3D design, virtual reality, and interactive content creation, enhancing their technical proficiency.

Preschoolers and PreK students recently built structures with biodegradable packing peanuts. Playing with materials to discover their capabilities is developmentally appropriate and helps students gain valuable information they can apply to future, more structured projects.