{"id":4119,"date":"2017-08-16T16:02:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T21:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=4119"},"modified":"2020-07-25T18:57:30","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T23:57:30","slug":"look-what-teachers-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=4119","title":{"rendered":"Look What Teachers Can Do!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Look at what preK-6 Mexican teachers did in my recent PBL 360<\/a> workshop in Guadalajara. This was their first<\/span><\/strong> experience with engineering, physical computing, and programming. They designed, created, and programmed these “birds” in less than two hours with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit<\/a> and SNAP!
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The prompt was simple…<\/p>\n

“Make a Bird. Singing and dancing is appreciated.”<\/h3>\n

There was no instruction. The entire project was completed in under two hours – roughly the equivalent of two class periods.<\/p>\n

My work continues to demonstrate the limits of instruction, the power of construction, and the Piagetian notion that “knowledge is a consequence of experience.” There is simply no substitute for experience. Constructive technology and computing amplify human potential and expand the range, breadth, and depth of possible projects. This is critical since the project should be the smallest unit of concern for educators.<\/p>\n

Look at these short video clips sharing the teachers’ projects and compare what is possible during an educator’s first or second computing experience with the unimaginative and pedestrian “technology” professional development typically offered. We need to raise our standards substantially.<\/p>\n

“You cannot behave as if children are competent if you behave as if teachers are incompetent.” – Gary Stager<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The following videos are unedited clips of each group sharing their project. Start listing the plethora of curricular standards satisfied by a single project of this kind.<\/p>\n