Medford Missituk Elementary Teachers Experiment With ‘Maker Education

MEDFORD, MA – Teachers at Medford’s Missituk Elementary School learned how to bring elements of math, technology, and art into the classroom in a “maker education” professional development workshop.

The goal of the workshop, facilitated by Acera Education Innovation (AceraEI), was to bring hands-on, creative learning to Medford teachers through maker education – the concept of using hands-on activities to support learning.

Nearly 80 teachers made “critter bots,” a small robotic creature made from pipe cleaners and colorful cotton balls, and then experimented with a flat vibration motor, coin cell batteries, and a battery holder with an on/off switch to build a simple circuit.

With elementary students, the activity serves as a way to introduce creative thinking and explore electromechanics, interactions between electrical and mechanical devices, and feel confident about building robots with simple electronics and craft materials.

Teachers also made art bots, light-up story cubes, and more. At the end of the workshop, the teachers displayed their creations in a gallery walk, and discussed how they can incorporate these hands-on activities into their existing curriculum.

“Seeing the teacher’s creations, the story cubes, the art bots, and the integration of art, science and technology is wonderful. It’s engineering, it’s design, it’s math and science,” Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent, Superintendent of Medford Public Schools, said in a news release. “This is what our students need. This is the next level of learning and interaction and creativity.”