Learn Deep Fellows – Water Projects

Pete Reynolds Blog, Learn Deep Fellows August 17, 2021October 19, 2021water

Our Learn Deep Fellows wrapped up the STEM Studio workshop on Friday with a presentation and discussion of their projects to colleagues and program partners. The projects developed over the course of the past two weeks focus on water, but are aimed at the much larger goals the fellows have for their students– that they can see a broad range of career possibilities, that they can see themselves as creators and that they think of themselves as someone who can make a difference in their community. Those three goals led to a sequence of three projects which flow together over the course of the school year.

Our Water Our Stories

Students will talk with each other, people in their lives, and others in the broader community involved in the provision or use of water and tell the stories of what clean water means to our community.

Our Water, Our Design

Students will collaborate to design and build a prototype or model of a device to test water for qualities they care about.

Our Water, Our Community

Students will identify a location in their community, how it uses or is impacted by water, the issues posed by the current systems, and propose an equitable, sustainable solution.

What’s Next?

Across the arc of the three projects, Fellows identified points in each project where students can collaborate with and support the work of their peers at other schools. While the timing will vary by school, Fellows will get students involved in the first project come October. We’ll be working to build up pool of interview candidates that represent a broad range of perspectives on water and how it is used. If you’d like to participate as an interviewee, we have a sign up form for you here: https://bit.ly/LDFwaterInterviews

STEM Studio kicks off at MSOE

Pete Reynolds Blog, Learn Deep Fellows August 2, 2021September 10, 2021Learn Deep Fellows, MSOE, STEM Studio

The STEM Studio sessions for our Learn Deep Fellows kicked off today at MSOE. Over this week and next our Fellows will work together with input and support from community partners to design of real-word challenges focused on water. Today’s work began with a focus on goals Fellows have for the program. Through repeated cycles of asking “Why?” we saw those goals grow from tactical hopes for the skills students or teachers might development to visions our Fellows have for their students — that they can see themselves as creators, citizens, individuals who can make a difference in their community. We’ll use those much loftier goals drive the vision for projects knowing that we can hit the initial, tactical ambitions along the way.

We are grateful to MSOE’s We Energies STEM Center for hosting us over the next two weeks and look forward to covering any available surface with ideas and plans to engage students over the coming school year.

Welcome the first cohort of Learn Deep Fellows!

Pete Reynolds Blog May 28, 2021May 28, 2021Learn Deep Fellows

We’re excited to announce our inaugural cohort of Learn Deep Fellows! Both the participating teachers and their schools reflect the energy, passion and diversity that is Milwaukee. We look forward to learning with and from these teachers how to design Learning Experiences for every student in Milwaukee. They will be supported in their work by a great group of community partners from higher-ed, industry, and non-profits. That work kicks off in a couple of weeks with a workshop to surface ideas for innovative and challenging collaborative projects focused on water.

With a drum roll, please welcome:

Andrew S. Douglas Middle School (MPS)

Michelle Young – 6th, 7th, 8th grade; GE Innovation Lab
Stanley Levells – 7th & 8th grade Math

Audubon Technology & Communication Middle School (MPS)

Adrian Wade – 6th, 7th, 8th grade; GE Innovation Lab Instructor (6 – 12 schoolwide)
Amanda Glunz – Grade 8, 9-12 Computer Science

Glen Hills Middle School (Glendale/Riverhills)

Lalitha Murali – 6th 7th, 8th grade Enrichment classes
Jennifer Clark – 8th grade; Science and Green Team
Sarah Lapp – 6th grade Science
Chloe Stuesser – 7th grade Science

Hayes Bilingual (MPS)

Miguel Ramirez – 6th 7th, 8th grade; GE Innovation Lab

Rufus King International Middle School (MPS)

Susan Kridler – 7th grade Science/PLTW; GE Innovation Lab
Connor Morris – 7th grade Math

Wedgewood Park International Baccalaureate (MPS)

Elkin Hernandez – 6th 7th, 8th grade STEM
Theresa Johnson – 6th 7th, 8th grade PLTW and Computer Science
Jessica Buckley – 6th 7th, 8th grade Advanced Science/Social Studies/Science

Collab Lab 36: Recap & Notes

Pete Reynolds Blog November 17, 2020December 3, 2020Distance Learning

Last Week’s Collab Lab gave us a chance to share some updates on two projects we have running with students and the impacts we’ve see running those in a distance learning environment. That set up a longer conversation about what educators need as they look to engage their students in a real-world challenge.

Several of the concerns we talked through were issues prior to the pandemic:

How can I connect and work with local professionals who can offer domain expertise?
How can I figure out who I need to know in Milwaukee (beyond domain experts) to execute the project?
How do I get students to the point of figuring out what they want to explore?
How do I assemble a real audience for students to present to?
How do I get students to recognize that their teacher is not the audience?
How do I give students the experience of doing work in the real world?

Distance learning has imposed new concerns in taking on new challenges. Chief among these is gaining student engagement, but educators also struggle as the find effective ways to use distance learning technology. That this is so new to educators means that everyone is trying to figure things out at the same time. There is no colleague or expert to turn to for a definitive answer.

This, and the conversations that continued after we wrapped up the formal discussion, suggests to us that the key need for educators who want to engage their students in real-world work, particularly in a time of distance learning, is a network of colleagues who can offer support, ideas, and connections.

Collab Lab 35: Recap & Notes

Pete Reynolds Blog, Collab Labs October 13, 2020October 21, 2020Distance Learning

We kicked off our 5th season of Collab Labs on Zoom last week with a discussion focused on what educators were running into in the early weeks of the school year. We started the conversation by asking about what folks are seeing themselves or hearing from other educators:

Stakeholder involvement pushes teachers and school leadership to learn fast
When we lose control, we latch on to what we can control, e.. following the rules
Star testing on Chromebooks without reliable internet/devices does not work
If students aren’t in synchronous session they miss out
How do you reach the students who don’t come back to engage? Students feel they are so far behind that they can’t catch up.
teachers are overwhelmed, too many subjects to go deep, how do you check for understanding?
One week before start of school, we were told we will be using PBL with our students.
Lack of student perseverance – checking out when it gets to be too difficult
how do you replicate observation in the classroom?
fear of making mistakes?
students go to community centers during the day– how do they help kids when kids have so much work to do. The partners need to understand what is useful to learning.
frustrated trying to get content across, frustrated with attendance. Cuts across city & suburban districts.
kids at same grade level show up at same daycare, all with different assignments.

That prompted some further discussion around getting above a tactical level…

we’re still trying to deliver curriculum rather than learning.
Rethink what is accountability?
how to use tech tools to level the playing field and create empathy among students?
how to use synchronous and a-synchronous teaching in a structured way.

…and what teachers/schools need to make this work:

creating ‘digital citizen culture’ for using technology to learn together
Why is presence needed for learning?
How do we use tools strategically
How does a person demonstrate learning?
How does a person demonstrate learning?
Lots of time up front how to use tools of virtual platform.

We wrapped up with the recognition that post Covid, schools will end up somewhere new:

Systems have been cobbled together overtime. Now we are starting fresh. Can we think about how we ought to fix this?
Can we create a new framework for learning experiences that gives students a choice of opportunities to pursue?

STEM Studio: Adopt a Storm Drain

Pete Reynolds Blog September 16, 2020September 16, 2020Caravela IoT, Computational Thinking, MMSD, Northwestern Mutual, STEM Studio, Sweetwater

Over the summer we were able to pull teachers from Golda Meir’s Middle School and Escuela Vieau together on Zoom with partners from Sweetwater, Caravela IoT, and MMSD for the design phase of our STEM Studio Adopt a Storm Drain project. We used a modified version of a customer journey map to map out the experience we wanted students to have, touch points with community partners, and connections back to curriculum standards. The project will kick off in the next few weeks as participating teachers have students monitor storm drains near their school or home to begin the research work that will prepare them to take on one of the following challenges:

How can we reduce the volume of litter and debris that collects near storm drains?
How can we leverage IoT sensors to detect when litter and debris has collected at a storm drain?
How can we safely remove litter and debris that has collected at a storm drain?

With teachers, curriculum specialists, and partners in on the design process from the beginning, we were able to map out an approach for a collaborative multi-disciplinary effort that will also give students a chance to explore computational tools. The program guide produced for the project provides an overview of the project structure, timing of project events, and links to resources the team wanted students to be able to leverage. That includes a simple model of waste collecting near, and washing down a storm drain we put together using Starlogo Nova that students can manipulate and revise.

This STEM Studio effort is made possible by a grant from Northwestern Mutual

Progress Report: Student-led Tech Support

Pete Reynolds Blog, Student Run Enterprises September 15, 2020September 16, 2020MPS, Student-led Tech Support

We’ve been meeting weekly with students and staff from Golda Meir and Washington High School since we kicked things off this summer. The teams put together a quick survey that went out to students at both schools to capture issues their peers ran into during the first week of school. Those results confirmed a lot of what we heard from students over the summer, with a large percentages of students reporting issues connecting for class, getting their assignments, or having distance learning technology work as expected with at least one class.

The team from Golda is now working on two parallel paths– the first has been to define a process where students can step in to offer help. Most calls now run through a tech lead at the school. She’s been logging the types of issues folks are calling about so that we can get a sense of the volume of support requests. She will also be handing off a sample of those calls for students on the tech team to respond to. This will help us understand how well the support process envisioned works, and what students will need to have in place to respond to help requests.

While those experiments are running, we are using the Lean Startup Canvas to capture the team’s vision for effort. Our first pass focused on defining the customer, identifying what customer problems the team will address, the unique advantages a student-led team brings to bear, and the value proposition for the endeavor. At this week’s meeting we’ll take what we’ve learned from student’s experiments taking support requests to flesh out and refine the model in greater detail. Stay tuned!

Student-led Tech Support at MPS

Pete Reynolds Blog, Student Run Enterprises August 25, 2020September 16, 2020STEM Studio, Student-led Tech Support

What if students took a lead role in understanding the issues families face as they adapt to distance learning?

What if we invited them to work with school and district technology staff and industry mentors to design and implement systems to support them?

What if this was done, not as a one-off exercise, but as a student run enterprise that could operate over the long term and evolve to support changing needs?

For the past several weeks we’ve been working with students and teachers from MPS’s Golda Meir middle school and Washington High School to explore what student-led tech support might look like. Over a series of Zoom calls, we’ve talked with students about the issues they ran into as the district moved to distance learning last spring, what the experience was like for peers and family, and where they see opportunities to help make things betterfor all students.

While purely technical issues like an inability to upload files, access video, or the stability of a video call session were certainly present, what stood out were issues related to the use of technology. For example:

The need to constantly check if new assignments had been posted
Competition for use of a device or internet bandwidth with a sibling
Finding a distraction free place in the home to work from
Having access to technology when the student is cared for outside the home.

Student Generated Solutions

As the start of school approached for MPS, the team put together two things to help prepare for distance learning this fall.

The first was a video by the students at Golda Meir in which they talked through several issues they ran into last spring and what simple actions their teachers might take to help address those. That video was shared with Golda staff who were appreciative of the opportunity to hear directly from their students.

Second, the team put together a survey to go out this week to capture the type and frequency of issues students ran into with the first week of distance learning. The data from that will inform a larger effort this fall to identify where and how a student-led team can provide support.

Interested in getting involved as educator, sponsor, or industry adviser?

Tell me how I can be involved

Learn Deep Lunch – May 20th Recap

Pete Reynolds Blog May 21, 2020May 21, 2020Learn Deep Lunch

This week we started our discussion with a conversation by asking about the fears participants have for what might happen in the fall. Much of that focused on the current uncertainty of whether schools will reopen in the fall, and if so, how. There is an expectation that the coming school year will still require distance learning, whether that is for part of the year or part of the day. Given the experience of the last couple of months, educators want to be prepared to teach effectively in whatever environment that turns out to be.

As we dug into these fears, we made note of a series of observations around what drives them. These focused on the decision making process, training and guidance available to educators as they experiment with distance learning, and factors which drive or limit student engagement when they are forced to work from home.

We also captured some initial thoughts on what changes might be necessary when students return to the classroom, as well as aspects of the in-school experience that educators would want to capture should distance learning return. The Jamboard we used to capture our thoughts is below.

Ask 3 Generations

Pete Reynolds Blog May 14, 2020May 14, 2020

Wondering how you might engage your students in an authentic experience from a distance? Erin Magennis, who you may know from Code For Milwaukee, is working on Ask3Gens, a social media project to create opportunities for students to connect with and learn from older generations. With Covid-19 driven isolation, now is a great time to build connections and share experiences.

Typically, questions are posted on social media with the #ask3gens hashtag, and seniors participating in the project will respond, but students could as easily reach out to seniors in their family or neighborhood to start a discussion. The shared experience of forced isolation creates an easy bridge to start a conversation:

What is your isolation experience like? How is your isolation different than mine?
What in your prior experience was anything like this? As you were growing up, what was most like this Covid-19 experience?
What from your experience would help me get through this?

If you’d like to create an opportunity for your students to connect with seniors over Zoom with a trusted 3rd party to monitor the conversation, let us know. We’ll offer eight slots and provide a recording of the conversation students can use to craft the story they’d like to tell. For more information on the Ask 3 Generations project, or help connecting with seniors to interview, contact Erin at erin@codeformilwaukee.org

Collab Lab 63: Recap & Notes
October 29, 2024

The ability of teachers and students to engage effectively in difficult conversations, across that gap or amongst peers is central to creating the kinds of opportunities we want for students. At a bare minimum, those skills are needed to offer and receive effective feedback on student’s work. They are even more important if we want to engage students (and teachers) on challenging topics or to drive change within their school or in the broader community. The centrality of those skills seemed like a good place to kick off our 9th season of Collab Labs. On October 10th we gathered at UWM’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center for Collab Lab 63 and a discussion focused on Empowering All Voices. Our work for the evening engaged participants to map factors that allow all voices to participate in brave conversations. The maps shown here were captured and included here unedited. The primary two goals of creating this experience for the attendees were to: Discuss and reflect on what group members with different backgrounds but shared purpose consider relevant factors and how they relate and impact each other. Reflect on how you would apply the insights generated to your own ‘self-management’ in a group setting with familiar and unfamiliar participants. We did not explicitly ask attendees to consider a K12 setting with teacher-student(s) and teacher-teacher interactions. We are in the process of integrating these maps into our larger model, and will share that work in a subsequent post. What do you see in the maps when you look a bit more closely? Are there commonalities that stand out to you? What would be a question you might ask (one of the teams) to help connect some dots or further complete the map? Thanks again to our Featured Participants: Hannah Fox — Health Education Coordinator, Sixteenth Street Community Health CentersSerina Jamison — Program Director, Future Urban LeadersYesi Pérez — Neighborhood Revitalization Project Manager, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Chris Willey — Director of Technology, Islands of Brilliance Thanks also to Ben Trager from UWM’s Center for Student Experience & Talent for hosting us at UWM, and to his Ed Policy students who were a great addition to the conversation. Join us on November 14th for Collab Lab 64: Place Based Engagement

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Collab Lab 59: Recap & Notes
February 9, 2024

After a break in January, our Collab Lab Series resumed last night with a session focused on dealing with setbacks and recognizing wins. Challenges Began the discussion with an inventory of the challenges and setbacks students face when they work together on open ended projects. These challenges primarily revolve around: Expectations Focus on grades Belief that their voice won’t matter Opposing wants — freedom vs control Expectations are unclear An ability to deal with uncertainty Lack of confidence Being open to the idea that there is no one right answer Aversion to risk/failure Communication & collaboration Inability for team members to agree on a common approach Ability to deal with personality conflicts within a team Ability to give and receive constructive criticism Lack of accountability Lack of feedback Project structure Project lacks structure that would allow students to make progress Space/time to iterate Access to resources necessary to effectively take on the challenge Skills Ability to arrive at a good definition/understanding of the problem at hand Time management Need for higher level thinking skills Strategies In our second round, our discussion shifted to look at strategies to help students address each of these challenges. Expectations Set clear expectations with examples Set up an environment with clear expectations for communication, collaboration, willingness to learn from things that did not go as expected. Dealing with uncertainty Students have repeated opportunities to immerse themselves in the challenge and circle back with their teacher for input and guidance Acknowledge big feelings to help understand that “failure” is not personal Communication & collaboration Understand the context of students life beyond school and what they may need to work effectively with peers Small, frequent check-ins Create time/space for purposeful reflection Project Structure Students are given a clear view of the process they will follow to arrive at a solution even if they can’t yet see where it might lead Decompose challenge into smaller pieces Structure challenges students to stretch at each step of the process, but those steps are within reach, and build on each other Connect students with what they need when Repeated opportunities to practice and develop skills within the context of the project Skills Both students and teachers are equipped with the skills they need/supported in their development of those skills Skills required build on those already acquired A Simple Tool With this inventory in hand, we recounted the story of the Number Talks Quick Refence Card that was developed out of a project we did with K-12 teachers and UWM Math faculty. That project supported teams of teachers who wanted to establish Number Talks as a regular practice in their elementary school classrooms. Though teachers could clearly see the value of the practice, it was something new, so they wanted something that could rely on to help keep them on the right path. One of the teachers suggested a small card of reminders that should could hold and glance down at while working with students. The card we developed includes three sections: Talk Moves (strategies), Probes (questions to ask), and Pats on the Back (signs that things are working). As the final exercise of the night, we asked each of our discussion groups to develop their own Quick Reference Cards for open ended projects. Here’s what they came up with: Group 1 Moves Give yourself time Accept “I don’t know” Build personal connections You’ve got this Accept congratulations Probes Tell me more… How might we…? Pats on the Back I was afraid to try this but I did anyway Group 2 Moves Yes, and? Build community Set Goals Normalize failure Probes What did we learn? What is your why? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you bring to the team? How might we…? Pats on the Back Unprompted reflection Group 3 Moves Are students in the right groups? What does this student need? How is my relationship with this student? Probes How will you define success? Pats on the Back Students are engaged Students are gaining essential skills Students give and receive feedback Students get the feedback they need Students move from “I” to “we” Thanks again to our Featured Participants: PJ Dever — Executive Director for Playworks in Wisconsin Lana M. Minshew — Assistant Professor, Director of the Human-Centered Design Lab at the Medical College of Wisconsin Nina Johnston — Program Manager of the Human-Centered Design Lab at the Medical College of Wisconsin A big thanks also goes out to Anthony, Audrey, Connor, Olivia, & Madeline, Architecture students at UWM. They are joining us this semester for Collab Labs and other sessions we run at the STEM Center as part of service learning field experience for Arch 302. In another example of 1 + 1 = 3, The students gain a field experience as they look at the design of learning spaces (in this case the STEM Center), we get help setting things up and cleaning up after each session, and our Collab Lab participants get the perspective of 5 individuals not far removed from K-12 who find themselves navigating open-ended, collaborative, community-engaged projects. Thanks also to MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting the Collab Lab Series, as well as the students from Pathways High School and Bradley Tech who joined in person/on Zoom.

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Collab Lab 57: Recap & Notes
November 16, 2023

Following the Hero’s Journey theme of Collab Labs this season, our November session explored stepping out of the known world and dealing with uncertainty. Our discussion began with an exploration of the uncertainty participating teachers and students already deal with in school. That set some context for the next round of conversations focused on fears/worries about engaging students in open-ended challenges. We wrapped up the discussion with an inventory of strategies and practices teachers, students, and attendees from outside of K-12 have seen or use to manage uncertainty around projects — whether that is where the project will lead or how the team will get there. This week we pulled those factors into a system map, connecting elements based on what we heard in the discussions. What’s striking, though not unexpected, is the importance of trust and open communication in all of this. It is what allows both teachers and students to take some risks, try something new, and be willing to accept and learn from efforts that don’t work out as hoped. You can view the system map here, and we welcome your thoughts and input on what else we might include, or how we might better repent the dynamics at play. Those of you who have explored the map produced from last seasons sessions focused on feelings of safety and affirmation at school, will recognize a number of familiar elements. Going forward, we’ll be looking at how we can merge or otherwise use these maps and what we hear in upcoming Collab Labs to paint a more complete picture of the forces at play when we look to offer students the hands-on community-engaged learning experiences they deserve. … Next up on our Hero’s Journey, we meet the mentors and helpers as we explore what it takes to support authentic work. Join us on December 14th for Collab Lab 58. Thanks again to our Featured Participants: Amber Henzig: Scrum Master & Servant Leader, Johnson Controls Kelsey Otero: Senior Director of Community Engagement, Marquette University Sean Campbell: Teacher at Pathways High School, Milwaukee Thanks also to MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting the Collab Lab Series, as well as the students from Pathways High School and Bradley Tech who joined in person/on Zoom.

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Collab Lab 56: Recap & Notes
October 18, 2023

For our 8th season of Collab Labs, we’re exploring how the lens of the Hero’s Journey can inform how we approach community-engaged project based learning, and what more we can offer students when we do so. Over the course of the 2023-24 season, each of our Collab Labs will focus on a different phase of the Hero’s Journey. We kicked things off last week with Collab Lab 56, a session focused on the call to adventure. How do we motivate our students to take the first couple of steps on their own learning journey? How do we channel the enthusiasm of some students who clearly identify with a topic and want to set off in pursuit of the prize, bypassing what we as educators believe are essential knowledge and skills in the order we believe these ought to be learned? What makes a call compelling for students? We began our discussion with the question, “What makes a call compelling to students?” As attendees explored the conditions for getting students engaged in a big challenge they noted: Authenticity of subject, intrinsic motivation A teacher’s excitement & confidence Proximal development Involvement in ‘the process’ Confidence in the person leading the process >> proper guidance and support, constant work on trust and relationships Align with student’s experience and expertise, attitudes and aptitudes (don’t set the student up for failure) Culturally responsive and relevant The end result will be tangible (Appropriate) level of autonomy & power to choose the path that seems most interesting or rewarding Additionally, much relies on (role modeling) a certain mindset: Overcoming competing forces that may hold someone back Failure is an opportunity to learn. “A bump in the road is not the road itself” What has your experience been with creating compelling ‘call to adventure’ for your students? What do educators and students need to commit to the journey? With that inventory in place, we moved to a discussion of what needs to be in place for students (and their teachers) to commit to the journey.On the student side, that includes: Trusting relationships, respect, sense of belonging Build an iterative experience that gets progressively more challenging Create oral/written feedback opportunities that encourage engagement Defined roles based on prior experience Adjust composition of the learning space to reflect the work Normalizing uncertainty Being able to see your peers as resources Learning how to co-create Know and/or find yourself as a learner (EQ) Develop understanding of what ‘commit’ means Barriers for students fully participating in these challenges include: Housing instability Health issues, Food availability May exist outside the school environment >> teacher less aware Overall stability inside & outside the learning environment For educators, the list includes: Bring (or gain) personal experience with the journey you’re asking students to take on. Professional development on relevant concepts, such as PBL, collaboration, etc., by experts >> those actually doing this work, from a ‘learner first’ perspective >> practical, hands on Best practices that are share across schools and districts A framework for designing and managing, similar to ‘design thinking’ Sustainable partnerships to 1) support student projects and 2) share resources (how do you) develop community support for a different approach to learning (time and energy to) Pursue grants to help support ‘extra’: field experiences, resources, PD, etc. Admin support for taking risks with experiments. If you are a teacher, how are you navigating the hurdles to offering student driven inquiry projects to your students? In the discussion of barriers for students, several participants brought up a recent piece in the New York Times that noted that economic stability and integration of families, as well as higher levels of teacher pay in the US Defense Department’s schools were among key factors that allow those schools to outperform public school systems. You can find the article here. One caveat noted in the discussion– the focus of these schools is on a standardized curriculum with traditional models of instruction. A special thanks for our featured guest, Andi Gomoll from Gomoll Research & Design who brought her extensive experience with understanding what motivates and engages users (customers) to the conversation. And, as always, we’re appreciative of MSOE for letting us make use of the NM Lab in the WE Energies STEM Center every month. Up Next Collab Lab 57: Dealing with Uncertainty Thursday November 9th, 5:30 to 8:30 pm at MSOE’s STEM Center Actively using some form of PBL with your students and looking for ideas or encouragement from others? Consider joining your peers in the inspirED Community.

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Collab Labs Return
September 6, 2023

We’ll be back at MSOE’s STEM Center on Thursday October 12th to kick off our 8th season of Collab Labs. If you’ve been looking for an opportunity build connections with individuals who share your passion to do more for students, exchange ideas with folks inside and outside of K-12, and explore opportunities to collaborate, this is the place to do so. If you are a student that would like to see your school value all that you can bring, take on real challenges, and build connections to the broader community, this is your place to. Building off our experience with students in our April and May Collab Labs, we’re now extending a formal invite to middle and high school students who want to be part of the conversation. Our discussion topic for October is Heeding the Call of the Student — where do we hear that want to go, how can create opportunities for their concerns and passions to drive a richer exploration of what you had hoped to cover anyway? Collab Labs run 5:30 to 8:30 pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month October through May, except for January. There is no cost to attend, and beyond great people and great conversations, we provide food and drinks. We look forward to seeing you there.

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Collab Lab 55: Recap & Notes
May 18, 2023

How does mental health manifest itself in k12education? How is it compromised and what are the levers we may use to positively impact the learning culture for our students (and teachers etc.) May is Mental Health Month. It felt appropriate to continue the work our #CollabLab54 attendees had begun with a follow up conversation. So last Thursday, we hosted Collab Lab 55 to create a safe space for conversations about the factors that influences mental health negatively/positively for students, teachers and others, such as trust, empathy in education, difficult conversations etc.. Building on our first conversation in April, we gave our attendees a first draft of a model map of factors we collected together. Attendees at each table reviewed this map for accuracy and completeness using their particular perspective. They could focus on a specific area, review it as a particular stakeholder, etc. This was truly a ‘kitchen table conversation’ where people from different backgrounds, ages and experiences engaged in open dialog about what they experience every day. Together we identified how many of these factors are connected (but differently for teachers and students) and what we might do to break through the negative cycle many are experiencing. You can find our updated mapping here: Where might this lead?- Over the coming months, we’d like to see additional conversations taking place with people representing all stakeholders at the table- We’re going to make our STEM Studio time available over the summer for teachers (and students) to participate in a student project design lab.- we’d like see a project develop to add stories from students, teachers, parents to the map as illustrations of when culture ‘works’ to affirm students and build a positive culture of respect and collaboration in learning. There are many more opportunities that present themselves from having a comprehensive mapping like this. We’ll be exploring those over the coming months. Curious about the map that’s is under development? Have an idea you’d like to explore to address youth mental health in education? Since this was our final official Collab Lab of the 2022-23 school year, We want to thank Milwaukee School of Engineering for offering the use of the STEM Center this year (and again in the coming school year!), as well as Northwestern Mutual for sponsoring ‘our lab room’ in the STEM Center. The Collab Lab formula keeps getting better every season. We’re grateful for all of our attendees who came out for one of the Thursday evening sessions. We look forward to seeing many of you again next season and can’t wait to hear what cool learning you are offering your students as a result of the conversations you’ve had. Have a great summer!

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