Our focus for the Collab Lab 47 was a reflection on what we’ve learned over the first year of our Fellows Program. Prior to the Collab Lab we sat down with a our Fellows for a conversation about what they wanted to get out of the discussion. The first two questions we settled on are a reflection of where the Fellows see value in the program and partners.
Too often teachers are offered programming or resources without the recognition of what else might need to be in place, or the additional work required of a teacher to take advantage of them. Nothing interesting happens in a classroom without a teacher willing to say “yes”, and that comes when we solve problems for teachers. That lead us to our first question for the evening:
What makes an offering of support for teachers a gift rather than just one more thing to take on?
Collaboration
share the workload
cross pollinate ideas
It’s real
service learning
connected to community
multidisciplinary
PBL
Engages students
students work to develop solutions
It fills a known gap for the teacher
A curriculum framework that:
is completed
is documented
integrates outside expertise that know how to work with students
is updated
provides a prescription for how to execute with room to flex
Provides resources for both students and teachers to execute
Helps students develop 21st century skills
Builds career connection
Field experiences (free is good)
Provides access to mentors
Kids are engaged and motivated
Aligns with standards
Provides opportunities for problem solving/authentic learning
Can be extension projects
Multiple points of alignment/integration with curriculum
Provides a chance to showcase the work of students
unaware of pacing guide, constraints, or not connected to standards
offering doesn’t complement curriculum
Too scripted and prescriptive
Focus on kids’ learning
Through the Collab Labs and work with program partners over the course of the year, the Fellows see a lot of value in understanding how those outside of education approach parallel problems. Collaboration is important to the fellows, both in terms of providing a richer set of experiences for their students, and also to share the load with colleagues and to learn from what peers may have tried. That led us to our second discussion point for the evening:
How do you form a relationship with colleagues conducive to creating a collaborative culture focused on learning?
Share successes
Create opportunities for shared learning experiences
Focus on kids motivation and engagement
Provide opportunities for casual, open-ended conversations
Make it a regular practice
Practice collaboration across different content areas
Use student presentations as a chance to collaborate/share with colleagues.
Foster trust
Be supportive
Model collaboration/continuous learning during the school day
Build diversity into the process with a range of levels of
expertise
knowledge
experience
Establish norms for
sharing
listening
encouraging all to share
process and project management approaches
Establish accountability
universal
commitment
Recognize that preferred modes of communication will vary between colleagues
The third question for the evening came from our shared goal of ensuring that all Milwaukee students have the chance to participate in the kind of community engaged, real world, learning experiences that can help them both uncover what they are passionate about, and see paths forward to pursue those passions.
How do we make these opportunities equitable and accessible to all students?
Engage all students from the outset and provide
choice – enable students to approach and pursue the challenge from the points where they are most engaged
flexibility – be creative/flexible about how the learning experience might evolve, and where it might lead
anticipate and address barriers that may limit participation or engagement for some students
Maintain a growth mindset
Provide a safe place, where it is ok to be vulnerable
Focus on others strengths
Connect to what learners love
We we’re glad to see a high level of engagement around the questions, and, as usual, very different approaches to documenting each group’s conversation. That the conversations continued well after we wrapped things up is a measure of success for the process.
Thanks again to our Fellows for guiding the discussion and MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting us!
What do we want students to get out of real world projects?
Introduction
Engaging students in real world projects creates opportunities to connect with students’ passions, build connections to the broader community, and for students to see that they can have an impact. Our discussion at February 2022’s Collab Lab focused what we want students to experience on these types of projects, what students, teachers, and partners bring that can help create these experiences, and what stands in the way. Joining the discussion were students from MSOE’s Create Institute and Software Development Lab, and Engineers Without Borders at Marquette University who are involved in real world projects of their own.
Start with the end in mind
To start our exploration we asked ourselves: “What do we want students to experience as part of their learning?”
Exciting challenges
Feel comfortable to ask questions
Supportive setting
Fail forward
Open result
Experience variety
they can have the opportunity to get excited about the learning
they can become the expert
they can teach the teacher
they can become effective collaborators
Bring their ideas to life– makes everything more relevant, to feel a sense of empowerment (voice, make/change decisions)
experience success from mistakes– students should learn from their answers
take classroom knowledge in the abstract to practical application — make everything relevant
have a voice in shaping the project — problems don’t have a single answer (broaden scope)
listen to other people’s ideas and provide feedback– builds both community and communication skills
find something for them to be passionate about and run with it — motivation to advance
Understand the “why” behind concepts — knowledge can be transferred, retained
Self awareness
Provide opportunities
new experience
further exploration
Connect to future experiences
Enlightenment/fun/joy
Problem solve
Build skills
Communication – seeing themself in the position
Finding purpose
Build confidence in their ability (wins)
empathetic
Have fun
feel empowered and inspired
to know they can make a difference/real world
to feel included, (culturally/gender)
to see what they can be
to feel safe & heard
to feel connected to their community
they can learn from failures
Engaging “tricky” students
ask a lot of questions
some are afraid of failure
confidence building
it’s ok to take a risk
For our participants, the big “whys” behind all of this are for students who feel inspired, valued, and heard; to see that they can make a difference in the their community and contribute to the happiness of others.
The Assets we bring to learning
We continued our discussion by asking about the assets the students, teachers, and community partners bring to the table to support student engagement in real world projects. For students, the key assets noted across our discussion groups are their curiosity, excitement, and perspective. Other assets include their:
ideas
background knowledge
culture/cultural perspective (language and norms)
In the case of educators, it is their own passions, ability to facilitate inquiry based work and create the space and structure for this work to happen that are key assets that support student engagement in real world projects. Others include:
connections
resources
justification
expectations
community partners
culture
growth mindset
dedication
empathy
communication
For community partners, the most noted assets are the expertise, relevance, and perspective they can bring. It’s their view of the world from beyond school which helps make the work relevant to students and gives them an incentive beyond grades to dive deep. Other assets noted in our discussions include:
expertise
resources
awareness
different lens
support for students/teachers for experiences
Role models/mentors
Finally, it was noted that all three groups bring their own cultural intersectionalities, which create the opportunity for much richer collaboration and learning.
Barriers. A familiar list
We wrapped up the discussion with a quick inventory of barriers to engaging students in real world projects. The list should look familiar:
too much internet?
loss of community/hands on opportunities
Switch from micro (classroom) to macro (real world)
not enough trust of teachers
not enough time/prep
Focus on standardized testing
Time
Inequities/Disadvantage
Lack of access to resources & support
Money
Balance of commitments
Out-of-touch leadership
Overworked teachers
No opportunity to collaborate
Student, school, community misalignment
Teachers
almost anything out of the classroom
legislation
Community Partners
understanding connections to curriculum
time for meaningful engagement
Students
need to balance effort across classes to prevent burnout
jobs
home responsibilities (cleaning, cooking, siblings, etc.)
Acknowledgements
Thanks again to MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting Collab Labs this season and to our featured participants for the experience and insight they brought to the discussion:
Chris Beimborn – UW-Milwaukee EnQuest Coordinator and STEM Outreach Manager
Anne-Marie Warren, Laura Pizano, Pelumi Ajayi – Student Fellows with MSOE’s Create Institute
Hunter Turcin & Amish Verma – Students working with Learn Deep in MSOE’s Software Development Lab
Continue the Conversation
If you like the topics we select every month and would like to continue the conversation, we invite you to join ‘inspirEd‘, an online Collaborative Learning Community. We focus on growing our innovative teaching practice together by sharing what works and what hasn’t.
How can organizations and educators effectively collaborate for greater student success?
Our December Collab Lab conversations explored the benefits, needs and hurdles of collaboration on student learning experiences. One of the major hurdles for teachers to be able to create truly engaging real world experiences with students is the challenge of involving the appropriate outside expertise at the appropriate time in a student’s project. And if the student is encouraged to determine when that additional expertise would be helpful, things get even more messy. But since we all recognize the value of bringing in that outside perspective, what are some (proven) approaches that teachers could adopt as they venture in the world of student driven learning experiences?
Our December 2021 Collab Lab (what’s a Collab Lab?) provided an opportunity to explore how we might leverage outside resources and begin establishing relationships to shift the use of ‘mentors’ from a 30 minute ‘song and dance’ to a meaningful semester long mentor relationship that draws out the best in each student?
After taking some time to to explore the participant’s own experience with collaboration, either as an educator or as a community partner, we asked the starting question to some great conversations: How can we create the circumstance for effective collaboration amongst teachers and (supportive individuals at) community organizations?
Common themes highlighted by all groups were:
Communication, including feedback, is a major factor in successful collaboration when it comes to blending learning inside and outside the classroom;
Commitment to the relationship and a plan for ongoing involvement;
Flexibility of participation on a week by week basis (‘school’ is a messy workplace);
Clarity around who is available as a partner and what kind of input and commitment is offered;
Nothing too stunning, and in fact these are core aspects of any successful and sustaining collaboration in the business world and public-private partnerships. What is unique is that these conversations provided an opportunity for educators and community members in non-profit and corporate settings to hear from each other what makes (common) sense to pursue if we are serious about working together for the greater benefit of the students in Milwaukee. What makes this more challenging? The complex environment we’ve created that we call ‘school’.
This list is not claiming to be complete, but it does provide several worthwhile entry points for further exploration if we want to come together in an (STEM) ecosystem to gradually implement the type of learning that we know 21st century students need exposure to if we want to develop the talent our communities are in desperate need of. A great starting point for further exploration of ‘what’s possible’!
Interested in this type of conversation and being part of creating the shift in education we need?
Join our Collaborative Learning Community ‘inspirEd‘ and become part of creating the future of education.
What should effective partnerships offer teacher, students and partners?
Here is what the attendees uncovered:
Teachers
Partners
Students
setting expectations of what’s possible
setting expectations of what’s possible
continuous learning made possible
involving partners enriches the curriculum
enables partner to better meet funder standards
getting out of the classroom in a meaningful way
It addresses the need for funds for activities (and PD)
offer culturally responsive practices
opportunity for hands on activities, leading to exposure to careers
having a list of partners to pull from
exposure for educators and students
stimulating creativity and curiosity
Receive feedback from partner
receive feedback from educators
active engagement in the learning: “I wonder….?”
continuity & longitudinal experiences
flexibility to work with school/grade needs
accountability to learning outcomes
sustaining relationships through transitions
plan of action for building ongoing relationships
more than one-time experiences
willingness to try
Connect with the greater community – schools, families
open-ended-ness of learning and exploring
pre-planning events
open, collaborative communication
engagement with people and community
ideas for what to include in teaching through learning experiences
who are the partners and when are they available?
opportunity to explore the Why?
community involvement in learning experiences
clear idea of the goal of partnering with teachers
STEM and business careers exposure
sharing experience with ‘being involved’
sharing experience with ‘being involved’
sharing experience with ‘being involved’
exposure to work, careers, etc.
exposure needs and challenge of teaching
exposure to mentors, work and concepts
meaningful volunteer opportunities
builds hope and ability to dream about their place in the community
hearing from others what an organization might do for the community
talent recruiting
What is needed to develop an effective collaboration for student success?
There are a lot of good intentions among those early to recognize that collaboration with teachers in real world focused student projects present great benefit and opportunity. But how do we practically get to a place where we can start realizing those benefits?
The attendees have the following suggestions:
Teacher
Partner
Student
access to partners
access to teachers
Access to mentors ‘from the real world’
budget
available budget for interaction at middle/high school level
learning takes time
curriculum alignment
available time to volunteer
training
available time to devote
experience with mentoring (middle school) students
set behavior goals (accountability)
Training (pbl, technology, management)
individual commitment to engage for the duration of a student project
how to drive their full engagement
management support
administration/upper management support and involvement
commitment to learn
transportation and other logistical resources
time
co-teaching
commitment to support
alignment to learning standards
alignment to learning standards
motivation
a coordinators
cross curricular / interdisciplinary activities
energy
growth mindset
growth mindset
set of goals for collaboration
patience
class visits
a list of ‘what’s possible’
willingness to take risks
Patience
growth mindset
What gets in the way of successful collaboration ?
We all can imagine the sorts of things that get in the way of teachers doing their best teaching and community partners staying committed over time. What stood out for me was
A lack of advocating for the benefits of hands-on learning experiences through stories of student success, both in the school context and in the community partner organization.
Here is the list our conversation participants developed
Teacher
Partner
Student
understanding of different learning styles
understand (student) learning styles
learning styles
experience with different teaching strategies
funding in support of real world learning and your employee participation in it
available time (none!)
funding
do you have an overall engagement strategy
motivation to learn
time
how much time can you afford to dedicate?
learning to get and receive feedback
understanding the audience
understanding your audience (teachers) and their familiarity level with modern business
language/disability
getting feedback
giving and getting feedback about what works
background knowledge
limited network / contact list
matchmaking of relevant expertise
need of deeper processing (time to process and follow through)
awareness of available resources and opportunities
logistics
Reflection
miscommunication
miscommunication
hierarchy of needs
logistics
lack of knowledge
relatability
Creating the stories of ‘why’
one-sided decision making
unwilling to showcase opportunity
willingness to make involvement mutually beneficial
Professional Development (related to pbl/domain/tech)
admin involvement
expectations for students and partners
corporate structure
restrictive funds
Would you like to join these conversations with teachers and community partners?
Consider participating in upcoming Collab Labs. Every 2nd Thursday of the month during the school year. RSVP on our Collab Lab page
Not a member of inspirEd yet? Join the Collaborative Learning Community ‘inspirEd‘ and continue this and other conversations with your peers from across Milwaukee and beyond who are experimenting with and sharing what works for our students.
Acknowledgements
Thanks again to MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting Collab Labs this season and to our featured participants for the experience and insight they brought to the discussion:
Bev Bryant – Park Naturalist at Wehr Nature Center
Catrina Crane – Director of Workforce & Business Solutions, Menomenee Valley Partners
How should we introduce modern prototyping with K-12 students?
We’ve heard from engineering instructors in both K-12 and higher-ed that students too often focus on “getting the right solution”. This leaves the students reluctant to experiment with alternative concepts that may not pan out. This ‘solution focus’ also leads to disengagement from the problem– students seek what they perceive to be the safest path to the “correct” solution, and fail to devote the time and energy to build a deep understanding of the problem at hand.
Our November 2021 Collab Lab provided an opportunity to explore how we might leverage prototyping and testing to shift students’ focus from perfecting a solution to perfecting their understanding of the problem (and how it might be solved).
Teachers and product designers discuss iterative design and prototyping with K-12 students during Learn Deep’s monthly Collab Lab workshop
The Student experience
After exploring the participants’ own experience with when something that didn’t go as expected and the assumptions behind that, we asked “How/where can we give students the opportunity to recognize and test the assumptions behind their design decisions?
Here’s what we heard
What they need
Problem solving skills
Opportunities for voice/sharing
How to work effectively within a team
Learning styles
Shared responsibilities
Space needed
Get out of the building
Natural connections
Real world application
To know the “why” behind the challenge
A purpose/project that can grow with them
they can carry on their work on the issue as they advance in school
Multiple Paths
Varied timelines
Varied instructions
Safe environment for hands-on experimentation
Models and examples for inspiration
Education on both content and process
Comfort with design thinking process
Empathy
Design
Ideate
Prototype/Test
Iterate
The opportunity to test understanding/assumptions throughout that process– in particular at the earliest stage– their understanding of the problem.
When should this happen
Teachers following the school or district’s curriculum to ensure that essential concepts and topics are introduced during the school year. This leaves them little time to deviate from the main path. Knowing this, the teachers identified 4 opportunities to introduce these concepts to students.
Continuous, at every step of learning
Integrated into lessons during the school year
After school programs
During student exchanges
Adjustments we can make
How and where are the opportunities to experiment so you as a teacher can gain experience. Here are the variety of options our attendees developed to could consider trying:
Integrate STEAM into all lessons
Participation in competitions
State science fair, etc.
Pride in school/team
Invite former students back as mentors
Revised grading system
Evaluate students on process, re-work, soft skills
Student self-assessment
Peer reviews
Frequent check-ins
Evaluation of the process
Explain relevance
Wonder (genius time)
Develop an iterative mindset
For more information…
New Milwaukee initiative
We were delighted to have Katie Schober from STEAM Milwaukee share some of the materials available through the organization’s Lend A Lab Program host a pop-up pre-session. For more information on that program, reach out to Katie at info@steammilwaukee.com.
Engineering life
Will Gorecki has documented his adventures building a jet suit and has captured a few life lessons on his blog.
Design Thinking
Design thinking came up at several points in the conversation. The Stanford D School has a handy primer on the subject here. As the session wrapped up Dr. Shalamova stressed that while the design thinking process typically places prototyping and testing after ideation, the most critical assumption to test is that one actually understands what the problem is. This means looking for ways to validate that understanding before students start looking at potential ways a problem might be solved.
Michael Hohl has a great piece on the value of prototyping early and often here.
Help Milwaukee students with their Water Stories project
Our Learn Deep Fellows are currently working on ‘Our Water, Our Stories’ projects with their students. Theresa Johnson mentioned that as part of the water projects at Wedgewood Middle School (MPS) students in Advanced Science are collecting data about water availability and cleanliness. They hope to understand the issues that impact Milwaukee in regards to water and to develop a sustainable way to improve the issues. The students have produced a survey to understand community member perspective on clean water availability. They invite you and your friends and neighbors to participate by filling out their survey here.
Thanks again to MSOE’s STEM Center for hosting Collab Labs this season and to our featured participants for the experience and insight they brought to the discussion:
Season six of our Collab Lab Series kicks off on October 14th. This year we’ll be back in-person at a new location– MSOE’s STEM Center. The center was host to our STEM Studio sessions with the Learn Deep Fellows in August. The ample whiteboard space and standing tables of the Center’s Lab work well for collaborative efforts, and on-street parking should be much simpler.
Collab Lab 42, our first session of the season will focus on the series of water related projects the Learn Deep Fellows developed over the course of the STEM Studio sessions that they will run over the course of the 2021-22 school year. Subsequent sessions will provide further occasions to explore with the Fellows the challenges and opportunities that come with engaging students in hands-on collaborative work focused on real-world challenges.
November – Prototyping/testing ideas December – Working with community partners February – Student experience March – Connecting projects across grade levels April – Fellows experience (what have we learned/how do we want to adjust) May – Welcome Cohort II
Collab Labs will run from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month from October to May, with the exception of January. They are free to attend, but space is limited, so we’ll ask you to register ahead of time.
We’ll be following MSOE’s Covid protocols for on campus meetings. At this point, that includes masks for all attendees, regardless of vaccination status. As that policy changes, we’ll provide updated information in the details for each session.
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?
Last Thursday’s Collab Lab explored what teacher-centric professional development might look like. We had participants introduce themselves by sharing their best and worst PD experiences. As we listened to those conversations, one thing that stood out was the number of times the physical setting of the PD session came into play– an offsite location offered an opportunity to shift thinking, a session which had teachers sitting on cafeteria benches for two hours conveyed that those planning the session had not considered what the experience would be like for participants.
With those experiences as background, the first task for attendees was to inventory what they hope to gain/provide through PD. Those ideas fell into several broad categories:
Enthusiasm & Inspiration:
Excitement to replicate and extend
Inspiration
Enthusiasm
Enhancement of skills
Excitement — I want to leave and keep on working on it
Gain Knowledge about specific tech subjects– AI, VR, etc.
Learn to engage students in new technologies purposefully
See great pedagogy modeled and be able to practice it
Rich content
Increase knowledge…
student relationships
engaging students
Knowledge that pertains to me!
Chance to learn from everyone in the room [recognize the experience in the room]
Develop a different perspective regarding those around us
Resources
Realistic or tangible outcomes
Share researched based best practices
Access to new information
Knowledge
Current best practices
New perspectives
Authentic experiences
Actionable skills, knowledge, connections
Collaboration
A space to collaborate & innovate
Ideas surrounding achieving classroom equity at the college and eventually university level
Follow up/accountability
Engagement through action and collaboration
Applicable/relevant
Processing time
Opportunities to reflect
Group of similar professionals for
encouragement
support
common passion
A tribe
Connections
Connections for students
Authentic experiences
Excitement, passion, purpose
Exposure to other experts, mentors, coaches
Real access to tools, tech, mindset of others in an interest area
Contacts/networking
Fellow, passionate learners
Teacher to teacher PD
Respect as a capable adult learner
Opportunities to share my expertise
Form a supportive community
Increase collaboration among staff on working with students
Growing a community of learners.
Stretch & dive deep
Be forced to struggle and stretch
A desire to want more — go deeper
Stretch
Deeper investment in your work
Student PD — if you could learn anything at school what would it be?
Domain specific PD
Become better/more effective at what you want to do
Opportunities for students to grow, motivate their self in learning
Visions of what PD could be
With this broad set of goals in hand, we allowed a bit more time for conversation about how one might realize one more of those. From there we asked attendees to pair up and create a vision of what PD that aims to meet some of those goals might look like. Here’s some of what was shared.
Implementation of a school wide-initiative
Focus
One big goal or vision for whole school
It is not
A lecture
Cookie cutter
Participants
all stakeholders [in strategic teams that make sense]
It happens
Off site, neutral territory
As a 3-5 year plan with set SMART goals and monthly check in intervals
I’m able to leverage it
Because all other PD is filtered through this vision
As a realistic shared vision — teams set goals aligned with vision
Community
Focus
Supporting persistence & community
It does not
Have a top-down structure
Feel contrived
Participants
A group of people with a shared goal
It happens
In varied settings, especially getting people out of their everyday environment
Settings where everyday pressures are less pressing (leave town?)
Includes both structured and unstructured time
I’m able to leverage it
By having the flexibility to allow good things to happen
Let participants lead
A specific helpful computer program (one of many)
Focused on
Benefits & “how tos” of a new program
It is not
Condescending
Just a lecture
A one one and done or passing trend
It includes for participants
Hands on exploration
QA, comments, input from participants
Brainstorming, how could you use this?
Builds enthusiasm
Offers + schedule of follow up support for participants at all levels
Time for follow up
Research based, relevant
Of value — time saving/increased effectiveness
Team Cohesion
Focused on
Creating a more collaborative and safe team environment by establishing norms and committing to action
It does not
Provide space for admiring the problem and creating blame
It includes as participants
The entire team
It happens
At a retreat
I’m able to leverage it
By creating a commitment to change and holding myself accountable for it.
Mindful moments
Focus
Transitions when students enter class. Being present and acknowledging current mental state/capacity for learning.
Self compassion, self awareness, self efficacy
It does not
Have lectures or assignments
Mandate the rules of how to apply or engage
Participants
Teachers/faculty
It happens
45-50 minutes initial time of session demonstrating strategies for teachers to learn and practice
Follow up email with people who are practicing/to share with others
I’m able to leverage it
At the end of the session we build an accountability partnership with other session goers. Email each other to check in once a week for three weeks. After that the partnership will re-assess
Power of Data – GIS
Focus
Scientific inquiry using GIS technology
Create individual lesson plans
Argue from evidence
It is not
A lecture
Participants
Educators– formal & informal
It happens
As active learning over a 35 hour block
I’m able to leverage
Software
Career stories
Data collection
Varied context
Differentiation
Focus
Differentiation
access
accountability
learner needs, not roll out of programs
It does not
Disrespect the learner. Rather, it encourages choice, voice of participants
Participants
Leaders
Experts
Learners
It happens
During regular employee hours but can continue after ours or on vacations
Deidre Roemer — Director of Leadership and Learning, West Allis West Milwaukee School District
Resources
Our participants shared a number of resources. Here’s the list:
Code for Milwaukee Internship ProgramCode for Milwaukee is a civic technology non-profit that builds out projects that serve the greater Milwaukee community and beyond. They are starting an internship program that is open to middle and high school students who will help build out a technology based solution to solve a problem our community faces
UWM Power of Data Workshops: 35 hour paid professional development program that enables st secondary teachers to increase students’ content knowledge, 21 Century Skills and awareness of geospatial technology careers through Geospatial Inquiry and data analysis. June 2020
Wisconsin ArcGIS Map Contest The 2020 Wisconsin map contest is part of the Esri national student ArcGIS Online competition. It is open to all Wisconsin middle and high school students.
Our December Collab Lab focused on student run enterprises. We were interested in the kinds of experiences participants hoped students might gain through participation in a student run enterprise.
Our process for the session took a slightly different approach, starting with how we wanted to students to talk about their experience. Our goal was statements that demonstrate a high level of engagement, but are also evocative enough that we could start to imagine how a student run enterprise might foster such an experience.
The initial brainstorming process generated a long list of experience statements, including:
“I worked really hard because the results really mattered”
“This program helped me find my passion.”
“The work here is important to me personally.”
“I’m glad I can be myself, express my mind freely.”
“I got to know myself better.”
“I grew as a person.”
“It was my favorite class ever.”
“I never thought I could do this.”
(with pride) “This is my project!”
“I chose to stay because of this.”
“I was able to make decisions that allowed me to take risks and learn from mistakes to help our business be more successful.”
“I learned how to fail.”
“There are real consequences for my actions in this enterprises.”
“I felt more empowered than ever.”
“This experience allowed me to really own my learning and let me take something I am interested in to a level I couldn’t have done without this experience.”
“I have a voice and I have value.”
“I understand my role.”
“I am proud of what exists here.”
“I am valuable to this business.”
“This experience helped me see how a business could not only help me but help the community.”
“The experiences I’ve had make me think about what I can do to help my community.”
“This experience allowed me to grow as a student leader and collaborate with others.”
“I have a better understanding of money, how it is created, and whether or not it has value.”
“I used the skills I acquired to further my knowledge and abilities.”
“I remembered doing this activity in class and could apply the technique learned to help myself.”
“This helped me learn how to apply my skills in the real world.”
“As a person, it made me make better decisions. As a member of my community it made me open my eyes and grow up.”
“It helped me figure out what I want to do with my life.”
With that list in hand, we asked participants to form small teams to talk through ideas for how a student run enterprise might help students have one or more of those experiences. Our second process change was to have these ideas expressed as “What if we…” questions. We wanted to see if that led to more expansive thinking. Here’s what they came up with:
Individuality Initiative
We hope students might say…
“I learned to fail”
“This program helped me find my passion”
“I have a voice. I have value.”
What if we…
created an environment where students weren’t as fearful of failing, but instead were encouraged to learn from their failures ;
created a survey or interview process to identify appropriate enterprises and their roles within them;
encouraged an education system that catered to helping students find their passion instead of telling them what they should be?
Failing with Open Minds
We hope students might say…
“I learned to fail”
“I found my passion”
What if we…
allowed kids to fail;
allowed kids to pursue their passion and explore themselves;
sourced innovation from kids?
encouraged all to fail of front of an authentic, receptive audience with an open mind while pursuing a curiosity which can become a passion after taking a risk?
Sustainable Futures/Business with an Impact
We hope students might say…
“This experience connects passion to community and allows us to thing about our impact”
What if we…
challenge them to make a product or service that helps the environment or community;
challenges them to create a business or product that reduces their impact on the environment;
create a business that would help their specific neighborhood issue?
Change Agent
We hope students might say…
“I feel more empowered than ever”
What if …
this purpose already means something to me;
I am interested to lead;
we make the community better?
Milwaukee Made
We hope students might say…
“It was so great to work with other students of all ages and to make money and learn how to be successful in a business.”
What if we…
break down barriers to students creating a business;
we worked with an elementary school, high school, and college to create a store/experience for students to learn from each other to make a real business;
raised confidence and creativity through working with college professors and students in collaboration;
used the new Marquette space in Schlitz Park to sell the produces of student enterprises and employ high school students to work in the store/paid students for the products they sell;
collaborate with Marquette, MATC, Pathways High & Golda Meir to do so?
Try – Fail – Reflect (repeat)
We hope students might say…
“I learned how to fail.”
What if we…
take time to reflect after failure;
normalized failure;
push students outside of their comfort zone?
Thanks to The Commons for providing the space and to our featured participants for sharing their expertise and ideas:
Our November Collab Lab focused on opportunities to engage students around green infrastructure. We asked participants to brainstorm ideas around different types of green infrastructure as they are designed, installed or in service, using the inventory provided within the City of Milwaukee’s Green Infrastructure Plan. From there we paired up educators with representatives from industry, higher-ed, non-profits, and local government and had them flesh out a specific idea in greater detail.
Here’s what they came up with:
Identify targets sites for green infrastructure
Identify vacant lots in the students’ neighborhood to active and install stormwater trees, gardens, community art.
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain gardens
Stormwater trees
Native landscaping
Regenerative stormwater conveyance
Greenways & land conservation
Phases targeted:
Design
Installation
Desired experience for students:
Mapping GIS
Think about neighborhood & community
This is worth it!
Evidence and argument
Budgeting and finance
Understanding different land use/space factors
History of the area, why a particular lot is vacant
Cultural experience of neighborhood as an influence to art
Durability of art
What students will need:
Mapping software
Data
Facilitator/guides to support — experts, & exemplars
Documentation and presentation skills
Who students should meet as part of this work:
UWM School of Architecture & Urban Planning
Youth Council @ City Hall
Pocket parks tour
How students might share their work:
Video
Podcast
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Story Map
Social media/website
Share with community service organizations, the experts that helped them.
Storytelling– “What did I learn”
Art within Native Landscaping
Design art projects within a native landscape
Green infrastructure targeted:
Native Landscaping
Desired experience for students:
Cross curricula – art/science/math
Exploring new things
Youth voice/leadership
New materials
Mentoring
Culture
What students will need:
Guidance/leadership to understand and get excited
Research on native landscapes, sustainable materials (what they are, why they are important)
Location, calendar, transportation
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Partner with college students
Landscape/gardening experts
How students might share their work:
Community grand opening, with presentation by youth
Garden Gallery (art) night
Low tech watering systems
Create olla pots or other system to water gardens when students/volunteers may not be available to do so.
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns
Phases targeted:
Design
Installation
In Use
Desired experience for students:
Research the history of olla pots
Design a system where rain barrels fill the pots (how many rain barrels?)
Calculate how much water might be captured
Determine the size of pots that might be necessary for a particular garden or space
Monitor gardens to make sure the system is working
Compare performance at different times of year
Evaluate how the long the system can run without support
Calibrate the outflow rate from rain barrels so that it is most effective
What students will need:
History of olla pots & agriculture
Math — planning for the # of pots for the area
Science — expected rainfall for the area, ecology, human impact
Communication skills — share what they did
Reading & writing
Arts — decorating barrels, making their own pots @ schools with kiln [can we make our own rain barrels?]
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Community connections for support in monitoring
Environmental engineers
fresh coast guardians from MMSD
Teens Grow Greens for different ideas on irrigation
Pottery infrastructure
How students might share their work:
video story
Present @ Science Strikes Back? [Escuela Verde?]
Share after a full growing season for data collection
Share publicly — news, radio, social media, USDA
Butterfly Garden
Reclaim paved area of “playground” for stormwater management and wildlife habitat restoration.
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain gardens
Native landscaping
Bioswales
Depaving
Soil Amendments
Phases targeted:
Design
Installation
In use
What students should experience:
Design process — native plants, permaculture, pollinator habitat, education of younger students
Self directed personalized learning
What students will need:
Research skills
Curiosity
Information sources
Access to professionals/experts
How students might share their work:
Photo voice
Signage
Newsletters & written media
Permeable paving meets math
Use installation of permeable paving as a chance to exercise mathematical thinking.
Green infrastructure targeted:
Permeable paving
What students should experience:
Apply math concepts (geometry, algebra, etc) when designing permeable walkway through a park
Art, design, science of materials
Exploration of career paths
Presentation of findings
What students will need:
Access to practitioners
Manipulation/manufacturing of materials
Best practices for fitting pieces together
Permeable paving vs alternatives
Cost data for possible choices — installation, maintenance, long term costs
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Practitioners: non profits, contractors, college student mentors
MMSD
Artists
Landscapers
Tours of UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, GWC, MMSD, etc.)
How students might share their work:
Green Students Conference
Opportunity for students across schools/districts to present GI projects to each other
Green job fair — in part, the conference could be funded by exhibitors (engineers, landscapers, etc.) who do a job fair
GI Scavenger hunt
Inventory and map green infrastructure within students’ community; identify where water is coming from; find as many examples as possible, create a map using GIS software
What students should experience:
The possibilities that exist in different areas
Problem solving using mapping software
Ability to visualize things on a map
What students will need:
Mapping software and an introduction to using it
General location for finding green infrastructure
Lesson on green infrastructure installations and interventions
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Students who did bigger project
How students might share their work:
Story map
Water quality assessment
Assess the water quality in the local community
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns
Rain gardens
Soil Amendments
What students should experience:
Data analysis
Hands on development of project
Ownership & involvement
Success & Impact
What students will need:
Space
Native plants
Raspberry Pi computer
Types of soil
Types of compost
Gravel
Sensors for moisture/contamination
Water quality test kits
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Upham Woods — digital observation kits
Sweetwater – Adopt A Storm Drain
River Keepers
Plastic Free MKE
How students might share their work:
Social media
Murals
Logos
Mottos
Peer to peer education — teach others to continue project
Brand it
Give it legitimacy
Greening Alleys
Create a list of priorities for green alleys near a school, identify and collect the data to use in prioritizing the alleys.
Green infrastructure targeted:
Green streets and alleys
What students should experience:
Surveying the neighborhood
Identifying improvements and analyzing lowest cost estimates of putting in improvements
Communication of survey, improvements,
What students will need:
Access to expertise
Computers/data sets
Estimation software/templates
Who students should meet as part of this work:
MMSD — Lisa Sasso, Bre Plier, Nadia Vogt
DPW — Nader Jabber
WDNE — Ben Benninghoff, Samantha Katt
Civil Engineers — Justin Hegerty (Reflo), Kara Koch (SSE)
Communications specialist
How students might share their work:
Entering the project in a competition
Via website/communication pieces they design
Presenting at a conference
Presenting to politicians/city administrators
Intervention as Art
Create an environmental solution that is a form of art
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns [start here but then see where it may connect to something else]
What students should experience:
Allow students to develop creative problem solving, apply multiple disciplines (math, science, etc.) in order to create a solution
Allow student to assess the financial components/cost of implementing the art
What students will need:
Location to meet
Access to technology and materials
Sample size materials to create prototype of artwork
Transportation
Design expertise (art coaches/artists)
Self determination
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Artists
Engineers
Government officials & leaders
Foundations
Contractors (in trades)
How students might share their work:
Social media
Press engagements
Unveiling events
Presentations
GI target map
Map neighborhood to identify opportunities to install green infrastructure
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns
Native landscaping
Bioswales
Green streets & alleys
Soil amendments
Phase targeted:
Design
What students should experience:
Gain understanding of neighborhood and existing conditions
Gain understanding of community stakeholders
Build researching skills (reputable data)
Become informed skeptics
Gain understanding of types & applications for green infrastructure
What students will need:
Background in types of GI
Mapping support — map individual neighborhoods, add all to larger map
Critical thinking/perseverance
People skills — coaching/modeling
Arrange stakeholder meetings/presentations
Watershed locations
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Reflo
Eco Office
Environmental Engineers
SFS
Community organizations in neighborhood
How students might share their work:
Social media posts
Health fair at North Division
MPS STEM Fair
Heat Islands
Monitor/change heat island effect through interactive materials
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain gardens
Native landscaping
Bioswales
Stormwater trees
Depaving
Green streets & alleys
Greenways & land conservation
Green roofs
Phase targeted:
In use
What students should experience:
Gain an appreciation for environmental awareness
Visually see how GI can reduce heat island effect
What students will need:
Thermal imaging – drone
Students map with “hot spots”
Identify areas that would benefit from green infrastructure
What could be done– trees plants, gardens
See how different GI might reduce heat
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Engineering firms with surveyors
College students who work with GIS
How students might share their work:
Presentation to town, city, community
Design plan
From the areas identified, have students go to companies to implement or advertise their action plan
Designing School Building Projects
Allow students to design landscape areas; promote mentor-ship to have older students work with younger students; during construction, kids can monitor waste vs recycled materials
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain gardens
Native landscaping
Stormwater trees
Soil amendments
Phase targeted:
Design
Installation
In use
What students should experience:
Sense of ownership, cooperation, achievement
Growing consumable product
Science
What students will need:
Planting science and how to nurture
Planting buddies
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Contractors
Landscapers
Engineers
Business relationships for recycling
Farmers
How students might share their work:
Through food on table
Science & math through recycling
Personal development through succeeding in the process
Watershed Challenge
How can we positively effect the watershed in a way that will create buy in and support from the community
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns
Rain gardens
Stormwater trees
Soil amendments
Phases targeted:
Design
What students should experience:
Career connections
Get out in the field
Community connections – picking up trash connected to effects on watershed, talking to community, brainstorming community problems
Urban water cycle – treatment plant
Science/environmental connection — labs to “see it”
Interdisciplinary — data, writing, technology
What students will need:
Background knowledge– getting off campus, maps science
Access to to local experts
Community connections — talking to people in neighborhood, observing the location
Structure/system for the design part of the project
Who students should meet as part of the effort:
Water school
Washington Park Urban Ecology Center
Storm Water Solutions
Engineers that design infrastructure — public & private
Go to a school that did a similar project
Groundworks MKE
Milwaukee Water Commons
Reflo
MMSD (Christina Taddy)
River Keeper
Plastic Free MKE
Sweetwater (Adopt a Storm Drain)
Upham Woods
Artful Capstone
Bring math, science, and art together for artful landscaping solutions; understanding the design process
Green infrastructure targeted:
Rain barrels & cisterns
Permeable pavement
Green Roofs [hotels & apartments]
What students should experience:
Awareness of environment
Seeing project through to completion
Impact on community
Puzzle solving
Design process
Connecting things to their everyday life
Opportunities to see career options
What students will need:
Time
Parental support
Access to opportunities
Mentoring
Inspiration
Pragmatic examples
Connections to their lives
Opportunity to take risks
Who students should meet as part of this work:
Mentors
Government officials
Home owners
Community members
How students might share their work:
Authentic audience
Other students around the world through
Tik Tok
20 20
15s Film
Pachakucha
Thanks to The Commons for providing the space and to our featured participants for sharing their expertise and ideas:
Catherine Bronikowski — Math Dept. Chair, North Division High School
Our 4th season of Collab Labs kicked off on October 10th with a focus on building skilled trades talent. We began the discussion by building an inventory of the skills we’d like to see students develop. These fell into two broad categories:
Technical Skills
Design Skills
Read blueprints & technical drawings
Fine motor skills/hand-eye coordination
Math and measurement
Budgeting/Understanding job costs
General understanding of construction trades
Equipment/resource planning
Soft Skills
Creativity/Innovation/Problem solving
Fail Fast
Safety
Ability to take constructive criticism
Ability to take direction
Self Advocacy
Self discipline/integrity/follow through/show up ready to work
Self confidence
Determination/grit
Collaboration/Interpersonal skills within a team
Communication skills
Ability to listen
Willingness to learn/ask thoughtful question
From there we asked each discussion group to talk through experiences that do or could provide opportunities to build those skills. Here’s what they came up with:
Build2Learn Camp $500 stipend for summer workshop
European model – apprentices
Engage employers – job shadow
Inspire/Awe – Makerspace Home Depot creative space
Intentionally incorporate soft skills into lessons
Provide high interest projects
Bring industry speakers into the classroom
Real world applications with purpose – e.g. 3D prosthetics
Mentorships
Teamwork: moving a project to completion
Presenting/exhibiting craft work
Building confidence with no or low risk simulations.
Leverage connections and take them to scale
Address skills gaps with “it takes a village” perspective
Get professionals into classrooms
They can learn from students
Talk with students, not down to them
Our final step was to have each group take those ideas, talk through what a program might look like, and share that out with the entire group. Here’s where they landed:
Project Start to finish real world application
Build a house
Bring in industry
Have mentors
Engage employers
Build soft skills
Build technical skills
Goal is to have job ready workers, provide apprenticeships, job opportunities.
Identify industry partner/employer
Ask “What do you need from us?”
Identify what workforce needs exist
Identify training/skills needed
Company sponsored projects
Materials or time
Interviews of
the company
the student
Interdisciplinary/project based learning
Working with other schools/districts
Protocols
Feedback models – Hard on content/soft on person
Leverage technology
Skype team meetings
Drone/webcams of projects progressing
Build excitement about upcoming technologies
Early Hands-on Exposure
Youth apprenticeships
Out of comfort zone
Peer mentorship
Self-realization/mediation
Options (electives)
Students: Littles – early exposure
Education Workplace: Welcoming anti-racist, data-driven, performance based
What’s needed to move forward: Looking past personal bias, equal access to opportunities, a cultural shift
Industry-owned Youth Apprenticeships
IDing under-served population
Mapped to skilled trades values and skills
Bringing the industry straight to the families
Thanks to CG Schmidt for sponsoring our food and beverages for the evening, The Commons for providing the space, and to our featured participants for sharing their expertise and ideas,
Peter Graven – Earth Science/ Life Science/ Robotics, Deer Creek Intermediate School (St Francis)
Craig Griffie – Technology Education, Brown Deer High School
Start with the end in mind
