Collab Labs Return for 2019-2020!

Pete Reynolds Blog, Collab Labs September 10, 2019September 29, 2019

Our Collab Lab series is back for a 4th season! Join us on October 10th to kick off the series with Collab Lab 29: Building Skilled Trades Talent. The complete schedule for the season is below.

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Collab Lab 47: Recap & Notes
April 20, 2022

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 Streamlined partnerships/easily accessed resources Listen first, keep listening find openings point out success teachers have Create Joy Be transparent Extend gratitude Ask for feedback Don’t be scary Goals that differ from teacher time consuming 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!
Collab Lab 45 Recap – The student experience on real world projects
March 1, 2022

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 Abby McGill – Marquette University, Engineers without Borders 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.
Working with Community Partners for student success – Recap & Notes
January 20, 2022

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 …
Collab Lab 43: Prototyping with K-12 students – Recap & Notes
November 15, 2021

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). 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 [email protected] 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. …… Continue the conversation on inspirEd. 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: Ian Corrao, Michael Klug, Brandon Bakken — Northwestern Mutual Will Gorecki— Milwaukee Tool Dr. Nadya Shalamova— MSOE
Collab Labs Return for Season Six!
September 1, 2021

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 ideasDecember – Working with community partnersFebruary – Student experienceMarch – Connecting projects across grade levelsApril – 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.
Collab Lab 35: Recap & Notes
October 13, 2020

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 fastWhen we lose control, we latch on to what we can control, e.. following the rulesStar testing on Chromebooks without reliable internet/devices does not workIf students aren’t in synchronous session they miss outHow 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 difficulthow 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 togetherWhy is presence needed for learning?How do we use tools strategicallyHow 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?