STUDENT Learning Journey

Week Day(s): Sun - Mon Duration: 1 Hour Location: Zoom

Description: 

In the Hands-on, Minds-on activity, the students do an experiment or a mini project that is related to the new skills and knowledge to be acquired during that week. The Hands-On, Minds-on activity is meant to put the learners in situations where they are required to solve a problem with their current limited understanding, which exposes their knowledge gaps and prepares them for learning new things to fill those gaps. 

A 45-minute session is dedicated for engaging all students in doing the Hands-on activity, facilitated by each group instructor in a Zoom breakout room. This would be followed with a 15-minute discussion, facilitated  by the Program Director, where the students share and reflect on their experience with the activity and reasoning for its outcomes with the entire class. Attendance of all students is mandatory.

The description and requirements of the Hands-On, Minds-on activity become available for the students on Sunday. It is important that the student attempt doing it and prepare for it early on. Students are encouraged to share a video of the Hands-on, Minds-on activity outcomes with their instructor and peers through the Media channel on Slack.  

Week Day(s): Mon Duration: 1 Hour Location: Zoom

Description: 

The outcomes of the Hands-on activity and reflective discussions serve as an entry point to the core knowledge and skills to be discussed during the lecture. The lecture is a mix between informative presentation that exposes the students to new knowledge and active discussion around use cases of the new tools to solve a problem or a challenge. The lecture is live, all students attend the lecture and interact in real time. Attendance of all students is mandatory.

Week Day(s): Mon Duration: 45 min. Location: Zoom

Description:

The review of student Maker Journals takes place every week right after the lecture, where students are randomly called out to the stage, student's work on the weekly assignment is reviewed; and outcomes, challenges, and recommendations are discussed. As a result, the reviewed students get personalized feedback on their work, while their peers get exposed to novel ideas, unique techniques, or new ways of thinking. Attendance of all students is mandatory.

Week Day(s): Tue, Thur, Fri Duration: 3 - 6 Hours/Week Location: Home

Description:

Students are provided with video tutorials of solved examples and online resources to go through, in addition to a set of exercises to solve. The self-practice tutorials are divided into two parts, where students are expected to sit down for a MidWeek practice and end-of-week practice. Self practice tutorials are integrated with personal hardware kits that students receive prior to the week, in order to have a hand-on experience with the new tools, skills, and knowledge of the week. In addition to kits, students may use virtual simulation labs like TinkerCad. Practice-video content is pre-recorded, so the students can view it and do the practice problems at their own pace. All students should be done with self-practice tutorials and exercises prior to the corresponding in-week session. 

Week Day(s): Wed Duration: 45 min. Location: Home/Zoom

Description:

The review of student project ideas and plans takes place prior to the Midweek Session. Students are expected to submit a project idea proposal by the end of Week #1, therefore starting from Week #2, student projects are categorized based on applications or common themes, to be reviewed and discussed with the students on a weekly basis. The theme of the project's review session changes every week, based on the common patterns. Examples of possible project themes include: robotics, personal gardening, educational kits and toys...etc. Students who submitted project ideas that fell under the decided theme or category for the session, would participate in a discussion, and receive personalized feedback, resources, and advice on possible directions or improvements for better outcomes from the Program Director. Attendance of all students is mandatory. 

Week Day(s): Wed & Sat Duration: 2 Hours/Session. Location: Home/Google Meets

Description:

This is a synchronous session where each group of students gets together with their dedicated instructor(s) to discuss the self-practice examples and do hands-on exercises. The session takes place twice, in the middle of week (MidWeek Session), and in the end of the week (EoWeek Session). The Midweek Session is held online in groups of six students and led by one instructor (group instructor). This session is dedicated to discussing the MidWeek self-practice tutorials and doing exercises led by students. The EoWeek session is held face-to-face at the Fab Lab in groups of twelve students, and conducted by two instructors (One lead instructor and one co-instructor). This session is dedicated to discussing the EoWeek self-practice tutorials and doing hands-on group exercises, in addition to reviewing the student’s progress on the weekly assignment. 

Week Day(s): Thur - Sun Duration: 2 - 3 Hours/Week Location: Home/Fab Lab

Description:

Students are required to prove the mastery of the weekly skill set by doing an assigned task. The assignment is done individually, and is evaluated by the group instructor on a weekly basis. The assignment is usually open-ended, the students are free to choose the design concept/idea for their assignment and they can select an idea that serves their final projects.

Assignments of weeks 1 through 3 require that the students visit the Fab Lab and work directly with the fabrication machines. In week 1, students work closely with their group instructors in the Fab Lab, while for assignments of week 2 & 3, students visit the lab on week 3 & 4 respectively, and they start to work independently, with occasional support from the Fab Lab Specialist.

Week Day(s): Sun & Mon Duration: 1- 2 Hours/Week Location: Home

Description:

Students are required to document their assignment work in the Maker Journal, which is a template that structures the documentation process using a set of prompt questions. The prompt questions cover the idea of assignment, the design and development processes, mistakes, and contribution to the learning community. The Maker Journal's deadline is on Monday at 4:00 PM.