Flight of the Endangered Species

“How can we, as educators, bring awareness to our school about ways in which we can help reverse or minimize the critically endangered populations of the engaged student?”

Session Description

This session will explore the importance of a quality open ended prompt that will lead to powerful learning. As Gary Stager states, “a good prompt is worth a thousand words.” We will provide this full day deep dive immersion with a prompt to create a project that showcases how they can save the endangered species of the engaged student. We will work to create mechanical birds that symbolize and represent our plan of action heading back to our schools to engage learners in extending their wings to fly beyond their comfort zones.

We will use the Hummingbird Duo Robotics kits along with basic everyday materials to create an aviary of mechanical birds to showcase our birds and action plans.

Be ready for a full day of making, tinkering, coding, and learning how one good prompt can launch us to new heights of learning to save our most endangered species on the planet - engaged students.

Deeper Learning Competencies Connection

In what ways will participants engage in the Deeper Learning Competencies: Master academic content, Communicate Effectively, Work Collaboratively, Think Critically, Develop Academic Mindsets, Learn How to Learn. To learn more about the Deeper Learning Competencies check out: www.deeper-learning.org.

This Deep Dive will challenge participants to use skills and materials they may not have used before. This deep dive will have them think through their work in a new lens that will lead to action back in their schools. With a constraint of materials, participants will have to work together and collaboratively to create their mechanical birds. Participants will work collaboratively to not only design and build their products, but to reflect deeply at the end about how the process can be applicable in their classrooms to meet their standards and academic requirements.

Participants will have to think critically to understand how computer science and physical computing can be infused into any key content area and how computational thinking should play a role in all learning areas. This will push our academic mindsets to explore our classrooms through a different lens.

Finally, as Alvin Toffler states, “The illiterate of the 21st Century are not those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” This full day exploration of coding, making, building, and tinkering, participants will have to no only learn, but unlearn and relearn how all the essential learning elements go together to create new learning experiences.

Exhibition Plan

The Deep Dive Day ends with an all-conference exhibition. Just like in schools, we want attendees to produce an artifact or an experience for other participants to share their learning with others beyond their session. Some past examples include: performing one-act plays, role plays for participants to engage in, an escape room experience, weather balloons with data collected. How will you implement your exhibition?

We will have all of our mechanical birds on display full of animation, sensors, electronics, feathers, and more. Each bird will have a display via a posterboard or computer that will further connect how the coding and making connects to any subject area we teach.

The display will be called Aviary of Awesome!