End-of-year reflections

Ms. Catchen and I facilitated group discussions based on reflections about their experiences in STEAM class and their final project.  Two groups were able to share their experiences in-depth with their classmates.  Surprisingly, the group that seemed to struggle the most with their collaboration praised their ability to work through their challenges.  C'est la vie!

 

1. Describe the process that this class explored to learn, design and build the final project. Describe the importance of all the components.
2. What worked well?
3. What could have worked better?
4. Three things you learned from working on this project that can be applied to future work.
5. Describe a task in class in which you took a risk?  What did you learn from that experience?
6. What is your favorite memory of this class this year?

STEAM projects on display!

 Student project displays included their LEGO module, team blog entries, 3-D LEGO design and proposal.

Building the modules with LEGOs

Students had to use their digital 3-D LEGO model to build their actual module.  Students had to use their charisma to bargain, borrow, and trade for LEGO pieces they needed.  This is the entertainment module - can you find the dance floor?

Fantasy architecture sketches finished!

Students recently finished their fantasy architecture sketches.  As a math teacher, this one is my favorite :-)

Crayon etchings finished!

Students finished their crayon etchings along with an original moon flower haiku.

Etching...

Students used their original flower sketch to etch over the paint, revealing the vibrant colors from their first layer.

 

Crayon etchings first layer completed

Students created a fantasy moon flower after their unit on plant biology.  Here are some pictures of the bottom layer before the black paint, etching, and haiku.

About halfway done

Finished with the first layer