NSF Awards: 1758823
Elementary teachers often struggle to integrate across core content areas. With demands on their time and the associated professional ramifications of high stakes testing, teachers often struggle to develop project based learning activities that spark rich discussions around issues of equity and history. This video presentation showcases curricular materials designed and researched in elementary classrooms across Utah that integrate social studies and science content with computing to develop human migration timelines and Abolitionist quilts. These projects allow students to explore the stories of minorities and women that is often absent from traditional history while learning about the content associated with the Next Generation Science Standards' focus on energy. By building computational circuits to present this content, elementary students also explore a range of content around computing and computational thinking.
This video engages participants in the process of learning and modeling untold histories through Maker technologies by engaging students in electronic textile projects. These materials have long occupied a "disruptive space" in the narrative of who access and engages with science learning. By coupling novel materials, the E-STITCH (Elementary STEM Teaching Integrating Technology Holistically) Project explores the less told stories of American history while providing a novel entry point into STEM project work across early elementary classrooms.
Diane Feldon
Creative, thought provoking, innovative - and addresses areas too long ignored in history education. These are lessons the students will remember because they are presented in a unique and interactive manner.
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Sara Lacy
Senior Scientist
Thanks for sharing your project. I can see that you are taking on challenging issues around immigration. The new NGSS elementary energy standards are also presenting challenges to both elementary students and teachers. Could you describe how the e-textiles introduce students to those foundational energy ideas? How are the students ideas about energy forms, transfers and transformations developing during the course of these activities?
Angela Calabrese Barton
Very powerful project! How do you support combined learning on challenging issues regarding settler colonialism and the techy dimensions of e-textiles? I am interesting in learning more about the PD for teachers, and also the learning supports for students. Thank you for sharing.
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Assistant Professor
The professional development will be 3 days over the summer and then follow up PLC meetings throughout the school year. We also plan to meet virtually with teachers across our most rural locations in order to ensure sufficient supports and scaffolds for them.
In terms of student supports we have structured the projects as a faded scaffold for both the design and content acquisition processes. The projects move from a basic paper circuit, to a computational paper circuit, to a simple sewn parallel circuit that can be modified and scaffolded computational circuit, culminating in a personal story cloth with a computational circuit.
Deborah Fields
Love how you're encouraging students to show their personal migration pathways in such an intimate (crafts) way and bringing migration into the public eye. The electronics & computing are thoughtfully integrated here (rather than externally slapped on). Wish I could see some of those larger projects in more detail. Have any worked examples or pictures up online anywhere?
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Edna Tan
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Assistant Professor
They will be online on the Chaos Learning Lab webpage soon:) Props to CatMax
https://chaoslearninglab.weebly.com
Edna Tan
Christine Cunningham
preK-12 Science and Engineering Educator
I love the idea of anchoring the project in migration stories! The video points out some interesting connections to social studies and computing. Could you share a bit more about some of the science and engineering activities or concepts that are integrated?
Kristin Searle
Assistant Professor
We are looking at a basic paper circuit "timeline" project (recognizing that conceptions of time are culturally patterned and these may not be linear) that is then programmed using a microcontroller to show the progression of events. Students then make a series of quilt square projects based first on slave quilt designs and then patterned based on significant events in their own lives. Students will have to plan, construct, program, and debug their projects. Drawing on Brennan and Resnick (2012), key practices include being iterative and incremental and testing and debugging.
Kenneth Huff
Teacher of Science
Very timely to have conversations with elementary students about the topic of immigration. Especially like the connection to the underground railroad. Can you provide more details about the professional development teachers will receive over the summer to help implement the projects with students? Will there be opportunities throughout the school year for cohorts of teachers to meet and discuss successes and impediments of implementation? Thank you.
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Assistant Professor
The teachers will be meeting in groups themselves and with us to problem solve, workshop, and plan. Often with e-textiles novel problems arise so we feel that frequent meetings to trouble shoot challenges is the best approach to ensure teacher buy in and success.
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Assistant Professor
The teachers will be meeting in groups themselves and with us to problem solve, workshop, and plan. Often with e-textiles novel problems arise so we feel that frequent meetings to trouble shoot challenges is the best approach to ensure teacher buy in and success.
Irina Lyublinskaya
This is very inspiring and innovative, thank you! Any chance you can share your projects? We have elementary science teachers who also teach computer science, and we are focusing on culturally relevant teaching - your projects seem to be a perfect fit for our program!
Colby Tofel-Grehl
Kristin Searle
Assistant Professor
Irina, see my comment above for more details on our projects. This is our first year, so we are still working on a shareable version of the curriculum (it's in development), but it will eventually be available via the Chaos Learning lab website and relevant NSF repositories.
Anne haugh
Excellent presentation. I'm an art teacher and am always looking for ways to integrate with other subjects so I love the connection to science and social studies. The use of the lights and electrical paths to connect areas is sparking ideas of how I could extend some of my lessons. I especially like the last phase of the project, where the students create a personal quilt square. I always like to leave room in lessons for their personal input...
Tom Yeh
It is delightful to see the beautiful quilt works featured in the video. I am especially intrigued by how "tactile" the artifacts are. I can't help but thinking how much those quilt works can be experienced and enjoyed by children with visual impairments via touch. I wonder what usually happened to the products students. Did students take them home? Would they be willing to donate to other families with young children with visual impairments?
Tasha Weinstein
This project fascinates me! The combination of quilting, history, technology and a hot current topic is brilliant! Do the students combine their finished squares and create a class quilt? Is this project done with a 5th grade class? It's probably mentioned and I missed it... have you considered an audio presentation to accompany the squares and migrations? I'm envisioning a wonderful installation at a museum! Thank you for sharing this with us...
Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.