WATCH: On the Make: Moving to Active Learning through Design and Creation

Ed Table Talk broadcasted from Follett’s New Worldwide Headquarters!

8:00am PT/11:00am ET Tues. Sept. 16th.

Active learning is hard to leave in the classroom… if compelling, learners recount and rethink what they learned long after the lesson ends. The Maker movement embraces a “hands on, minds on” approach that links the tactile nature of learning with building and knowledge. This episode of Ed Table Talk explores the structure of the maker movement and asks the pivotal question: What is the importance of providing realistic context for students to apply their knowledge and become better learners?

The Maker movement has a long history in how we teach and students learn. The movement helps to change the perception about how best to teach students and how we prepare educators to manage a rich learning environment. Anybody who used pipe cleaners and Popsicle sticks was a member of the Maker movement, so why is it that we often forego this teaching strategy as students get older?

Research shows that kids who apply what they learn create more extensive knowledge that they can then apply in a variety of contexts outside of the classroom. This especially rings true for students who tend to be more visual learners. We will discuss ways that this strategy can be applied in your offerings and how it makes students better learners in their other academic pursuits — writing, math, science, social science, and the arts.

Host Michael Jay and guests discuss the popular Maker movement and its implications for preK-12 teaching and learning.

Guests at the table:

1. Jeff Branson, Educational Outreach at SparkFun

2. Sylvia Martinez, Author and Independent Education Consultant

3. Gary Stager, Publisher and CMFO at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press