This was the first year that my school participated in Beakerhead and it was such a huge success. Having an authentic design challenge in the first week of school provided so much insight into my students. Each class had the task of creating something that would make a specific sound. These sounds were then used to create a school wide soundscape book coordinated by our Learning Commons Learning Leaders. Grade 4 students were tasked with ‘City Sounds’. After our initial brainstorming, we chose to focus on buskers and more specifically, percussion and string sounds. From the initial plans in their visual journals, to building and rebuilding their prototypes, and finally to reflective writing, I felt like this one learning task provided so much information about my new students. It also helped to foster a sense of community as we engaged in this challenge together.
Here are a few of their reflective thoughts:
“The hard part was that I got through seven ideas before it worked.”
“I want to know more about how I can internally reinforce it.”
“The hard part of making my prototype was securing everything. THIS WAS EPIC!”
“I learned that you have to be creative to succeed.”
“My prototype does look like my plans but it is not as easy as it looks!”
“I have two questions… Is Beakerhead next year? If so what will we be making?”
Here are a few of their reflective thoughts:
“The hard part was that I got through seven ideas before it worked.”
“I want to know more about how I can internally reinforce it.”
“The hard part of making my prototype was securing everything. THIS WAS EPIC!”
“I learned that you have to be creative to succeed.”
“My prototype does look like my plans but it is not as easy as it looks!”
“I have two questions… Is Beakerhead next year? If so what will we be making?”
Julie Quennell (@juliequennell) is a lifelong learner who is passionate about technology, maker space and design thinking. She teaches grade four at Tuscany School.
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