At Opelika Middle School, I was able to watch students in
Ms. Melanie Montel’s Gateway to Technology class build a vehicle made out of
paper that rode on air. You can imagine
that if a car is going to ride on air it has to be built to the correct
specifications. So, that is where the
lessons began. Students in the 7th
and 8th grade learned about measurement and the different ways
people have calculated measurements throughout history. Students then applied the mathematical skills
they had been taught since 1st grade to convert those
measurements. Once students had the
refresher on measurement, and were taught about precise measurements using dial
calipers, the students were able to apply the information they learned to build
their “Skimmer”. I was able to walk around the room and observe
students looking at schematics on their computer and then measuring and drawing
the plans on their paper so that they could then cut out the different pieces
to prepare for assembly. For some this
came very naturally, for others it was a struggle. As I helped a few groups think about the
assembly, I was constantly referring them to the directions and asking them to
tell me what the directions told them to do.
To watch students go back and read a step for the third or fourth time
and then see the light bulb come on when they figure it out never gets
old. Then to see the sense of
accomplishment on the faces of students when they had finished the construction
and saw their skimmer ride on air is why educators come to work every day. All of the teaching on measurements and
building skimmers culminated in a competition to see whose skimmer could ride
the farthest. Some came up short, but
some exceeded expectations. However,
that was not the end of the unit. After
the competition, students were given the opportunity to make adjustments to
their skimmers and try them again. Success
on this project was not measured only the distance a skimmer traveled,
but on the students ability to learn from their mistakes and make their skimmer
better. The second day of the
competition, most of the students made adjustments to their skimmers that
increased the distance they traveled.
Just like the Kindergarten class at Carver, these students saw their
failure as an opportunity to grow and get better. Again, I can only imagine how this philosophy
will positively impact their future education.
As adults many of us know that failure happens and it means
that we need to adjust what we did and try something different. As parents and teachers, this is not always
the case when it comes to our expectations for our students. We see failure as a thing to be avoided rather than something to grow from. After watching students at Carver and OMS I find myself thinking a lot about the question Ms. Montel has posted on her door at OMS, “What could you do if you were not afraid to fail?”
A short video of the PLTW activities at Carver and OMS can be found on YouTube by clicking on the link below.
Kyle Pinckard
Secondary Curriculum Coordinator
Career and Technical Education Director
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