Ashley Mazen

ET 691 Proposal- Makerspace

Rationale

For my internship, I will be working with two other colleagues to complete professional

development on how to use our new school’s Makerspace. We will be focusing mainly on

different technology tools that can be used in the Makerspace. Last year Relay Elementary

School got a new building and that new building we came with a Makerspace room. Our

administration decided to purchase different technology tools to be housed in the Makerspace

room. Some of these different technology tools include coding devices, a 3D printer and

robotics. The purpose of my internship will be to help teachers understand the purpose of using

the Makerspace room and the technology tools. I want to show the different benefits these

tools can have on learning. My main focus will be with primary students.

Participants

This year the administration at Relay wanted to make our professional developments

more meaningful for the staff. At the beginning of the school year each teacher was given four

different topics that they could choose to receive professional develop on. You had to rank

those topics based on your interests. For the first half of the year you will go to different

professional developments based on the topic you said you were most interested in. Then, we

will switch for the second half of the year. One of those topics you could choose was

Makerspace. The participants for the first half of the year will be teachers who want to learn
about the Makerspace and the different technology tools that are housed within the

Makerspace. The participants for the Makerspace professional developments will included

teachers from PreK to fifth grade and different resource staff at our school. Those participants

will then take resources made and knowledge obtained to use with their students.

Learning Objectives (I can statements)

1. I can follow the rules set forth for the Makerspace room by completing a school

compiled checklist after using the Makerspace.

2. I can develop resources connecting to curriculum with technology tools that are in the

Makerspace room.

3. I can use problem solving and collaboration skills to complete tasks in the Makerspace.

(For students)

References to relevant model of change

This year our school moto is “Daring Greatly.” Once a month during our Monday

mandatory Professional development, every teacher will choose from a series of professional

developments to attend. These professional developments address different areas in our school

where we would like to see change, which includes our Makerspace room. To encourage

change and have teachers use technology tools in the Makerspace, we turned to Ely’s Eight

Conditions of change. These eight conditions state what needs to be in place for change to

happen. The first condition is a dissatisfaction with status quo. Having a Makerspace with

technology tools is something that our school felt would be a useful for students and teachers.

Many teachers want new tools to make their teaching more effective. By holding these
professional developments, we hope teachers learn the skills they need to implement the

technology tools correctly. We also have met Ely’s other conditions as well. We have the

necessary resources to make using the Makerspace and the technology tools possible. We have

mandatory professional development Mondays set aside to learn about how to properly use

the Makerspace and the tools inside of the Makerspace. We hope by creating resources for

teachers to use in their classroom that it will be an incentive for teachers to attend these

professional developments. We want the participants to have a say in the different tools we

learn about in the Makerspace. We also have leadership and administration that are committed

to seeing the Makerspace and the tools inside of the Makerspace being utilized. By addressing

all of this we have met Ely’s Eight Conditions of Change. We hope teachers will embrace these

new tools to enhance their learning.

Addressing change

One of the hardest things for teachers to deal with is change. Even though change is

important it often takes a lot of time to implement changes. Change can also be scary if you feel

that you may fail at implementing the new changes. We all know that we cannot keep teaching

in the traditional method because we are finding that students are lacking collaboration skills,

teamwork skills and problem-solving skills. We are hoping that these Makerspace professional

developments will change the way teachers see teaching. By experimenting and creating

resources teachers will see firsthand how beneficial these technology tools are. With the use of

coding devices, 3D printers, breakout boxes, and robotics it will help teach students how to

work together to solve a problem. These are skills students need when they leave school.
 Technology Integration

During the Makerspace professional developments we will be introducing different

technology tools. These tools include coding devices, breakout boxes, robotics and the 3D

printer. Teacher interest will determine which tools we introduce. We want these tools to be

used for more than just substitution. We want these tools to help enhance lessons to make

them more meaningful and engaging. We also want the use of these tools to connect to

curriculum. We will be getting feedback from teachers on different areas they would like to

focus on in their curriculum. After that we will create resources for teachers that use

technology tools to enhance their lessons.

Overview of the Learning Activities

Each month starting in September and going through December we will be meeting

once a month with the teachers and staff who wanted to have more professional developments

on Makerspace and the different technology tools. Our first professional development will be

held on September 24th and it will focus on the rules for using the Makerspace. This will include

cleanup procedures, how to store materials when you are finished with them, the expectations

for the students and staff in the Makerspace room and how to sign up to use it. We will also

talk about all the technology tools that would be great to use in the room. These tools will

include coding devices, the 3D printer, breakout boxes, robotics, and more. During the months

of October, November and December we will focus on a different tool that you can use in the

Makerspace room. For example, in October we may introduce all the different coding tools staff
can use in the Makerspace room. During the professional development we will create resources

that align to curriculum and practice using the coding devices. What we do will depend on input

from the teachers and other staff. After December the teachers and staff will move on to other

professional developments that interest them.

Online Learning Component

I believe that coding is so important for students. To address my online component of

the internship, I want to compile a list of different coding websites to share with other teachers

and staff. These different websites can include additional resources for coding devices we have

at school like the Ozobots and ones that we do not have at school. I would also like to make a

screencast to show how different technology tools can be used in the Makerspace.

Tentative Timeline

September 24th- Create rules and expectations for the Makerspace room. We will also choose

what technology tools we would like to learn about over the next few months.

October- Explore with and create resources that connect to curriculum using technology tools

and other materials found in the Makerspace room. This could include Ozobots, Blue Bots, the

3D printer, breakout boxes and robotics.

November- Explore with and create resources that connect to curriculum using technology

tools and other materials found in the Makerspace room. This could include Ozobots, Blue Bots,

the 3D printer, breakout boxes and robotics.

December- Explore with and create resources that connect to curriculum using technology tools

and other materials found in the Makerspace room. This could include Ozobots, Blue Bots, the

3D printer, breakout boxes and robotics.

Evaluate the participants’ learning

The participants will be evaluated through observation during the time where we are

experimenting with the different technology tools. We will also be working with teachers to

create resources for the technology tools that connect to curriculum. The participants are also

encouraged to try some of the new technology tools during a formal observation this year.

Although this is not required, it is encouraged. All these technology tools are new for the

teachers at our school, because of this most of our evaluation will be informal to encourage

trying something new.

Personal Plan

Throughout my internship I want to keep track of my successes and areas that I need to

improve on. During the professional developments my team and I will be passing out feedback

forms. This will help us during our planning to make sure our professional developments are

engaging and useful. I will also be keeping a personal online journal of my own to write down

my reflections.