I never reflected on how much goes into designing a learning experience until I was tasked with creating a lesson plan to teach using tools from the MakerEd Movement. MakerEd is learning through doing and creating. Although I saw the value in using this strategy, I had not used this learning approach in my professional context with adult learners at a consumer goods company.
To start the design process of the learning experience, I pondered, “why is our workplace so siloed?". Employees worked within their department without fully understanding how their work impacted other departments. The problem was a lack of collaboration. I wondered how I could get employees to see the value of collaboration. This is where the maker's tools came in. What if I created an icebreaker activity using a makers tool that forced the employees to collaborate? How would I help them form connections between the activity and the value of collaboration?
I considered the employees and our work context to ensure that the learning experience was appropriate and engaging for the audience. These employees work remotely, rarely see each other in person, and consistently participate in the same weekly meetings. I knew I needed something fun and different than anything we usually do. Thinking about the employees and their work context helped me design an engaging lesson.
I used several strategies to brainstorm and recorded the design process in a journal. One idea kept rising to the top of my list: having employees work in small groups with an ozobot, a programmable, rolling robot, to perform specific skills within a short time frame. After collaborating on the challenge, the facilitator would ask the group open-ended questions to help participants see how collaboration positively impacted the activity.
Brainstorm and creative process page from Karen Artabasy's MAET Maker's Journal.
The original prototype included groups of three, first choosing a word or picture representing collaboration. They would then have to program the ozobot to complete a choice of five skills, such as a speed change and a turn on their representation. Each team would share with the group why the word was chosen and how they collaborated to complete the challenge. As I created the prototype, I needed to consider how the technology, pedagogy, and content worked synergistically. “Viewing any of these components in isolation from the others represents a real disservice to good teaching” (Koehler and Mishra, 2006, p. 1030).
Assessing the overlap of pedagogy and content knowledge informed the appropriate teaching strategies for the learner’s context. I chose small and large-group work, along with group and individual reflection, as the employees rarely worked together in person, and the point of the activity was to learn about collaboration.
Reflecting on the overlap of technology and content helped me determine what technology was appropriate to teach about collaboration. If the technology had the constraint of being individualized, it would not have been suitable for this activity. Using the ozobot allowed participants to collaborate.
Examining the overlap of technology and pedagogy helped me choose the ozobot for the makers' tool. I had to compare the available tools' constraints and affordances to know how each might change the pedagogical approach.
Initial prototype with troubleshooting notes.
I tested the activity I designed for the lesson and had to update the prototype. I realized that the original requirements of choosing a word or photo and requiring the groups to program five ozobot skills were unrealistic in the time frame I was allowing for the activity. I also asked for feedback from my peers on additional ways to improve the activity.
The final lesson plan evolved to using preprinted letters of the word “collab.” Each group had to program their ozobot to do two skills and move to the following letter in the word “collab.” Once they programmed their robot, the group would work together to get one robot to move from letter to letter while completing the required skills. After the group work concluded, the facilitator would help the group reflect collectively using open-ended questions to draw correlations to the employee’s work context and collaboration. At the end of the activity, each participant would complete an individual reflection on their take-aways.
By designing this lesson plan considering the learners’ context, technology, pedagogy, and content, I ensured that the learners could connect to collaboration, and they did so by playing, exploring, and experimenting. Not only was I able to create an impactful lesson plan, but I learned by doing. I had to ask questions throughout my design process, utilize past and new knowledge, and monitor my progress towards completing the challenge. This created a richer experience than traditional learning methods would have provided.
References and image credits
Artabasy, K. (2022). Brainstorming and creative process page from Karen Artabasy's MAET Makers Journal. [Photograph]. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DdZGmnsoRK5-VADb8OTIfn_JMnxVdCGx/view?usp=sharing
Artabasy, K. (2022). Initial prototype and troubleshooting notes. [Photograph]. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cw92jv4Z29mdxF-cL0y7OHrCR4bYQqZZ/view?usp=sharing
Artabasy, K. (2022). MAET Makers Journal. [Unpublished assignment for CEP 810/811/812]. Michigan State University. https://drive.google.com/file/d/193HA35SqK6gaK7vAPytHYrC3uZmACf2U/view?usp=sharing
Artabasy, K. (2022). MAET Makers Lesson Plan. [Unpublished assignment for CEP 810/811/812]. Michigan State University. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q_JVQwMQGOmYstf8AP88vpEK_fyKPtIK/view?usp=sharing
Artabasy, K. (2022). Print file for the word "COLLAB". [Unpublished assignment for CEP 810/811/812]. Michigan State University. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OUTJSODmt4rj7SLAg_1Pnx_ar6BUFltN/view?usp=sharing
Koehler, M.J. & Mishra, P. (2006). Technological Pedogogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record. 108(6), 1017-1054.
MakerEd (n.d.) What is Maker Education?. https://makered.org/about/what-is-maker-education/
[Website about ozobot]. (2022). https://ozobot.com/
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