A Synthesis of Learning

A couple months ago I had little to no concept of what a maker truly was. When I was first exposed to the term, I thought that it had something to do with creating content or physically making things along the lines of engineering. While I was technically on the right path, my thought on making was far too narrow and specific. In reality, anyone can be a maker regardless of their skill level or intent. Making is simply the process of taking your thoughts and manifesting them into something tangible. This could take the form of physical creations such as a poster, powerpoint presentation, a sculpture made from play dough, or even auditory creations like a song, a rap, or a new type of instrument made from random items formed around the house. In its basic form, a maker is just about being creative and showing off that creativity, which is something that I am looking forward to implementing more in my classroom.

Much like any skill that we learn, being a maker is something that we can grow and develop through practice through reflecting on our failures. There have been many times when my creations did not turn out how I thought they would, but these failures were able to show me what my weaknesses were and gave me opportunities to hone these skills and learn from my mistakes. That is definitely true when it comes to my creation below, which highlights some of the new aspects I plan on incorporating into my classroom and took many tries before I found a style that fit my standards. The word failure is often said with a negative connotation, but we wouldn’t be able to improve ourselves without it. This principle of expected failure, and embracing those failures, is something that I want to be a cornerstone of my classroom. There are so many times that I find my students afraid of making mistakes and choosing to avoid making those mistakes at the cost of incomplete assignments or not participating in class. They forget that their main purpose in my room is to make mistakes and work through them.

By building from mistakes and failure, we gain the ability to develop our own understanding and deepen our comprehension. This practice of constructivism makes it possible for us to make the most out of our learning. We all come with our own set of experiences and exposures that impact how quickly or easily we adapt to a new concept. In my classroom, I plan to make use of these practices through small groups and more engaging activities involving making. Shifting the formatting of my groups between teams with similar ability levels and mixed ability levels will enable my students to build each other up as well as themselves, embedding a strong sense of community in the room.

In order for my students to be set up for success, I need to continue to practice my implementation of Universal Design for Learning in my instruction. Lessons designed with UDL in mind help students engage more while also decreasing limitations that may inhibit individuals from participating to their fullest extent. Without proper UDL, it becomes more difficult to benefit from the constructivist practices that were previously highlighted as students who lack necessary background knowledge or experiences are less likely to connect or unable to showcase their learning in effective ways. Through multiple means of expression, specifically, students are able to take more pride in their work since they have the ability to choose which form their creations take.

With all of the ways to implement making into the classroom, I feel as confident as ever with the new school year approaching. I am excited to see how my students take to an increase in being able to express themselves creatively and how that will impact their learning throughout the course of the year.