How Our Makerspace Came to Be
By Daryn Polanco
History of our Makerspace
Playing and making are such an enormously important part of childhood. They lead children to be more creative and lead to so many neural connections that wouldn’t take place otherwise. These thoughts are always on my mind when teaching. I have always been able to allow my students the gift of play as a GT teacher. When a parent recently asked me, “Why is what you do in GT not good for all students?” I was stopped in my tracks.
Of course much of what I do in GT WOULD be good for all students. It got me thinking about what I could do about it. The idea of Makerspaces have been around for years, but the idea of them in schools is fairly new. I decided to pilot integrating “making” in my GT classroom as an avenue to moving it into the whole school eventually.
I applied for funding through the North East Educational Foundation and was able to purchase some great new technology like LittleBits, Cubelets, and Makey Makey. My gifted kids loved everything! So this year I asked if we could have a Makerspace as part of our specials rotation and was told, “yes.” So using money from our Day of Play (an event to coordinate with the Global Cardboard Challenge) last year and another grant from NEEF it has happened.
All students attend Makerspace either each week or every other week. They are encouraged to create new things and solve challenges with maker materials.
History of our Makerspace
Playing and making are such an enormously important part of childhood. They lead children to be more creative and lead to so many neural connections that wouldn’t take place otherwise. These thoughts are always on my mind when teaching. I have always been able to allow my students the gift of play as a GT teacher. When a parent recently asked me, “Why is what you do in GT not good for all students?” I was stopped in my tracks.
Of course much of what I do in GT WOULD be good for all students. It got me thinking about what I could do about it. The idea of Makerspaces have been around for years, but the idea of them in schools is fairly new. I decided to pilot integrating “making” in my GT classroom as an avenue to moving it into the whole school eventually.
I applied for funding through the North East Educational Foundation and was able to purchase some great new technology like LittleBits, Cubelets, and Makey Makey. My gifted kids loved everything! So this year I asked if we could have a Makerspace as part of our specials rotation and was told, “yes.” So using money from our Day of Play (an event to coordinate with the Global Cardboard Challenge) last year and another grant from NEEF it has happened.
All students attend Makerspace either each week or every other week. They are encouraged to create new things and solve challenges with maker materials.
Meet the Team
Carol PierceCarol Pierce just completed her 33rd year in education, serving as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and administrator. In 2015, she was TEPSA’s Region XX Assistant Principal of the Year. Currently, she is the principal at Huebner Elementary in North East ISD and believes that rigorous curriculum can (and should be) FUN!
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @happytobeahusky |
Thomas IlgenfritzTom Ilgenfritz is completing his 22nd year in education. With his wife Betsy’s encouragement, after many volunteer hours in her classroom, he completed his B.A. at California State University San Bernardino and began teaching in 1995. He received his M.A. from University of Texas at San Antonio in 2008. He has taught 6th grade and 3rd grade at the elementary school level, and is currently the Assistant Principal at Redland Elementary in North East ISD. Tom has always been a proponent of hands-on learning and taking advantage of opportunities to connect learning to activities outside of school - and have fun while learning!
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @tilgenfritz135 |
Daryn PolancoDaryn Polanco was the GT teacher for Huebner Elementary for 13 years. For the past two years she has served as the the Assistant Principal. She became a teacher because she was inspired by her grandmother and mother, who were teachers. She loved teaching GT because the children get to drive the curriculum and they challenge her to learn new things daily. She has a passion for the Maker movement and believes ALL students deserve the opportunity to have challenges that use parts of their brain not always utilized in a regular classroom setting.
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @HuebnerGT |
Natalie WattsNatalie Watts has spent 16 years in education; five as a general classroom teacher in grades 3-5. For the past eleven years she has been the librarian at Huebner Elementary. She first heard of the Makerspace Movement at library conferences, and was excited to see it come to Huebner. She loves reading, learning, and working with all students to find their gifts.
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @HuebnerLibrary @ReadDanceTweet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huebnerelementarylibrary/ |