design thinking summer institute - MidSun School

Using Minecraft to Demonstrate Learning
Kaushik Tailor

Students at MidSun school had the opportunity to incorporate MineCraft in a meaningful interdisciplinary activity.  Our school Design program had purchased MineCraft Edu early last year, and the summer institute gave me the opportunity to mobilize the tasks in the company of my other colleagues.

In the project, students were provided a scenario where our school had won a 15 million dollar grant, and were asked to Design and create a museum that would fit in the back of the school.  The design constraints were the time they had to complete the task, having to create communication structures between the team members, the cost constraint, and the fact that the artifacts had to accurately connect in with their current learning.

The students were excited  to be working with the Minecraft Museum module in my class. It was clear that this made teaching and learning come alive for them.  To explain, were creating 3D functional hydraulic lifts from their learnings in Science Class, walking through 3D Water cycles, illustrating the isolationist policy of Japan from the Social Studies unit, and having fun demonstrating comma splices. Here are examples of some artifacts:

I believe this project sparked discussions in my school and in our school community of practices. Teachers in my school as well as other schools in our community of practice were impressed that students could be engaged with MineCraft and still yield high quality artifacts. What I found really impressive was this was a great hook for both high and low students. It was impressive  to see students that were typically disengaged from traditional classes to be looking at online textbooks to identify and research potential museum artifacts. Many  were accelerating their learning by researching through digital texts to create artifcats.  Students were also coaching one another on the validity/accuracy of the artifacts, and supporting one another. One student in particular had indicated that he had the wrong idea of what a certain concept was (Aquaducts), and he believes his understanding would not have been corrected had it not been for this project.

I believe it was clear that that both my students and I were actively involved in the design cycle. The students had a variety of design and logistical constraints that they had to attend to. As this was a new experience for both the students and the teacher, we had to collaboratively reflect on our work and make necessary adjustments as needed.

Students were sampled and asked to comment on the experience of the task. Students reported that the MineCraft project allowed them to synthesize the learning from the learning in the other classes in a “fun new way” that allowed them to demonstrate learning in a “more manageable medium”.  Other students also noted that by being able to create “things from other subjects” helped them connect understand by being able to “tie together” and “compare” what they “actually learned’.  One student reported that the MineCraft museum helped the student see artifacts from his other subjects  “in a 3D or virtual way”  and helped him see concepts that he “may not have seen”.  I believe this was a good representation of the experiences from the other subjects.  Ultimately, it was clear that students could still have fun working with MineCraft and still have a meaning interdisciplinary opportunity.

Students had to engage in considerations for the Design Studies Occupational Area and had to articulate the CTF outcomes as they collaborative designed, created, and adjusted their museum to meet the needs of the task.

design thinking summer institute - EP Scarlett HS - AP Biology

DIY Biology
Natalie McLeod and Mike McKillop


Our original idea centered around DIY biology and synthetic biology. Similar to the maker space that we visited, there are similar spaces in some cities focused on synthetic biology. We wanted the students to research the ideas around synthetic biology and DIY biology and then write their own proposals. 

The project allowed teachers to let the students explore a very interesting but diverse topic on their own and allow them to focus on their interest. Teachers are unable to keep up with all the rapid developments in field of synthetic biology and this project allowed the students do some of the legwork. We learned a lot from their projects.

For the students, the projects allowed them to develop a number of skills and dispositions that they will be able to further develop in their academic careers. Their understanding of synthetic biology was vastly improved – the general idea of it but for some groups also to a very high level of technical expertise. They saw opportunities for future research as well.  

Some of the most highlighted student findings were:

·        Time management – a project spread out over 4 months and 2 semesters challenged them but also provided opportunities. They really appreciated the small deadlines along the way

·        How difficult creative can be. For many, coming up with initial topic was tough.

·        Learning how to be critical of online materials. Most eventually found academic journals and resources to be most valuable

·        Teamwork

·        Many used Google docs for the first time and found it very powerful

·        Using APA referencing style. Most hated it at first but found it easy to work with after the initial learning curve. They saw the value in it.

·        Having to pitch their project in 5 minutes. Distilling 4 months of work into 5 minutes was challenging but useful. They enjoyed the business aspect of the project as they were competing for funding.

The project stimulated a number of conversations ranging from the nature of scientific inquiry and original research to ethics and environmental issues. These conversations not only occurred in class but also between students as they were working on their projects.

A few weeks after the completion of this project, we observed an unexpected positive outcome of this type of inquiry. During a field study, students were required to develop their own thesis for a snow ecology study and then investigate it with very little preamble. This year, students seemed more at ease with this process than in previous years. 

Having students apply the design process to a project in synthetic biology really had them thinking about the nature of science. It was no longer about the content, the students had to be creative and problem solve using their own knowledge and then search for reputable sources to help them further develop their ideas. Working in teams, they not only worked through technical aspects of synthetic biology but also explored how it could be used to solve environmental or health issues. Topics for the projects ranged from estrogen biosensors, biofuels and disease detection to bioremediation and the breakdown of plastics in the environment.

Students had the time to think deeply about a topic, develop their ideas and learn from their failures. Many for the first time, had to access scientific journals and evaluate current research in a field that they were learning about.

design thinking summer institute - Langevin Science School

In August 2015 a group of 40 dedicated grades 4-12 teachers came together for 3 days to answer the following design challenge:

How might we use instructional design to create effective, engaging and multi-disciplinary learning opportunities for our students?

image from: IDEO Design Thinking for Educators

These teachers designed a learning experience for their students, tried it out and reported back their results. 

Over the next few weeks we will share their stories. 

Minerals and Metals: Changes to the lives of early Canadian explorers and aboriginals.
Ross Howe, Langevin Science School

The project which we tried related ‘Minerals and Metals” in our Social Studies, Math, Science and Language Arts. In our Social Studies student took on roles as Archaeologists, Anthropologists, Botanists and Ecologists. Students were able to research a scenario of the discovery of a three hundred year old site of an Eastern Canadian Aboriginal group. Students gathered evidence and presented findings in a “Science Symposium”. Of particular interest was the use and application of metals and minerals in the aboriginal dig.

In Math, we explored the “Unit Cell” structure of minerals and metals by creating a crystal model and evaluating this model through basic geometry. Students did find creating a model somewhat challenging but manage in general to create the result adequately. Use of higher grade paper would have been beneficial.

In Science, students took the opportunity to explore minerals and metals of Canada and created a brochure about the mineral or metal and are geographic location. What was interesting was the learning which we did regarding the geology of Canada and where the different types of minerals and metals came from. Students learned a direct relationship between geology and geography. 

Finally, in Language Arts students using the idea of “Story Telling” created a story about how European metals and minerals changed the way of life for the aboriginals. What was interesting was the manner in which students had different ideas about how changes took place with “First Contact”. Some saw it as an advantage while others saw it as a negative effect.

The whole process is very interesting and you really must trust the process in order to gain the maximum benefit of the experience. I will continue to work on this idea….Integrated Curriculum.