低年级的阀杆课程

9月21日，一排线上买球平台巴士停在 大盐湖州立公园 and dropped off a group of fourth- and eleventh-graders, who began making their way to the shoreline.

这是一段比过去更长的路. 多年来，大盐湖一直 萎缩, in recent months there’s been an increased outcry to protect the lake. And it’s not just adults who want to find solutions to the possible loss of one of the state’s most renowned landmarks. 在这个阳光明媚的秋天, the 线上买球平台 students—who had the chance to come together thanks to Beyond the Classroom, an annual 上学校 event that engages students with the greater Salt Lake community and its natural surroundings—were focused on taking away inspiration from the lake to power their own Great Salt Lake projects this year.

孩子们真的被问题所激励，并且喜欢解决问题. They think outside the box, 他们’re creative, 他们 take chances adults won’t.——泰勒·斯塔克，四年级老师

四年级学生, 这一天是特别的, as it was a chance to get personally familiar with the lake that will play a prominent role in their classrooms this year. While a study of waterways has always been part of 线上买球平台’s Utah studies curriculum, 大盐湖的紧迫问题, 哪些是许多低年级学生都很清楚的, 给了四年级队——玛丽安的爱, 谢丽尔陈, 哈斯Pectol, 泰勒堆栈—a natural opportunity to help students connect classroom learning to real-world conversations, delve into the role we all play in protecting our 共享 natural resources in the desert we call home, 寻找解决方案.

“孩子们真的会被问题所激励，并且喜欢解决问题, 了解他们对更大问题的看法是很酷的,泰勒说。. “They think outside the box, 他们’re creative, 他们 take chances adults won’t. 也许有人会想出一个没人想到的解决办法.” And reminding kids that 他们 can make a difference also helps connect them to their community. “It gives them pride in where 他们 live, ownership and stewardship,” said Marianne.

The trip to Great Salt Lake allowed students to begin to connect to the lake as 他们 discovered what about it most appealed to them and made them excited to learn—like why the lake is salty or what story its exposed waterlines tell. With the support of their 上学校 buddies, 他们 were asked to 看，想，想 他们在湖边探险的时候. “我们希望他们思考其中的原因 他们 我认为我们应该拯救大盐湖, 而不仅仅是从大人或老师那里听到的想法,泰勒说。.

游览完湖后, 学生们, 在他们伙伴的帮助下, created slideshows that highlighted their areas of interest—the jumping-off point of research projects 他们 will work on over the year. These slideshows also opened the door to another opportunity: the chance to present at Aridity and Great Salt Lake, a community discussion on water in the West held at 线上买球平台 on October 12. 三个学生自愿发言, excited to share with a larger audience what 他们 had learned and why it was important.

每个人都可以帮忙.哈德利R.四年级

“I wanted them to know about how much the Great Salt Lake was drying up,” said Hadley R., who also wanted to remind attendees that 他们 can make a difference. “每个人都可以帮忙，”她补充说.

These fourth-grade presenters also wanted to remind the group that many lives depend on the lake. 米莉C.他被大盐湖著名的 黑岩 还有那些把这里称为家的生物, 共享, “I wanted them to walk away thinking about things near the Great Salt Lake.”

Fourth graders will continue to build on this early Great Salt Lake work with upcoming projects, including writing persuasive letters about the lake to state representatives (as well as visiting the Utah State Capitol during the General Session in January) and presenting their research to a panel of community experts. It’s certainly an exciting year to be a 线上买球平台 fourth grader, our school community is looking forward to seeing the many ways these students will inspire others, 推动重要对话, 并为保护我们共同的家园做出贡献.

“This is a great place to live, we want to keep it that way,” said Marianne.

真正的学习

Editor's note: This piece is republished from 线上买球平台's 2020–2021 Annual Report.

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这个故事赢了 银 in the 2021 InspirED Brilliance Awards (magazine feature article writing category).

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计算机科学影响着我们的日常生活, but its workforce falls woefully short when it comes to reflecting national 种族, 少数民族, 性别人口统计. 解决这个问题要从K-12教育开始. The subject’s proponents at 线上买球平台 are ensuring equity is programmed into the curriculum—and the curriculum gets the attention it deserves—building toward a computing-literate society where everyone has a seat at the table.

在二月的一个下午的混合学习中, 大约40名罗兰学院的教职员工, 工作人员, 高年级学生——有些人在家工作, others from the 林肯街校园—gradually populated a Zoom room. 它开始于一个标准的大流行时期的高中班级, 但20分钟后, 它看起来更像是一场前卫的数字彩排. Students unearthed accessories from family members’ closets and Halloween costumes past: a cowboy hat, 一副航空护目镜, 豹纹围巾. They cloaked themselves in masks, feather boas, heavy makeup, oversized sunglasses.

艺术总监 索非亚Gorder and her dance students comprised half of these creative camouflagers, 尽管外表如此, 这不是为他们的表演做准备. 这是一个由老师举办的开放式工作坊 本·史密斯89 and his Advanced Placement 计算机科学 (CS) Principles class to show the 上学校 community how facial-recognition technologies work and how 他们 can be harmful, 特别是对于代表性不足的群体.

One dance student, Mena Zendejas-Portugal ’21, wore a pink wig with bangs that covered her eyes. She used makeup to draw decoy eyes on her cheeks, below the magenta fringe. 梅纳和她的同伴们对着笔记本电脑摄像头傻笑 基于网络的程序 used artificial intelligence (AI) to guess their ages and 性别s. 

在梅娜伪装之前, the program vacillated between misidentifying her as a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. 在Mena改变她的外表之后, 具有讽刺意味的是, the program’s guess came closer to the reality: it classified her as a 16-year-old female. 

“It wasn’t a surprise how the AI read me since I have a rounder face along with short hair,梅纳说。, 学生正义运动的领袖之一, 股本, 多样性, 和包容委员会. “It’s just a confirmation for the thought of AI being built around stereotypes and constructed beauty standards that aren’t applicable to everyone.”

算法渗透到我们的日常生活中, 有缺陷的代码可能会对现实世界造成毁灭性的后果, 从非法逮捕到住房歧视. 本就这些问题教育罗兰霍尔社区, 并确保他的计算机科学学生有能力解决这些问题.

算法渗透到我们的日常生活中, the type of flawed 编码 that Mena experienced can have devastating real-world consequences, 从非法逮捕到住房歧视. 本就这些问题教育罗兰霍尔社区, 并确保他的计算机科学学生有能力解决这些问题. “如果这些学生要成为技术领域的领导者, 他们需要有这样的视角,本说。. “You can't ask people to have an interest in a career and not prepare them for the future ramifications of that.” 

本 has long given students space to discuss JEDI issues but formally added it to his CS curriculum during the 2020–2021 school year. 在罗兰庄园, the marriage of CS and social justice is a natural development: the school prioritized science, 技术, 工程, 和数学(阀杆)纳入2014年战略计划, 在过去的一学年里, 长期的JEDI工作升级为优先事项. 

二月的面部识别研讨会——拖拽Vs. 人工智能 算法正义联盟, which “combines art and research to illuminate the social implications and harms” of AI—helped a cross section of upper schoolers see firsthand why this work matters: “By just learning CS and not looking behind the scenes, 未来可能没有我们想象的那么包容,梅纳想。. 事实上, 人工智能研究员Joy Buolamwini说, 黑人妇女, launched the league after personally experiencing algorithmic discrimination in her work. 在一个使用通用面部识别软件的项目中, the program failed to detect Joy’s face until she wore a white mask. In another, she had to ask a lighter-skinned friend to stand in for her. “我们可以解决这些问题，”乔伊在a中假设 2016 TED演讲 大于1.通过创建更具包容性的代码，获得了400万的浏览量. Teams must be diverse and driven to create “a world where 技术 works for all of us, 不只是我们中的一些人, 一个我们重视包容和社会变革中心的世界.”

这种精神激励着本的工作. 罗兰堂的校友们, 现在正在庆祝他在母校任教20周年, started teaching CS in 2015 and shifted to teaching that subject exclusively two years later. 从第一天起, 他把CS多样化作为自己的使命, 这个领域“性别比例严重不足”, 比赛, 种族, 地理位置, 家庭收入,非营利组织CS倡导组织表示 Code.org. 美国需要更多、更多样化的计算机科学家, efforts to broaden that workforce need to start in K–12 schools. Computing jobs are the top source of all new wages in the US and 他们 make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in 阀杆 fields, Code.org 吹捧这使得计算机科学成为最受欢迎的大学学位之一. And exposure before college makes a difference: students who learn CS in high school are six times more likely to major in it. 在传统上代表性不足的群体中, the likelihood is even higher: seven times for Black and Latinx students, 女性是10倍.

本 currently relies on one-to-one recruitment to grow CS enrollment among those underrepresented populations. 他在2014年左右读了一本书, during graduate school in instructional design and educational 技术 at the University of Utah, 这激发了他的职业目标: 困在浅端:教育、种族和计算机 简·马戈利斯著. The book chronicles the lack of access to CS courses for Black and Latinx students—and addresses how to change the system. “这真是令人大开眼界的时刻之一，”他说. “There’s no logical reason—except institutional bias—for why computer science education looks the way it does today … It’s incredibly unjust.从那时起, 本 has prioritized combating what he calls the most glaring equity issue in education today. He collaborates with other schools and organizations that are trying desperately to expand CS opportunities, works diligently to build an equitable CS program for 线上买球平台. 在罗兰·霍尔的支持下, I’m committed to a future where all computer science courses have a student population that mirrors the demographics of the school as a whole.”

从头开始构建课程

幸运的是, 本 isn’t starting from scratch when sixth graders meet him in Foundations of 计算机科学, 2016年起必修课程. 自 基督教的水域 stepped into the role of director of 技术 integration in 2013, he has crafted an arsenal of computing lessons to captivate the full spectrum of beginning and lower schoolers. 克里斯蒂安教授至少一门数字公民课程, 编码, 让每个低年级学生都能学习机器人. Kids engage in hands-on activities like programming colorful toy robots and building wearable tech comprised of LED lights affixed to felt. They also get the space to think big and consider computing’s real-world applications, like furthering one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 他们会如何使用计算机, 例如, to remedy a problem like overcrowding or a lack of affordable and clean energy?

基督教 draws curriculum from dozens of expert educational resources, 包括卡内基梅隆大学机器人研究所, 儿童创新项目, 和代码.org. “我们已经建立了一些真正相关的东西, 最好的材料和资源的最佳组合,克里斯蒂安说. “It's not a curriculum that is sold in a big box that you wheel into a classroom, 每个人都要用同样的方法. It's tailored to the needs of 线上买球平台 and relevant to our goals and our objectives.” 

多亏了克里斯蒂安和本的持续合作, 线上买球平台’s CS curriculum is also vertically aligned: “We're preparing students for Advanced Placement 计算机科学 A Java in a way 他们 never were before. 中学生正在学习有关物体的知识, 类, 功能, 和变量,克里斯蒂安解释道. “It's thanks 在某种程度上 to how we're building up from the 开始学校.”

One example of vertical alignment and mission-centric curriculum: 基督教 uses a Code.org activity where lower schoolers train a computer to recognize facial expressions—broaching some of the same issues upper schoolers examined in their February workshop. 低年级课程的关键, according to the educator: “How do we distinguish between facial features and whether someone is happy or sad or excited, 这样做合乎道德吗?” Students exercise their critical-thinking skills and confront questions involving how these programs work, 以及如何确保他们尽可能地符合道德和公正. “Ultimately what students get is that there is a lot of subjectivity in how we humans train computers,克里斯蒂安说. 

团队合作

部分原因是为了吸引更年轻、更多元化的学生来c - and, 在路上, 减少代码中的偏差需要持续的努力, 广泛的接触. 克里斯蒂安不仅将计算机科学融入课堂, he’s also created community-wide opportunities to rally around computing and 工程. He organizes three annual events that are now synonymous with 阀杆 culture on the McCar他们校园: the beginning and lower school Family 制造商的夜晚 in the fall, 冬季全校范围内的编程一小时, 以及春季的低年级创客日. “These events are designed to demystify 技术 and making,克里斯蒂安说. “All students can see themselves as computer scientists, coders, makers, roboticists, engineers.”

These events and the school’s CS curriculum as a whole are dominated by collaborative group work that occasionally reaches across subjects and divisions. 在COVID-19大流行之前, 本 Smith's Advanced Placement 计算机科学 Principles students collaborated annually with 泰勒堆栈's fourth graders to make an app that helps young students learn math. Upper schoolers worked in groups to devise and test app concepts on the lower schoolers and use their feedback to improve app design. 21年的凯蒂·达克, it was a highlight of 线上买球平台’s CS program: “The thing that will stick with me the most is using new interfaces to help people.“这是凯蒂最喜欢的回忆, who in 2020 became the first 线上买球平台 student to win the top national award from the Aspirations in Computing program, 由国家妇女中心赞助 & 资讯科技(NCWIT). 她赢得了, 在某种程度上, for her efforts tutoring students and developing a 编码 club at Salt Lake City’s Dual Immersion Academy, a bilingual Spanish-English charter school she attended during her elementary years.

The app project is a prime example of group work that can encourage underrepresented populations to pursue CS, 据医生说. 海伦胡, a Westminster College computer science professor whose work examines how educators can improve diversity in CS. “在行业中有一种叫做敏捷协同编程的东西, 那就是人们在小组中工作,”医生说。. Hu, also the parent of a 线上买球平台 ninth grader and seventh grader. “This is actually an important skill in computing—being able to work with others.“而有些学生则是为了计算机而热爱计算机, 她补充说, 很多人喜欢它是因为它的功能, 因为你可以解决问题, 因为你的影响力,”她说。. “By doing both, by emphasizing these other parts of computing, you're helping both types of students. 热爱编程的学生仍然会去编程. The students who love 编码 to solve problems are getting to do that. We know that students aren't going to learn it as well when you just teach it at the level of, 分号在哪里，括号在哪里?’”

亚历克斯 Armknecht, 20岁, a 2019 Aspirations in Computing regional award winner who’s now a CS major at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), 我喜欢在更全面的层面上学习计算机科学. “I loved the CS 类 at 线上买球平台 and 他们 were consistently my favorite 类 throughout high school,”她说。. “我喜欢奥巴马先生的方式. Smith taught and allowed us creative freedom … his class is the main reason I am majoring in CS. 我懂得了寻求帮助的重要性, 创造力, 和协作, 这些都对我大学的计算机科学课程很有帮助.”

大四的时候, 亚历克斯 also participated in another shining example of collaborative group work in CS: the 上学校’s For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Tech Challenge Robotics team. The team started off strong in its inaugural 2019–2020 year and has continued to evolve, 本说: “It’s expanded the opportunities for young women to become leaders, 竞争, see how other girls across the state are involved with 技术 and 工程.” 

2020-2021学年期间, juniors Irenka Saffarian and Tina Su stepped into unofficial leadership roles that bode well for the near future. 两人都修过高级课程CS A，都是很棒的程序员, 本说, 他们 pushed hard for the team to make it to the national semifinals in the 首届全球创新奖. 线上买球平台 was the only team from Utah and one of only 60 teams internationally to make it that far. “我们现在的主题是把它提升到一个新的水平，”本说. “We realize we are right on the verge of getting to that level where we’re really competitive—where we actually 竞争 with the best teams in the state.” And Irenka and Tina, 本说, are committed to getting the team there. They embody the enthusiasm that 本 and 基督教 hope to cultivate across the school. “I hope that the future of taking computer science courses at 线上买球平台 is increasingly coming from a place of excitement and interest and, “我迫不及待地想把这项技能用在任何我感兴趣的事情上,’”本说。. “It's not about a kid sitting in a basement all alone typing on their computer. This is about groups of people making exciting and interesting and really impactful decisions, 每个人都需要参与进来.”

取得的进展和今后的工作

我们正在更多地讨论它, 不仅仅是因为这是一种时代精神, 但因为技术在这方面还有很多需要弥补的地方. 我们认为自己在努力帮助孩子们认识到这一点.-克里斯汀·沃特斯，技术整合总监

而凯蒂, 亚历克斯, Irenka, 和蒂娜是最近的成功案例, 基督教 and 本 readily acknowledge that 线上买球平台 isn’t exempt from 种族 and 性别 disparities. But the school is perpetually working “to change that from the ground up,克里斯蒂安说. 这在一定程度上要归功于全校范围的培训, JEDI values are ingrained in how 线上买球平台 instructors design and teach tech-related 类. “我们正在更多地讨论这个问题, 不仅仅是因为这是一种时代精神, 但因为技术在这方面还有很多需要弥补的地方. 我们认为自己在努力帮助孩子们认识到这一点.” 

一个的埃尔南德斯, a junior who took AP computer science and robotics as a sophomore during the 2020–2021 year, 我很欣赏绝地的高度专注. 一个的’s parents are both engineers and she’s been interested in CS for as long as she can remember—the winner of a 2021 Aspirations in Computing regional honorable mention loves the art of programming. 一个的, 他是墨西哥裔美国人, has also long been interested in JEDI issues and advocating for more equity and representation, 包括通过罗兰霍尔的学生绝地武士委员会. She found it compelling to see how two of her passions, JEDI and CS, are related. “随着科技的发展, 种族, 性别, 社会经济问题依然存在,”安娜说。, “所以它们只是交织在一起." 

While she’s grateful for how the JEDI units have furthered her passion for CS, 她希望她的学校也能利用这种势头进行自我反思, 例如, how to make CS more accessible to lower-income schools and communities. And that sort of community outreach isn’t unprecedented at 线上买球平台. 2015年夏天, 在接下来的两个夏天里, 线上买球平台 hosted a nonprofit Hackathon centered around teacher training. “That was a way that we contributed to a culture of learning and growth in our community,克里斯蒂安说. Educators from local public and independent schools convened on the 林肯街校园 to learn 编码 skills and how to use certain tools, 比如3D打印机和Arduino机器人. 技术团队帮助支付了部分费用, 基督教说, 教师可以通过参加获得州许可学分. 本's resume is also flooded with conferences and workshops where he’s trained his peers. “It’s great for me to show a group of 15 or 20 educators how to teach a curriculum,他说, “and then I can show them that I have a classroom with a majority of female students, 我已经能够招募和建立, 这是可能的.”

这类努力在未来可能会扩大. 线上买球平台 is seriously considering ways to increase CS opportunities and spaces, 该计划最早可能在2021-2022学年确定下来. 基督教 and 本 are drafting a CS strategic plan that involves integrating CS with other subjects, 培训老师, 扩大现有的阶级. 还有克里斯蒂安，本，课程与教学主任 温德尔·托马斯。 are starting a CS task force and have asked others to join: one or two teachers from each division, Dr. Hu, Sunny Washington, a startup COO and CEO who also serves on the board of Equality Utah. One of the task force’s first actions will be to provide feedback on the strategic plan draft.

For now, 基督教 and 本’s work to recruit more—and more diverse—CS students is paying off. 自2014年以来, 19 Winged Lions have earned a collective 25 awards from the Aspirations in Computing program, including one win (Katy’s) and two honorable mentions at the national level. 线上买球平台 also won The College Board’s 2019 and 2020 Advanced Placement 计算机科学 Female 多样性 Award for achieving high female representation in our AP CS Principles class. Dr. 胡赞扬了这一成就. “这真是令人印象深刻，”她说——尤其是对犹他州来说. "There are some states where 他们 have tens of teachers who received this. 我们有三个. 我想这说明了这个州的情况有多困难." 

本, 基督教, the faculty and 工作人员 who support them remain focused on graduating good citizens armed with the tools to make tech work for all of us, 不只是我们中的一些人.

本, 基督教, the faculty and 工作人员 who support them remain focused on graduating good citizens armed with the tools to make tech work for all of us, 不只是我们中的一些人, 正如Joy Buolamwini所说的那样. 刚毕业的凯蒂现在就读于都柏林的三一学院, 爱尔兰, 主修法律——可能是网络法. 安娜 Shott ’16 emailed 本 in December 2020 to share that she’d be joining Microsoft as a program manager the following year. “您的课程确实影响了我选择的道路, I cannot thank you enough for sparking my interest in computer science,” 写了 安娜, a University of Southern California grad who also worked as a K–12 CS camp counselor on her college campus. And current student 一个的 said what she learned in AP 计算机科学 Principles—that an algorithm can decide whether someone is granted a loan, 例如，对她来说是一个改变游戏规则的人. “This experience has made me want to not only major in computer science, but a specific realm of computer science that maybe deals with AI and diversifying participants and coders so that there isn't such a large bias.”

亚历克斯也计划在CS工作, another testament to 本’s teaching: “I decided I wanted to go to my college when I met LMU's chair and professor of computer science and he reminded me of Mr. 史密斯，”她说. “如果不是他，我不会选择计算机科学专业. He pushed me to work my hardest, to try new things, provided me with lots of opportunities.”

This sort of feedback keeps 本 laser-focused on boosting equity in CS at 线上买球平台 and beyond. “I won’t pretend that it didn’t bring a tear to my eye,他说. “It’s certainly fuel for the work that I do and it reminds me that it's worth doing. I could sit back on a curriculum and just deliver, do fairly well at it. 但这远不止于此. 工作不仅仅是我教的东西，而是我教的对象.”

阀杆

介绍了 玛丽安的爱四年级教师

罗兰堂的四年级是 线上买球平台犹他州的一切. 当我们学习这两种方法时 盐水虾 以及今年的立法程序, 我们认为, 还有什么比远程学习更适合将两者结合起来呢?!

在学习了法案如何成为法律之后, students took it upon themselves to petition our state government to make the 盐水虾 the official crustacean of Utah. Who would ever think a landlocked state could possibly have a state crustacean? Students used their persuasive-writing skills to craft letters to our governor and state legislators. 下面, 迪安 Filippone’s letter is one shining example of what a dedicated 线上买球平台 fourth grader can create.

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2020年5月6日

Dear Governor Herbert, State Representatives, State Senators:

I am a student at 线上买球平台 in fourth grade and I am writing to you because I love the state of Utah. I only have one suggestion to make Utah even better: we can become the only landlocked state in the United States of America that has a state crustacean. 我提到的甲壳类动物是卤虾.

Brine shrimp are like people of Utah in that we are both persistent and don’t give up.

There are many cool facts about 盐水虾 that remind me about Utah and the great people in it. 例如, did you know that a 盐水虾 is barely the size of a pencil eraser, 因为大盐湖里有很多, 它们的总重量超过13磅,000头大象? It reminds me of Utah because we are all very small in the face of the world, 但是当我们一起努力时，我们甚至可以做最困难的事情.

Another reason that 盐水虾 should be the Utah state crustacean is because 他们’ve been around for over 600,000年! 卤虾是这个伟大州历史的一部分, 应该被认为是一种国家甲壳类动物!

Brine shrimp are like people of Utah in that we are both persistent and don’t give up. In fact, 盐水虾 can survive at 221 Fahrenheit for two hours and still live. 这些囊肿甚至可以在没有食物的情况下存活25年! Utahns have survived a lot of persecution; not to mention challenges with the weather and having to form communities in the high mountains and mountain deserts. 卤虾和犹他人都很顽强!

卤虾非常罕见. Do you know that only Utah and California have 盐水虾 in the United States?

It would be an honor to be the first landlocked state to have a state crustacean! Currently, there are only six states that have a state crustacean. They are: Oregon, Maryland, Texas, Maine, Alabama, Louisiana. 这六个州都在水上. 不像这些州, Utah is landlocked so we would be unique as the first landlocked state to ever have a state crustacean. 

The final reason l hope you will consider is that 盐水虾 are very rare. Do you know that only Utah and California have 盐水虾 in the United States? 如果它们是我们的甲壳类动物，那就太特别了. These are dark days with COVID-19 so we should celebrate all nature and other things to make us feel better.

Thank you for your consideration, l hope to hear from you soon.

真诚地,
迪安

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Top image: Teacher 玛丽安的爱 wades in the Great Salt Lake during a fourth-grade field trip to Antelope Island in May 2018.

学生的声音

纸火箭在空中呼啸而过. Hot-air balloons fashioned out of fruit containers and plastic bags spiraled up a wind tunnel. Light from popsicle-stick flashlights and homemade circuits flared. And the sound of laughter—from both kids and adults—filled the room.

线上买球平台’s first 制造商的夜晚, which attracted more than 140 people, was a success.

事件, 于11月7日在麦卡西校园运动场举行, 灵感来自于低年级学校的 制造商的一天, where kids explore a variety of science, 技术, 工程, art, math (STEAM) activities. 制造商的夜晚 built on this event by including 开始学校 and 较低的学校 families in the hands-on learning experiences.

作为低年级校长 吉吉德耶稣 surveyed the activity around the room, he couldn’t help but grin. “We love the fact that families can experience what kids experience in the classroom,他说.

创客之夜的参加者在车站之间穿梭, 从事各种技能的迷你科学家和工程师. 随着夜幕降临, 像Jenna Pagoaga这样的父母, 二年级学生威廉和学龄前儿童奥利的母亲, found themselves managing a small cache of completed experiments. “这是一个伟大的社区活动,”她说。 as she watched William run to the Sky Floaters table to design a blimp for a Lego passenger. “It’s fun to see them be creative and use what 他们 learn in class.”

幻灯片:线上买球平台第一届创客之夜的图片.

当晚最吸引人的比赛是“书呆子德比”, where kids built cars and 比赛d them on one of the three lanes of a tall, 弯曲的轨道. The evening was punctuated with the cheers of those whose cars made it to the end of the track—and the groans of those whose creations fell apart on descent. 未被吓住, those students simply grabbed the debris and ran back to the design table to figure out how to strengthen their vehicles. 这就是制造者之夜的意义所在.

It's important for parents to see what their kids are capable of. 给他们一堆东西. 让他们去探索. The play-based part of it, the 创造力 part, is very important.——jodi Spiro，低年级数学专家

“Kids are learning it’s OK to try things out, mess up, try again,” Jij explained. He also noted the importance of giving children independence when it comes to exploration. “Often, learning outcomes are decided beforehand; this is more open-ended,他说. “想到孩子们主导自己的学习，这令人兴奋.”

低年级数学专家 乔迪•斯皮罗 呼应了这个观点. 制造商的夜晚, 她说, emphasized to parents and caregivers the scientific process of thinking, 规划, 测试, 和重新设计. And it showed that kids don’t always need formal instruction to learn. “It’s important for parents to see what their kids are capable of,”她说。. “给他们一堆东西. 让他们去探索. The play-based part of it, the 创造力 part, is very important.”

塔莎哈顿, 和她五年级的孩子一起参加创客之夜, 加布里埃尔, 是否对简单的探索环境感到兴奋. She remembered how 加布里埃尔 lit up when she saw fourth-grade teacher 哈斯Pectol该公司的回收塑料站, where children were braiding the plastic from discarded Halloween costumes into ropes that can be turned into things like baskets—or even, 正如哈斯所证明的那样, 钩针编织的魔爪. 塔莎说，创客之夜激发了她家人的好奇心. “It’s introduced us to ideas we wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.”

Tasha also marveled at how something as simple as recycled plastic can do wonders for a child’s imagination. “他们会用不同的眼光看世界，”她说. “The next time 他们 see something like that, it might spark a new idea.”

阀杆