Creating a Maker & Design Space

My introduction to design and maker-spaces fundamentally transformed my approach to teaching. I began exploring the idea of students collaborating in workshop-style spaces, designing and creating rather than just receiving an information download through lectures. While my dreams are big, the budget is small. I was able to switch out my rows of desks for tables. I arranged them for collaboration and try to make the “front” of the class ambiguous. It is my firm belief that physical spaces reflect philosophy. And this is certainly true in education. In this space, my students began to create and design, like the interactive, LED trade route map activity in which students design and engineering a map that lights-up at particular important trade cities.