Episode Details

Brad Gustafson, principal of Greenwood Elementary in Minnesota, explains how a mobile maker space works in an elementary school and why he chose carts over a room. Seven carts roll to any classroom or hallway, so making becomes part of the lesson instead of one more add-on for teachers.

The best example is Sphero. The school has about 31 of the robotic balls. In one class, students built floor-size models of the human digestive system and programmed a Sphero as a food particle from the esophagus to the small intestine. Gustafson says authentic engagement raises the chance of high-level learning.

What you'll learn

• Put makerspace tools on carts so any room or hallway can become a makerspace and no teacher has to wait for a library room.
• Build each makerspace project around a real learning target written as an I can statement, the way Gustafson's district does.
• Limit school goals to three, as Gustafson does: high student achievement, culture and relationships, and meaningful technology integration.
• Offer optional monthly breakout PD that teachers pick, and keep coming back to makerspace instead of running one workshop.
• Answer parent pushback by pointing to your school goals and the state standards.

Chapters

• 0:00 Show updates and introducing Brad Gustafson
• 4:32 Sphero robots and the Draw and Drive feature
• 7:34 Evidence that kids learn better with Sphero
• 9:58 Passport to Passion night for parents
• 12:12 Celebrating creative genius beyond test scores
• 14:03 Why mobile makerspaces beat a fixed room
• 18:20 How three school goals keep staff focused
• 22:54 Constructive pushback and keeping it simple

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Questions this episode answers

Why choose a mobile makerspace over a dedicated room?
Gustafson says his teacher team decided they did not want a makerspace to be a destination. They want creativity and failure to happen regularly in every room. With seven carts, a teacher can pick another cart when a colleague is already using one.

How do you know students learn more with Sphero than with a worksheet?
Gustafson says health has no high stakes standardized test yet, so he can't prove it. He points to authentic engagement and says that raises the chances of learning at a high level. He adds that the work is grounded in real learning targets.

How do you get a whole staff behind your school goals?
Gustafson says his school keeps three goals, and 100% of his teachers are engaged with them. Teachers choose how to meet the technology goal. A data team helped craft the goals, and he kept technology integration three years running. His first-year SMART goals were too wordy to remember.

About Brad Gustafson

Elementary principal at Greenwood Elementary School in Minnesota, in his fifth year there, who also writes a blog.

Links and resources

• Brad Gustafson on Twitter
• Adjusting Course blog
• Sphero robotic ball
• Engaging Students: Working on the Work
• Tweet: celebrate creative genius
• WorkflowED podcast

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