On February 15 and 16, we conducted a workshop in a special needs classroom in Hachioji City. This was the second time the workshop was held at this school. For some children, this was their first experience, but for many, it was their second. All of them are making toys using computers. The children create their own creations by combining blocks, everyday objects, craft materials, and computers.
This time, using PICO Cricket and Programmable Battery as tools, a total of six workshops were held over two days.
February 15.
9:10-10:45 am PICO Cricket : Grades 4-6
11:00-12:35 pm Programmable Battery : Grades 2-4
1:45-2:30 pm Programmable Battery : Grades 6
February 16th
8:20-9:55 amProgrammable Battery : Grades 1-2
10:00-10:45 am Programmable Battery : Grades 3-4
11:00-12:35 pm PICO Cricket : Grades 4-6
Again, over the remote, we could hear the energetic voices of students talking to the teacher, to the other children, and to themselves and their artwork as they engaged in the activity.
We focused on one child’s voice in the 5 minutes immediately following the start of the work in the workshop during the 1st-2nd period on 2/26.
-Can I make it now?
Can I make it already?
I have this one too.
What about the magic?
What about the one we did the other day?
I don’t know.
How do you make this?
Oh, I made a mistake.
What do we do now?
Here, put it on this.
I want it to be the same as the last one, but what do I do?
What did it look like when I made it the other day?
Did you break the last one, teacher?
Ah…
But it was like this.
I’m scared of mannequins!
How do you do this?
Two more?
Done. And this one moves.
Help me, doctor! Somebody help me.
How do you do it?
Did I put this color on?
I got it, I got it, I got it.
Just a little bit.
Now let’s see… tires. Tires and this.
I’ll make it like this.
Like this?
Here, like this.
Oh, wait, it’s running backwards. It’s going backwards.
This is backwards.
And then, oh, there you go.
Oh, yeah.
—
In the short period of five minutes, the participants recall their previous work, plan, construct, test, show, and then move on to the next step.
This is exactly what Prof. Michel Resnick of the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten research group, which developed Scratch, Cricket, and Octostudio, suggests in his book, “The Creative Learning Spiral. The students’ voices confirm that the Creative Learning Spiral was taking place.
Imagine – Create – Play – Share – Reflect
Since we are only following the voices, there must be many more unvoiced Creative Learning Spirals happening in each child in the classroom. Not only within individuals, but also stimulating each other’s Creative Learning Spirals. There may be a mixture of long and short span Creative Learning Spirals.
Although it is tempting to reveal the full extent of what is happening in the workshop,
I would like to look more carefully at each individual activity and consider ways and mechanisms to support the children’s Creative Learning Spiral.
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