Innovation Center Debuts at Upper School
The exploration of Science Technology Engineering Art and Math (STEAM) in class is now overflowing into students’ free time at the Upper School, with this year’s debut of the Innovation Center. Josh Nelson, Curriculum & Technology Innovator, has created a space in which students can tinker and craft projects using 3D printers, a CNC machine, drones, and other fun tech tools.
Josh is bringing students into the Center this month to introduce them to the space and tools they may be using as a part of their class studies. But the Center is mostly intended to be used as an extracurricular “springboard into other academic territory” that students may want to explore further during their free periods at school. Josh expects students to submit proposals for a group project or independent study before they gain access to the Center. Though students will have faculty sponsors overseeing their projects, Josh explains, “I built this space for students, not teachers. The idea is for students to lead the process, and to rely on each other for problem solving. I want them to be entrepreneurial, to use this space as their own R&D and testing space.”
Responsibility and leadership are two important characteristics Josh hopes to see this year. Student assistants will be trained to help other students with troubleshooting in the Center. But rather than fixing other students’ problems, the student assistants will be expected to teach their solution. Josh says, “I want to give students more responsibility, and part of that will be a student chain of command. If someone has a problem, they should go to their student leader or assistant first.” But Josh and other teachers will still provide the tools and resources students need to get things done. Josh will have online resources and blog spaces where students will document their progress for teacher review. See the Innovation Center webpage here.
Although school has only been in session a few weeks, Josh remarks there is already an “awesome enthusiasm” for what’s happening—and what’s possible—in the Innovation Center this year!
