NT0821
Developing Students’ Creativity, Collaboration and
Problem Solving Skills through Creating the Makerspace in the Secondary English Language Classroom
Collaborative Research and Development (“Seed”) Project 2021/22
Native-speaking English Teacher Section, Education Bureau
“The world doesn’t need more graduates with good grades.
What the world needs is
voracious, self-directed learners with the creative capacity to see the problems of the world as
puzzles, and the tenacity to work on them, even in the face of
adversity.”
Gever TULLEY, founder of Brightworks School, a San Francisco school that focuses on hands- on education
What is a
?
Examples of the Maker in You and Me
Fashion and Makeup Interior Design
Personal Accessories
A Maker is Someone
who Engages in the Act of Making.
Makerspace is…
Human-
centred Inquiry-based Innovation- friendly
Transdiscipli- nary
Creative
Collaborative Empathetic
insights
Meaningful changes
Tangible outcomes Radical ideas
Courageous Solution-
oriented
Project Focuses
Choice
Choose to do it
Intention
Want to do it
Action
Do it
Design Thinking
Thinking Routines to Support Learning in a Makerspace
Tinkering:
Parts People Interaction
Empathy: Think Feel Care Parts Purposes Complexities
Tinkering: Imagine if…
Students work together, with or without guidance, to identify problems, brainstorm solutions, evaluate them and action them
in their Makerspace journey.
How can the English Language
Classroom become a Makerspace?
Meaningful and purposeful communication in English
Applying language knowledge and skills to exercise one’s
creativity, collaborate with others and solve problems
Using language to facilitate the application of thinking routines
The Maker tools in the English language
classroom are made up of…
Language
Thinking Routines
Parts Purposes Complexities
Parts People Interactions
Empathy: Think
Feel Care Tinkering:
Imagine if…
Project
Objectives
explore the place of maker-related skills in the English Language Education Key Learning Area;
cultivate the makerspace spirit / maker mindset;
design English language learning activities that support the development of design thinking;
identify effective maker-centred learning and teaching strategies that empower students; and
assess students’ English language learning and maker-related skills and attitude in the makerspace context.
This project aims to develop teachers’ capacity to:
Research Questions
• What are some of the key characteristics of the English language learning environment under which a makerspace spirit can thrive?
• What are the possible outcomes of an English language classroom steeped in a makerspace spirit?
• What kind of pedagogical designs can support the promotion of the makerspace spirit in the English Language classroom?
Makerspace in Action
What can you expect from this project?
1. Handbooks from Project Schools
Developed as a student and teacher reference and as a reminder of participation in the project
2. Professional Development
2. Professional Development
3. Value-adding
Teachers
• Introducing elements of “making”
that give learning an experiential dimension
• Giving meaning and purpose to student learning
• Organising English language learning in a new way
Students
• Using thinking routines to organise their thinking and make thinking visible
• Developing a deeper
understanding of an issue
• Using language in a meaningful and purposeful way and in authentic
contexts
Makerspace in Action (1)
A School at the Initial Stage
• Using Thinking Routines to identify parts of the story and understand
the relationship between characters
• Using pipe cleaners to create
scenes from the story to enhance understanding
Makerspace in Action (2)
A School at the Exploration Stage
What a Project Unit May Look Like
Theme: Games
Language Skills & Strategies + Text Grammar Core text: A text
about fun and games
Other texts: Written and visual texts about toys & board games, including instructions
Authentic Final Task: Students in groups survey the interests of P6 students of feeder schools and identify English vocabulary that they need to learn, then design a board game that
appeals to their interests and helps them learn target vocabulary.
Generic Skills: 3C + Problem Solving Thinking Routines
Unit 1: A New Start
Unit 2:
Strong, Fit
& Fast Unit 3:
Yum
• Infusing the teaching of Thinking Routines into each textbook unit of work and using different grammar structures to articulate thinking
• Exploring infusing “making” elements into some textbook unit of work, e.g. designing a poster promoting an invented sport
• Working towards the board game “making”
task.
Makerspace in Action (3)
A School at the Advanced Stage
• Clear direction right from the start
• An environmental theme identified
• “Making” elements infused into English language
learning
• Thinking Routines
embedded into the Design Thinking process
• Plentiful opportunities to use English, e.g.
interviewing, explaining
design, product pitching
What a Project Unit May Look Like
Theme: Environment
Language Skills & Strategies + Text Grammar Generic Skills: 3C + Problem Solving Thinking Routines
Core text: Single- use plastic bottles
Other texts: Written and visual texts about (1) food packaging, including design, environmental impact of food
packaging, real-life food packaging; and (2) Social Media campaign
Authentic Final Task: Students in groups create a Social Media campaign in response to a problem identified in their school.
Intermediate Task: Designing and making an environmentally friendly lunch box
Application Details & Procedures
Please refer to Appendix C of the EDB Circular Memorandum No.4/2021
Closing date for application:
10 March 2021
School Application Form to be completed in duplicate by School Heads and sent to:
EDB Human Resources Management Unit at 4/F,
East Wing,
Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar
(Part IV 'Secondment of Teachers' is applicable to the Makerspace "Seed" Project)
Enquiries
General
Edward LAI (Life-wide Learning Section) 2892 5824
Project-related
William CHENG (Native-speaking English Teacher Section) 3549 8339
Luana HASELL (Native-speaking English Teacher Section) 3549 8337
