1. Tinkering & MakING Get Started with Activities Set-up notes:
SET-UP and LOGISTICS
1. Groupings: Participants should work in small teams. Teams might self-select based on similar interests/ issue OR may be pre-assigned to save time.
2. Space set-up: A space where participants can easily work in groups works best. It’s also great to have access to a white board, chalk board, or wall space where white paper can be hung If you don’t have the wall space we have found that putting paper on the table for participants to write on to work just as well. Materials for tinkering and making should be on a separate table like a buffet leaving the work tables with scissors, tape, glue gun and other cutting and adhesive tools.
3. Materials: This power point, overhead projector, wall space or board for opening brainstorming, markers.
Intro Challenge: Spaghetti ( 20 per team ) ; 1 meter masking tape; 1 meter rope, scissors , 1 marshmallow
Make: Circuit Blocks and Squishy Circuits - see below in Do Ahead for details
Make: E-Textiles Laser Cuff - felt cut into different sizes appropriate for wrist; coin battery - coin battery holder - conductive thread - ; LED lights - ; magnetic snaps - additional pieces of felt, feathers, pompoms etc for decorating, embroidery thread for decorating, needles,
Make: Alarm with Sensors - activity guide called “ basic sensors” for materials and instructions.
Innovate: All the same as the above for all 3 makes.
4.TIMING: This is a full day PD. BREAKDOWN | Introduction (Slides 1-17): 1 hour | Activity Completion (Slides 18-32): 5 hours | Conclusion (Slides 32-34): 1 hour
5. Do Ahead: Prepare Squishy Circuits -
Circuit Blocks -

2. Today’s Exploration - Overview of Today
Understand What Tinkering and Making Is.
Experience A Tinker.Make.Innovate. Activity
Discuss how you can incorporate Tinkering and Making into the classroom

3. What is Tinkering?
Tinkering is defined by dictionary.com as “attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way, often to no useful effect”

4. Tinkering is to engage with materials, tools and ideas to construct knowledge of their possibilities.
When people tinker, they “play” with different materials and tools to discover for themselves which work best to express their desired message.

5. Tinkering is open- ended and encourages self- motivated engagement in learning
The tinkering process usually begins when the student is curious about something and starts the process without knowing where it is going to lead.

6. What is Making?
Making is a phrase coined by Dale Dougherty of Make Magazine and Maker Faire. It has been recognized by the White House as one of the most effective ways to engage children in Science Technology Engineering Art and Math.

7. Making is learning by DOING
Making is learning by DOING. Making develops the capacity for innovative problem solving by engaging students in hands on and creative skill building projects that incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math subjects.

8. Making is social. Making provides opportunity to collaborate and develop effective communication skills.
To make is to want to share a point of view or a narrative. Maker Faires around the world demonstrate the human need to connect with others through the sharing of what one has made.

9. Making develops a growth mindset that demonstrates how grit, flexible thinking, perspective-taking, perseverance and embracing failure leads to achievement and success.
The Growth Mindset was coined by Carol Dweck. “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”

10. Learning environments that are rich in tinkering and making require students to develop the dispositions of designers and innovators and build in them the confidence and competence to solve real world problems.
The sustainability of our future is dependent on how well our children will be able to assess problems and invent solutions using tools that are not yet invented.

11. Tinker.Make.Innovate. is a three-step process developed by The Exploratory that combines tinkering, making and design thinking to provide students the opportunity to build the skills they need to propose and devise innovative solutions to complex challenges.
The Exploratory is an education think tank located in Culver City CA that creates products, services and spaces for children to develop innovative thinking skills.

12. The Tinker. Make. Innovate
The Tinker.Make.Innovate. program has been integrated into after school programs, in-school classes, library workshops, events and other informal learning environments. It was created to provide opportunities for facilitated/direct learning of skills where necessary while still having open-ended, creative experiences where students can experience trial and error, frustration tolerance and other growth mindset skills.

13. Tinker Phase : Developing Engagement
The Tinker Phase is key to having students engage and connect with the subject that will be the provocation of the project. It allows for open-ended exploration of ideas, brainstorming of problems that need to be solved, research, and development of empathy for the audience being designed for. A provocation is provided to the students that will further the teachers’ learning goals. The students are then provided with an activity that allows them to “think with their hands”. The students are encouraged to draw upon their own experience and to find a their own unique connection to the provocation.

14. Make: Building Skills and Knowledge
The Make phase of Tinker.Make.Innovate. is where skill building happens. Often, a provocation is used to stir the imagination and to be the right vehicle for the skill building identified by the educator. Educators develop activities that will allow for the construction of skills and knowledge with the help of mentors, like electrical engineers, structural engineers, scientists and artists.

15. Innovate Phase: Demonstrate skills and knowledge by inventing a solution to a problem
The Innovate phase is where everything comes together. Students are asked to invent a solution to a problem using design thinking and the skills that they gained in the make phase. They generate ideas through brainstorming possible solutions to the problems, they identified in the Tinker phase. They then brainstorm as many design ideas for that solution, make a plan to make sure that they are working with the resources they have - time, materials and tools. They then start with a paper prototype and share with their peers and teachers at plussing meetings. These plussing meetings provide opportunity to share the process, receive ideas and to test the concept. Over the prototyping phase, they make revisions, get feedback during plussing sessions, make more revisions until they are satisfied with their products. Then in the final stage, they share their creativity and innovative solution through a showcase where they demonstrate their mastery of skills, and their innovative solution.

16. Quick Challenge
Time: 20 Minutes
Marshmallow Tower Challenge
With Only:
20 pieces of spaghetti
1 meter of masking tape
1 meter of rope
1 large marshmallow
Make the tallest tower you can that will hold up the marshmallow and stay up for 10 seconds.
This marshmallow tower challenge has been used by corporations for team building exercises and kindergarteners. It has been found that the younger players have been more successful at this challenge because they “play” with their hands and try out of the box strategies.

17. Quick Challenge: Plussing
Time: 10 Minutes
What did you notice about the process?
Were you surprised at how you approached the challenge?
Notice the feelings towards failure
Did you test along the way or keep building until the end of time and then put your marshmallow on?
What did you notice about how your students might feel in similar challenges?
Plussing is a phrase coined by Pixar, the computer animation production company. It differs from feedback in that it encourages peers to “add” and idea to the idea being shared and reduced negative feedback.

18. Spy Gadget Project
We have noticed that students are the most engaged when, what they make is something, that allows them to engage with others. The spy gadgets theme engages all students from those who want to make something funny to others that have a problem that is really annoying that they can solve. 

19. Tinker : Spy Gadgets
Time: 15 Minutes
Goal: Brainstorm Ideas for “ What problems do you have in your life that could use a spy gadget to solve?
During this activity, you will play with some existing spy gadgets while brainstorming to get inspired.
Encourage participants to think about things that they want to protect or situations when they would have wanted more warning about something. Encourage them to think of situations when they might need something “secret”.

20. Make: Circuits Blocks/Squishy Circuits
Time: 30 Minutes
Goal: Construct a fundamental understanding of simple circuits and parallel circuits
Provocation: What kind of animal could you make that could be a fun spy character. Use Squishy Circuits to add 2 LED lights and maybe a buzzer.
The Exploratory makes it own Circuit Blocks. We offer a battery case with battery, a motor, a switch, an LED and a buzzer along with alligator cables. The students are asked to create a simple circuit with these materials. Squishy Circuits is an activity created by Ann Marie Thomas She provides recipes for conductive and insulating dough which then can be used to make sculptures that light up, power a motor, buzzers and more.

22. Make: E-Textiles Laser Cuff
Time: 60 Minutes
Goal: Construct a fundamental understanding of simple circuits, the use of conductive thread, magnetic clasps, battery cases, sewing skills
Provocation: Design your cuff to share something about yourself that is important to you.

23. In this activity, participants are asked to create a circuit that is open when the cuff is laid out flat. The LED light turns on when the snaps are attached to each other, creating a closed circuit. Provide embroidery thread, buttons, fabric markers or paint ( if it dries fairly fast ) for them to design the non-electronic components of their cuff.

24. Make: Alarm with Sensor
Time: 90 Minutes
Goal: Add onto your fundamental understanding of simple circuits by adding a tilt sensor or a magnetic sensor
Provocation: Design a stuffy that when tilted or when a magnet is brought near the sensor, a light or buzzer goes off.
Use the activity guide called “ basic sensors” for materials and instructions.

25. Innovate: Spy Gadgets Time: 120 minutes
Goal:Invent a spy gadget that could solve a problem that you brainstormed in the Tinker phase.
In this phase, you will use the design thinking process to invent and create a prototype for that product.

26. Brainstorm
Time: 5 minutes
Remind yourself of the spying situations you brainstormed in the Tinker phase. Add any new situations that have come to you during the Make phase.
Time: 10 minutes
With 2-4 other people at your table, combine your post-its and then sort them into clusters.
Choose as a group, the problem/situation that you would like to invent a solution for.
As a group, brainstorm possible solutions for the problem you determined you wanted to work on.
Show the post its from the Tinker phase brainstorm and encourage participants to think of crazy ideas - pie in the sky ideas.

27. Ideate/Design/Make a Plan
Time: 5 minutes
Pick a solution that you would like to work on
Time: 10 minutes
Do several quick sketches of your solution on paper
Decide on materials you need and make a plan for creating a prototype of your invention.
Encourage participants to think of wild and crazy ideas as they will be making an illustrative prototype.

28. Plussing Session Time: 10 Minutes
Goal: Share Ideas, Get Ideas, Get Support, Give Support
During the plussing session, you will come together as the whole group to:
Share your ideas and plan
Receive ideas and suggestions

29. Prototyping
Time: 45 Minutes
Goal: Make a prototype that can illustrate your invention idea
Things to consider:
Use materials like card stock, cardboard, fabric that you can easily manipulate within the time period
Other useful materials - recycled products like plastic bottles, toilet paper rolls, bottle caps and more
Useful connectors: brads, tape, glue gun, zip ties
During this prototyping session, encourage participants to make revisions in their original design incorporating plusses.

30. Plussing Session
Time: 20 Minutes
Goal: Share Ideas, Get Ideas, Get Support, Give Support
During the plussing session, you will come together as the whole group to:
Share your ideas and plan
Receive ideas and suggestions
Depending on the number of participants, you may want to do this as a whole group or in smaller groups of 4-5 people.

31. Revise
Time: 20 Minutes
Goal: To take the plusses received to make revisions to your design.
Notice: How did you feel about receiving plusses? How does this differ from constructive criticism.

32. Showcase Time: 20 Minutes
Goal: Share your process and demonstrate what you learned
Include in your presentation:
- The problem
- Your solution
- Your prototyping process
- How you used circuitry and switches in your solution

33. Reflect on Project Time: 20 Minutes
What other provocations/themes might you use the activities from this project?
What did you notice or wonder about while you were doing the project?
Encourage participants to think about how to use making activities/tools in subjects other than science. Many times, we find that teachers remember science or engineering activities first and need encouragement to brainstorm ideas on how to apply tools to social studies, history and language arts.

34. Common Core and NGSS TIME: 20 Minutes
What connections do you see between tinkering and making and the skills identified in the Common Core standards?
Which Next Generation Science Standard could you see fulfilled by the circuit blocks, squishy circuits and e- textiles?