One of the things that people ask me about MakerEd is how does it support student wellness. Social Emotional Learning is becoming a very hot topic in education. For those of us who have been around for a while, we have always known the value of making sure students' Social Emotional needs are being met because they cannot learn unless they are. MakerEd is one of many different ways to engage students in learning and also support SEL.
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| From CASEL.ORG When we look at the framework of SEL created by CASEL, we can see that there are elements that link directly to what good MakerEd lessons and projects incorporate. Let's take a look at Responsible Decision-Making and Self-Management. When students are working on MakerEd projects, I emphasize the value of making good decisions about how they are going to structure their work time and how they are going to plan their project to make it possible to complete in the time allotted. Learning how to manage time for projects and how to make those decisions on their own are important skills for students to work on in school. Understanding that they will make mistakes, it is important to give them the space to make them and then coach them to learn from them and be better for the next time. Group projects can be messy, but it is important to work on relationship skills in class. It is important to have students work with a wide variety of peers to help them understand where everyone in a group is coming from so they can grow as learners and people. Not every project should be a group project, but there should be opportunities for students to come together and work on a project that allows multiple ideas to come together to find a solution. Projects can allow for students to think about the world they live in and how they fit in it. They can explore problems and consider the ways that they can help solve them on their own or with the support of others. SEL is not something that can be simply thrown into lessons and expected to make the mental health of all students better. It takes time and serious considerations to make sure that SEL is included in planning in a thoughtful manner. I've yet to find a worksheet that supported student SEL as effectively as a well crafted project. |
I wanted to touch on this point, "Group projects can be messy, but it is important to work on relationship skills in class. It is important to have students work with a wide variety of peers to help them understand where everyone in a group is coming from so they can grow as learners and people. Not every project should be a group project, but there should be opportunities for students to come together and work on a project that allows multiple ideas to come together to find a solution." This is applicable throughout life and at times, cooperating with others is tough, but is typically beneficial for all parties. Diversifying ideas and concepts create new avenues and persepectives. #MakerEd not only supports students but it could benefit our communities as a whole. -Jake
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