Gizmo – a Makerspace in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – challenged us to design a week-long camp for students 12+ to identify a problem in their lives, community, or the world and design a boardgame from scratch! We wanted to engage students in real-life skills such as brainstorming, prototyping, design thinking, troubleshooting, and presenting their findings while using a diverse set of tools – from laser cutters, CNC-machines, 3D printers, industrial printers, soldering, and circuitry to the good ole hammer, drill, and glue gun. We spent a month learning the tools of the Makerspace, exploring local industries and the tools and skills they look for in future workers, and crafting curriculum based on Idaho technology and STEM standards. After a week of exploring the principles of design, practicing grit and perseverance in the collaboration and prototyping process, and surviving the heat, a group of ten students presented five original play-tested board games to their community – including: Crazy Drive – a game about drivers safety and education; Fireline – a strategy game about fighting wildfires; and Passing Through – a role-playing game teaching real-life coping skills.

As an English teacher, the world of my teaching approach expanded within in the walls of the Makerspace. Working with colleagues from other districts and in the community, I had to confront how much of my teaching had been limited by paper and presentations. I left with a better awareness of the college and career skills needed in our state and our world and the confidence to bring that real world into my classroom. Did you know programming Micro:bits can be used to teach sentence structure and syntax? What if simple tools could help your students manifest their conceptual learning? How can the art of prototyping overhaul your teaching of the writing process?

Grade Level and Subject Taught: High School (9-12): English, Speech/Debate