Problem solving part of new curriculum
In the past you may have seen something like this at a technical college – or maybe from a group of kids tinkering in somebody’s basement or garage. It’s not something you’d expect to be a middle school assignment!
Grade 8 students in Len Wood Middle School worked in teams of two or three to construct a Cyborg Mask that can’t be seen through. Instead the person wearing the mask has to be guided through an obstacle course with just four LED lights located inside the mask, which are controlled remotely by the other team members.
Before the challenge, teacher Jason Inkster, who teaches applied skills and design technology at Len Wood Middle School, showed the students basic electricity and circuit building called “breadboarding”.
He comments that B.C.’s new curriculum, and the Know-Do-Understand curriculum model, really lends itself to his background as a shop and technology teacher as it incorporates hands-on, problem-solving, skills development.
For this particular assignment students learned basic electricity, had to develop a language to communicate with the team member wearing the mask so they could successfully maneuver through the obstacle course, and had to design, build and decorate the actual mask.
Inkster explains the obstacle course was not just left or right but also included sections where students had to duck down and step over obstacles. Students had to develop a language to convey many different maneuvers using just the four lights.
Plus, to further develop problem solving skills, they weren’t actually given enough electrical wires to build the circuits the way they were originally taught.
“They had to problem solve that. Eventually someone discovers that the negative can all be on one wire coming back to the battery and that kid, often the tech-style kids who sometimes struggle in other areas, gets to be the rock star.”
Inkster, who posts his lessons on YouTube for the students with explanatory videos, marks the challenge on the quality of the electrical work, the design of and the artwork decorating the mask, and the language developed to allow the person wearing the mask to maneuver the course.
To get the students to practice using the mask, Inkster comments he would go into the tech room early and hide candy through the shop. “The kids get to come in and try and find the candy.”
After the Cyborg mask challenge the students do some additional explorations in 3D Printing, Vinyl Graphics or Lego MindStorm projects. After that they get to do a self-directed project where he tells them to “wow” him . . . and they do!
He said he had some absolutely incredible self-directed projects including programmable electronic circuits, a giant charge bank (for a student who wanted to be able to game while in the back country), a cardboard safe that could be opened and closed by a battery, and beautiful acid-edged glasses.
He said this was the first year the program was run in this way and he thought the students would like it but he wasn’t sure. “I thought they’d like it but they loved it. They were engaged, especially during the cyborg mask and self-directed projects. I couldn’t get them out of here.”