Appendix B-2.

Kima Enerson: Creating innovative learning experiences as a K-12 “maker educator”

Seth O’Bryan – Harley School, Rochester NY (2021)

Background information

Kima Enerson is the Maker Educator at The Harley School. Kima describes maker education to include projects that have a purpose with opportunities to investigate, create, unpack material learned in courses across academic disciplines. In her role, she works with grades all across the school from nursery to seniors, and she has her own classes in all three divisions of the school. In the elementary school, she teaches project based learning (PBL), in the middle school she has an elective maker course, and in the high school she teaches two electives, which usually are (1) Apps and Arduinos and (2) Fab Lab. She also collaborates with teachers on maker projects in their courses, especially in middle school science. Kima manages the makerspace and workshop and is a digital learning coach. It’s amazing Kima does as much as she does in one school day.

She technically became a maker educator when she took the job at Harley five years ago, but she has had a maker mindset since her elementary school experience. For her, “science was not just science and math was not just math,” instead the courses were connected and project based learning was at the core of how she learned when she was younger. However, like the experience of many students, in middle and high school academic disciplines became more separate with direct instruction as the common method of learning.

A significant job experience that shaped her instructional approach today was curriculum development in a summer science camp at Nazareth College. At the camp she developed project based units in energy, Harry Potter, and simple machines. The goal of the curriculum was to engage the students in science not out of a textbook.  Before coming to Harley, Kima was an adjunct faculty member at RIT. They promoted collaboration across departments, and she appreciated the cross pollination. Between the two significant job experiences – the camp and RIT – she grew to appreciate designing education to mimic how the real world uses the content objectives in a course.

The Harley School’s makerspace includes a traditional workshop with a chop saw, bandsaw, drill press, hand tools, and other various workshop equipment but also a project space that has room for students to spread out and build things with pipe cleaners, glue guns, and crafts material. The project space has a laser cutter and 3D printer.

When a friend approached her about the maker educator position, the friend told Kima, “this job was written for you.” Kima said that since taking the job she realized “what I had known before was only the top surface of where maker ed is and what you can do (in maker education) and how it relates to education and engaging students in meaningful work”.

The makerspace is the combination of the workshop and project space, and it is on the ground floor of the Commons. The Commons is both a building and a set of programs devoted to sustainability education and student leadership. Kima’s work as a maker educator is well aligned with the Commons programs and has significantly moved the programs forward.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kima was a vital member of the technology team that installed the infrastructure necessary for hybrid learning and then her primary role was to support teachers in how to use it on a technical side as well as with best practices for digital learning. She was more an academic coach than maker educator, although there is overlap between the two roles.

Key innovations and their value-added

In five years, Kima has engaged in a variety of educational innovations.  The ones listed here are the ones she considered most significant.

Third grade community project. In this project, third grade students built three-dimensional model communities out of cardboard and other materials. Students had to research the meaning of community, create a design, and then build a model. Creating the three-dimensional model helped the students give more explanation to their ideas and working in groups strengthened their communication and collaboration skills.

Fourth grade biomimicry project. In this project, fourth grade students learn about the basics of biomimicry, identify an environmental issue that can be addressed through biomimicry, and design a solution using what they learned. The project promotes a stronger connection to nature, inspires students to think positively about solving problems, and promotes communication and collaboration. Also, the process includes multiple steps of design and prototyping, as they learn how to adapt ideas when they do not initially work.

“Walk-in-cell” seventh grade project.  The 7th grade science classes built a “walk-in cell” by having each student research a part of a human cell and then create a three-dimensional model of the part. Kima and the science teacher worked with the students to build one large cell the size of a tent using the parts the students made. Students were challenged to think deeply about their material and then have a brilliant visual to help them remember in the future about the parts of the human cell. The team effort of building one cell strengthened the relationship among peers and promoted students as experts.

“Tiny Shelter” project. Kima worked with middle and high school students collaboratively to build a “tiny shelter” for the homeless in Peace Village. The Tiny Shelter project has been a remarkable innovation. Kima has worked with students of different age groups to build a shelter together that meets the criteria for a shelter in Peace Village. It looks like a small house. When first starting the project, Kima had a long discussion with the students about homelessness in Rochester and why the Tiny Shelter was valuable and needed. Students engaged in a project that has meaning, connects to the world beyond the classroom, and has an outcome connected to people outside of Harley. Students have had to solve challenging problems like the best angle for the roof and how to make a window in the shelter. Students have had to learn from failure and stay committed to the project since other people depended on them. Most importantly, students have been empowered to believe that by working together, they can address community problems now.

In-depth story of an innovation: Renewable Energy unit

How the idea came about and was evaluated/refined

Kima highlighted the third grade Renewable Energy unit as one of her favorite innovations. When Kima first started at Harley, the third grade had a unit on renewable energy that focused on lessons about the basics of energy and then types of renewable energy. A former faculty member who had a role similar to maker educator would work with the class on one big solar project that was mostly a demonstration on using solar to power the lights in a room. In Kima’s first year, she met with the teachers to learn more about the unit and what ideas they had for expanding it. She then met with the Commons Director to learn more about the technology related to renewable energy in the Commons. She identified three underutilized tools that could enhance the unit. First, a mobile solar charged battery pack. Second, an interactive display of data on the solar production in the Commons as well as energy consumption by circuit in the building. Third, the existence of technology in the building. Kima decided to include a tour of the technology as part of the unit. Once she developed a list of ways to enhance the curriculum, she met with the teachers to discuss how these ideas might fit into their curriculum. Lastly, she wanted the students to construct something that helped them understand how energy works, so she decided to have the students build their own wind turbines.

Kima had a basic plan after meeting with the teachers, and she did more research about what resources are currently available and what other schools do. This gave her a sense of whether she was on the right track for her project and whether it had been successful at other schools. If her ideas are different than what she finds in the research, she often meets with the Commons staff to discuss the concept. She evaluates whether she could not find anything comparable in her research because what she is doing is innovative or unlikely to succeed. The interactive touch screen with data is a unique teacher tool. She asked the third grade what they might want to learn about the building, and she used their questions to create a slide of data on the screen based on their interests. The enthusiasm to learn more about energy in the Commons gave Kima the confidence that the interactive data display would be a success. She also met with the Commons Director to talk through her plans for the Commons tour, and she sought his advice on what technology the students might find interesting. They agreed that the tour was a good balance of interactive parts and components that would involve a short presentation. Kima built a wind turbine herself to explore the student experience of building a wind turbine. When I asked her about advice for teachers interested in strengthening their maker educator skills, she said trying projects before having the students do them was very helpful. Besides helping her see what challenges the students might have with building the turbine, it informed her on how much time they would need to meaningful and safely engage in the project.

Planning and gather the needed resources 

Kima set goals for what she hoped the students would accomplish in the renewable energy unit. Then she evaluated what materials the students would need to build the turbines she imagined. She researched the cost of materials and set a budget for the project. She compared multiple companies in most cases to get both the best resources and limit cost. In terms of the wind turbines, she also looked at what material we already had and carefully evaluated how much more we needed. After Kima felt comfortable with her plan for the renewable energy unit, she again met with the teachers to get their feedback and also to see how it aligned with what they were doing in their classes. She also thought about possible ways her high school students can assist in the project, such as helping in the tour or being a second presenter with the data screen.

Implementing and monitoring the initiative 

In the days leading up to the renewable energy unit, Kima double-checked to make sure she had all the materials and talked to the teachers about the schedule. When the unit started, Kima asked the students many questions about what they knew and invited them to ask questions. She maintained this approach throughout the unit. Kima built in extra days for failure or opportunities for more extension. When she presented the interactive screen of data to the students, she wrote down their questions, researched the answers, and reported back to them the next time they met. During the wind turbine build, she had a fan and sensor to test the power output of the turbines. The students wanted to see the impact of the wind turbines in an authentic environment so she adapted her plan and took the students somewhere outside where they could test the turbines with natural wind. Students wanted to know what appliances their builds could power so she researched energy consumption of some appliances and then shared back with the students. After the students took the tour of the Commons, she made sure to reference what they learned in later lessons if students made a comment that connected to something on the tour. Kima also committed time at the end of the unit for reflection with the students.

Ensuring long term sustainability 

Kima met with the teachers after the unit to get their feedback on how it went. She also carefully documented the lesson plans, materials list, and budget for future reference. Kima and the Commons team took pictures during the project and shared them with the marketing department as they often use Commons projects in their publications and social media. Kima put some of the best projects on display in the Commons lobby, and the admissions tours reference the projects in the lobby. Kima also takes notes on how her high school students could connect with the project in the future, and she expanded the collaboration of high school students in the renewable energy unit the following year.

Observations and lessons learned

A few characteristics came through in the interview that aligns with what we have heard from many entrepreneurs in the course. The following characteristics or strategies Kima mentioned and have stood out in the course:

1. Willingness to take calculated risks and embrace the possibility of failure. Our class is made up of a noticeable number of educators and physicians. Physicians can not let fear of failure impact their work. They must treat their patient using the knowledge they have and consistently take calculated risks as they know the reasons for selecting procedures and the possible ways a procedure or treatment can go wrong. This knowledge about what could go wrong cannot get in the way of them doing their best, and they also consistently learn about newer and more effective procedures from research. They get information directly about the research, and they are trained on how to interpret and analyze the research. Educators can choose to avoid trying instructional practices due to fear of failure or a situation being too challenging for them. They can consistently rely on practices they are familiar with and can choose to create situations they feel more in control of using instructional practices that might not align with what research says is the most effective practice for impacting student learning. Many educators do not value educational research or minimally read it. Kima embraces calculated risks, and she creates situations where students are at the center of their learning. While she might have an outcome in mind for a student project, she is willing to watch the situation unfold and build on the direction the student goes. She is willing to try new projects or use new tools if the research demonstrates they might positively impact student learning. The entrepreneurs we have studied prioritize student learning and embrace the research they read to help support them take calculated risks.
2. Research, research, research. Teachers and students observe the great work Kima does in the classroom with her students. They don’t see her spending hours at her computer researching best practices, learning about what other schools do, examining the cost of materials, and then trying out projects in her office. Entrepreneurs commit time and effort into researching best practices, competition, theory and knowledge underpinning a tool, idea, or concept.
3. Collaborate with people you trust, seek people who you think have useful information, and treat everyone – regardless of age, race, gender, economic class, job – as someone who you can learn from and might help you. Kima allows the students to be experts, and she collaborates with many teachers, parents, and her own personal contacts. Many of the entrepreneurs we read about talk about learning from a variety of community members and being generally inclusive in their process and their views on how their work impacts others. At the same time, while they learn from all, they also proactively seek out experts in their field as resources.

A consistent theme we heard in the course is that many entrepreneurs have a set of values, strategies for how they approach their work, and a culture they thrive in that they do not necessarily think about on a daily basis. However, these items are deeply embedded in how they approach their professional lives and taking the time to challenge the entrepreneurs to unpack their innerworkings is tremendously valuable and educational. I appreciated learning about the framework from which Kima approaches her work.