As teachers, we know the value of providing excellent mentors for our students but we often find ourselves pigeon-holed in terms of making such connections for ourselves. Sure, we have our coworkers and fellow department members and, of course, we have to do our required annual professional development sessions/activities, but these connections and activities typically don’t challenge us to think outside our already regular routines. In other words, for the most part, we tend to rarely grow in any sense from these connections and experiences.
So this year, instead of spending my summer playing video games, watching movies, lounging near a pool or taking my annual trip back to New England, I spent my time with other educators as Kenan Fellows learning about wearable devices in the ASSIST Center on the campus of NC State University. This provided the opportunity to make new connections to people and knowledge that appears to have no connection to anything I teach or do professionally, outside of working with students.
During my internship, I worked alongside 12 other Fellows as well as several teachers who were selected under a separate grant provided by the ASSIST Center under the guidance of Dr. Jess Jur and Dr. Elena Veety. They also brought in additional lecturers to help us learn about the various components of our project, many of the topics discussed not being common knowledge for most middle and high school teachers. We were a large group of educators, very few of whom came from the same area of expertise, but we all came together to be challenged and learn something new. And, in this endeavor, our mentors provided plenty of opportunities!
My fellow educators and I spent our days learning about a wide variety of topics and then transforming that knowledge into real-world experiences guided by our mentors. In other words: Drs. Jur and Veety presented us with a learning experience and the necessary tools followed by in-depth discussions and hands-on activities. As a teacher who needs to make at least some science connection for my more artistically inclined students in Scientific Visualization, I found the knowledge I gained to be both pertinent and critical to my understanding of the curriculum I teach. For instance: although I teach about equipment such as x-ray crystallography and electron microscopes, I had never experienced these tools prior to Dr. Jur setting up a tour of the Analytical Instrumentation Facility for us. But this is only one of the classes I teach and the science components are actually a relatively small component, despite the course title. My students generally take my classes because they want to learn how to make video games, not conduct scientific research.
I can remember sitting in the room wondering how I would ever be able to use any of the information I was learning past the first quarter of my freshman level class when I teach most of my students for four years through a concentration focused on art and games. It was then that it occurred to me: the engineering design process is EXACTLY the same process used in the creation of video games! A good game begins its life with the designers brainstorming ideas, conducting research of related games (risk analysis) and necessary technology, designing and developing prototypes, testing these prototypes, improving the design and repeating until they have a marketable product! It is an iterative process of ideas, design and creation, just like scientific research. So, how could I adapt what I am learning to my own area? I started noticing useful tools and techniques all around me: X-Mind, Arduino, Texas Instruments SensorTags, and so many more. Suddenly, I started to consider my experience differently, thinking about how I could apply our activities to the creative student!
When Dr. Jur told us we needed to make three activities: one lesson on One Health, one lesson on the engineering process and a short activity on energy harvesting, I knew what I wanted to do. I began developing the activity that would go on to become my Kenan project: using SensorTags to teach Sci Vis about interpreting data and writing scientific research papers. Next, I created an activity to teach the basics of Arduino programming. Then came the one I had the most difficulty in trying to relate: energy harvesting. I made an activity that compared batteries with solar power and led to a discussion of other kinds of energy harvesting techniques.
So far, I have used the SensorTag activity with my students. While I am still waiting for feedback on the activity from my students, I learned I need to make some alterations before the product is finalized and ready for distribution But, I still feel it was a success overall. I can guarantee it is definitely more engaging for students than the activities provided in the state’s Scientific Visualization curriculum.
Dr. Veety explaining wearable devices to Scientific Visualization students
This activity led directly into inviting Dr. Veety to visit my classroom, something that would not have been possible without making the Kenan connection. She spoke with the students about how NC State University is designing wearable devices using a variety of sensors, why these devices are important and some of the problems their group faces in developing them. Dr. Veety also brought a number of hands-on items to share with the students, allowing them to experience energy harvesting using their own body heat (thermoelectric generation) to power a light and make a small fan spin.
Students using thermoelectric power generation to light a lamp
They also got to hold and examine some of the sensors and other related materials that I would not otherwise have been able to share with them. All of which connected directly back to the lesson I used with the SensorTags and the state’s curriculum requirement of data visualization.
Students power a fan using thermoelectric generation
Next up on the plan: testing out my Arduino lesson with my advanced game design students. This lesson was created to deal with a problem I have experienced the past couple of school years after becoming familiar with Arduino programming this summer. Students in Advanced Game Art & Design learn to create 3D video games with the Unity game engine, which is free for anyone to use as long as they are not getting any kind of monetary gain from their products. When learning how to use this engine, students need to become familiar with the basics of programming. Games created in Unity are typically developed using the Javascript or C# programming languages and an understanding of programming logic and basics is essential to designing a quality video game. However, my students are artists, not engineers, and this kind of thinking often comes very hard to them. They are constantly distracted by the cool graphics and never truly learn to understand the coding behind them. Thanks to this summer, I plan on using Arduino to help the kids understand the basics of programming so they can transfer this knowledge to developing better 3D video games. Doing so takes all the graphical distractions away from them and allows them to focus on what the code itself does while receiving feedback in terms of lights and audio on the basic circuit card. And, with the coming week being focused on The Hour of Code, there is no better time to try it out than right now! This will be an adventure for them (and me) but it is another way my internship mentors helped shape my teaching even though the internship was not directly related to my material.
So, after all the good things I took away from this summer, the question beckons: will this connection between myself and my mentors continue? I would like to think the answer is an easy yes. But, we will see.
It also brings about a related question: what can I offer to such a group that they don’t already have access to? Well, on that note, when Dr. Veety visited my class this past week, I mentioned to her that if they need any assistance with the coming Kenan project this summer, just let me know. I am very interested in continuing our connection in any manner possible, especially with regard to Arduino programming. Getting into programming this summer reminded me of how much I enjoyed doing it before I worked in education and how much I miss doing it now that I am more focused on the artistic side of my curriculum.
So, let’s return to the start of this post. Are having good mentors important for both students and adults alike? Definitely! Did I hop off the hamster wheel of repetitive instruction, grow and learn from my experience, feel challenged in thinking and application, and make excellent professional connections? You better believe it! None of this would have ever happened without the great support and instruction I received from my mentors: Dr. Jess Jur and Dr. Elena Veety! I am extremely grateful to Kenan for allowing me the opportunity to make these connections.
I hope this post inspires you, as the reader, to seek out and find your own great mentors. If you are an educator, start by applying for the Kenan Fellows Program. This year’s deadline (January 18, 2016) is coming fast and they provide an opportunity that I feel no teacher can afford to pass on! If you are not a teacher, look around your community or within your own career field. Mentors are all around you, but you have to look for the one that matches your needs. And I can’t forget to mention students! Find what you are passionate about, seek out the leaders in that area and make those connections. Use the tools at your disposal to find them: Twitter, discussion forums, and Google searches are always great places to start. Attend professional conferences or gatherings and get to know the innovators in various fields or careers. Or, just try a new activity related to your passion and see what comes as a result. Keep looking and you will find the right person or group to help you grow and inspire you to be a better you!