Key points:
- Crafts can help students develop skills needed to succeed in the 21st century
- 4 key findings on student engagement
- More gifted students need accelerated paths
- For more on deeper learning, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub
Who doesn’t love arts and crafts? From the early days of kindergarten, teachers have used crafts as a way to foster students’ curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills. This type of hands-on learning is often more fun than sitting at a desk and taking notes. It can even boost student communication and collaboration when they work in groups.
Still, classroom crafts have the potential to be something much greater. By adhering to five simple strategies, teachers can elevate the role of crafts in our classrooms, transforming them from simple, aesthetic activities into powerful learning experiences that drive deeper understanding and engagement.
Let’s dive into the five key strategies that will help foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and the application of knowledge in ways that truly resonate with our students:
- Optimize: This first strategy is all about taking a simple craft and measuring how it performs. Instead of just making a model, push students to optimize their designs. For instance, rather than students creating a flower out of different materials, teachers could challenge them to design a hand-crafted pollinator that can transfer pollen as effectively as possible from one flower to another. Give the class specific criteria for success, as well as constraints under which they need to operate. This encourages creative thinking and helps students understand the value of efficiency.
- Iterate: In engineering, iteration is everything. We want our students to embrace the process of designing, building, testing, and refining their projects. One common strategy is to have students build the tallest tower they can that will also survive a shake table’s earthquake. Students design a tower, calculate the cost of materials, record its height, and then evaluate how well it performs. Once the test has concluded, they go back and see if they can make the tower even better! It shows students that learning isn’t about getting it right the first time–it’s about learning through the process.
- Explain: It’s crucial that students can articulate their reasoning and understanding behind their creations. When they design something, they should be able to explain why it works and how it relates to the concepts they’re learning. This involves teaching students to think like scientists–make a claim, provide evidence, and explain their reasoning. This process can be used in a variety of activities, from having students share why their tower survived the shake table, to why their artificial pollinator is the most effective. What matters is that it supports the development of strong communication skills and a deeper grasp of the subject matter.
- Evaluate: Critical thinking comes into play when students evaluate their work and the work of their peers. By assessing their designs against specific criteria, they learn to think critically about what makes a project successful and how it can be improved. Like iteration, evaluation and self-evaluation give students an opportunity to refine their work and explore new ideas. The best thing a student can do is to always ask, “Why?”
- Impact: Finally, we want our students to think beyond the classroom and consider the real-world impact of their work. There are numerous examples of young people around the world who created astounding inventions to benefit their local community. By sharing these examples in class, students can learn that their knowledge is applicable to their own backyard. Whether it’s designing a solar-powered water heater or a braille printer from LEGO Mindstorms, students should understand how their innovations can make a difference. This strategy also encourages socially and environmentally responsible thinking.
While there’s nothing wrong with traditional crafts, teachers can leverage these activities and develop the skills our students need to succeed in the 21st century. Now is the time to transform our classrooms with meaningful, hands-on activities that promote deeper learning through creative and thoughtful teaching practices. Let’s make every craft count!
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