Reflection – Yas and Sam
Mind and Makerspace
Our reflection is on the Mind and Makerspace. When the Belgian and Spanish schools came to the Mind and Makerspace workshop, we made eight equal numbered groups filled with half Spanish and half Belgian participants to encourage the schools and countries to work together on their ideas.
We started the session by thinking of what would happen if our countries’ sea level had risen by an extra three and a half metres. We then gave them four city locations which were Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Brugge where two groups looked at one location. The children then started to brainstorm ideas and think about eight key things which would affect the city because of the increase in sea level. We then got them to brainstorm and think about what negative implications these key ideas and the adaptations they could make. By using ‘Co-create’ they kept switching sheets with the children on their table so that the other children could adapt the idea. This allowed both the Spanish and Belgian students to work together and give advice on how to adapt the ideas.
However, because there was a language barrier between us and the students, we found it very difficult to get involved in helping them. It was a bit frustrating that there was a lack of communication between us and the students as we really wanted to be more engaged. We felt the idea and the session was very good in terms of getting all the students involved and ensuring there was a good mix of Spanish and Belgian students.
Before the students could make their models, they had to draw what they were going to make.
With the groups now having decided what they are going to make, they were shown the materials they could use such as cardboard, wood, paper and glue with other little pieces of materials to be used for detail. The students created a structure that was to a scale that would fit a playmobile figure.
Overall, we feel that the session went well and the students seemed to enjoy the activities, working in their groups and most importantly designing and making their models. For next time, we would reduce the number of students in each group to 3 or 4 so it would be easier to manage This might also help make the students have more confidence when speaking in their groups and to us.