FROM THE FIELD
The Design Notebook as
STEAM Learning Tool
BY HEIDI A. OLINGER
Erica is not old enough to drive a car, but recently she saved the
day for two math teachers when their car broke down and neither
knew how to use a set of jumper cables. Standing in a parking lot
by a Starbucks, the adults faced the problem by using their
phones to google “jumper cables.” But, as one of the teachers
described to me, while they debated what to do, Erica, who is in
the 8th grade, grabbed the cables in exasperation and said,
“Look! The black one is negative. The red one is positive.” She
clamped the cable ends on the correct battery terminals of the
dead battery and the booster car, saying, “They go here and
here.” Then she stood back and ordered the adults to start their
cars.
Erica told me that while she was in the parking lot, she
rationalized that she knew something about electrical circuits.
She does. She proved it, and much of her practical knowledge
and application were developed in a design notebook.
All photos in this article are copyright Pretty Brainy; photo credit, Heidi A. Olinger.
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