A conversation starter and reflective activity for introducing young people and adults to making.
Activities & Practices
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Field NoteIntroducing the New Agency by Design Website
Introducing the New Agency by Design Website
Welcome to the new Agency by Design website! Because the new website is so rich with content and features, we think it might be helpful to take you on a tour to get a sense of all it has to offer. The new site boasts 29 educator tools and practices that accompany the Agency by Design framework for maker-centered learning, featured documentation and assessment resources highlighting the most recent phases of work, Agency by Design media and publications, and project and funder pages to highlight the Origin Project, Early Childhood in the Making, and Making Across the Curriculum. The video below walks you through the elements of the site and gives an overview of each page.
activities and practicesThe Elaboration Game
The Elaboration Game
This practice is designed to deepen learners’ sensitivity to design through drawing, observing, questioning, and collaborating.
thinking routinesParts, People, Interactions - Adapted for Early Childhood Education
Parts, People, Interactions - Adapted for Early Childhood Education
This routine encourages learners to slow down and look closely at a system. It helps them notice that there are different people who participate in the system and that they participate in different ways. It also encourages students to explore how one change in a system can impact the rest of the system. This thinking routine can help foster curiosity as children notice details, ask questions, make connections, and identify topics for future inquiry. It also helps children practice systems thinking.
Field NoteMaker Empowerment: A Concept Under Construction
Maker Empowerment: A Concept Under Construction
Agency by Designer project Director Shari Tishman introduces the concept of “maker empowerment” as a potential outcome of maker learning experiences.
thinking routines“另眼相看” 的思考模式
“另眼相看” 的思考模式
這個思考模式通過幫助學生近距離觀察某個物品/系統的細節，考慮不同的使用者和利益相關者不同的觀點角度，以反思自己和這個物品/系統的關係來探究其中的關聯性。
thinking routines“另眼相看” 的思考模式 (简体版）
“另眼相看” 的思考模式 (简体版）
这个思考模式通过帮助学生近距离观察某个物品/系统的细节，考虑不同的使用者和利益相关者不同的观点角度，以反思自己和这个物品/系统的关系来探究其中的关联性。
activities and practicesVoice and Choice: The Protocol
Voice and Choice: The Protocol
A protocol for looking closely at content, considering perspectives and representation, and then redesigning or reimagining that content from one's own perspective. Try out the accompanying Learner Workbook!
publicationsIdentifying What Matters
Identifying What Matters
In this essay, leaders of the Agency by Design Pittsburgh network Peter Wardrip, Jeffrey Evancho, and Annie McNamarra describe their process of pursuing documentation and assessment strategies for maker-centered learning that are based on the values educators bring to their work in schools and other settings. Using the metaphor of big rocks and little rocks as introduced by Steven Covey, the authors describe the process of identifying one’s values and documenting and assessing student learning from the perspective of one’s values. They then articulate the lessons they have learned and their suggestions for moving forward. The core findings that emerge from this work are: (a) identifying one’s values is challenging, (b) documentation requires practice, (c) one’s values are linked to one’s content, and (d) visibility supports measurement.