Thank you all for the great feedback! I think the format for this week's class was really fun and helpful in thinking about how to set up final touches for my curriculum.
I think that I have two primary challenges in finalizing my project: communicating rope-making technique to Sparks and guests through the curriculum and through signage, and coming up with prompts, signs and setups that will encourage testing and breaking ropes to see their strength.
I received suggestions to make the signage clearer and more visual to communicate technique for rolling/twisting/braiding rope. I think I'm going to use the Pro Create program on the ipad pros to make clear visual aids that I can print up for each technique. The signs that I had out during our demo were better than nothing, but they were still somewhat slap-dash and vague. I got a coupe of reminders to keep in mind that most guests will never have done anything like this before, so I have to be very explicit in communicating. It's safe to assume that outside of the demo on Tuesday, Sparks haven't done this either. I'll try to be as clear as possible in the curriculum. If anyone has any suggestions for clear and effective signage, I'd love to hear it!
Several people mentioned that it was really helpful to have examples of rope on display that were made by several different techniques. I think that having broken/tested ropes out as well may encourage guests to stress-test their creations. This testing and iterating will really help guests get to the learning goals of understanding material properties, internal friction, and how rope works. I also got a couple of suggestions to have weights kept out to test the rope. One problem I see there is that lots of the rope will exceed any small-sized weight in strength, and I don't want guests hurting themselves. If anyone has any other idea how to test the tensile strength safely please let me know.
Finally, it was super interesting hearing others' interpretations of the practices and learning outcomes for this activity. There were several things that I hadn't thought of at all! I hadn't even considered pattern recognition as a learning outcome. I hadn't thought at all about connecting this concept to hair braiding, and that guests with longer hair may be more ready to engage and succeed. Reading some of those thoughts was eye-opening that, despite how much I'd thought about different ways to approach this, some now-obvious things completely escaped me.
I've written down most suggestions/thoughts from the review sheets below, which will help in finalizing the curriculum.
Phyical Setup
- Having examples out was helpful, compared to the signs.
- "Start with this much material, then make it look like this" sign
- Include gloves to make rolling easier?
- 2 rather than 3 cork boards?
- collaborative/splicing piece?
- make signage more instructive
- Prompt like "make and test a rope", challenge weights for rope w/ clamp,
- demonstrate sample taped to surface
- need to assume guest has never done anything like this before
Accessibility
- keep prompts VISUAL and DIRECT
- Encourage testing/playing with raw materials vs finished rope for guests who can't make it
- Dexterity issues can be a barrier (C, C,
- longer-haired people may be more familiar
-
Practices
- Find prompts to get towards what makes rope strong, fundamentals
- Connect to braiding hair
- Initiative and intentionality (C, C, C, C, C
- Creativity (C
- Problem solving/critical thinking (C, C
- Investigating (magnifying glass)
- social engagement, asking for help (C,
- iteration
- collaboration
-
Learning Goals
- pattern recognition/generation
- fine motor skills
- different materials that can be used (C, C,
- changing raw materials into something stronger (C,
- can be time consuming/difficult, requires perseverance
- strength of materials
- many ways to make a rope (C,
Other Comments
- cork boards may eventually disintegrate
I honestly really liked the signs you had out during the demo, at least for me the visuals were simple and easy to follow. I do braid my hair a lot though, so maybe I am a little more familiar with twisting/braiding :). I never got to the testing the strength of the rope that I made though because I didn't know that was part of the activity, so it would be helpful to have more signage for that. Maybe instead of weights which could be a safety concern, have a clamp for guests to clip their ropes to and have them test the strength by pulling on it? Although that might cause guests to fall back if they pull too hard and their rope does break? I also think it would be a good idea for you and Matthew to set up your stations next to each other so guests can use their rope to tie knots with. And a simple sign that says, "Now go test your knot-tying skills with your rope at the next station!" with an arrow or something like that.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a fun and new activity for guests. So fun! Maybe having an obvious name of the activity would help guests understand the expectations, like: Make a Rope + Test its Strength. Or also having a video looping of making and testing rope? Or just testing ropes?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of testing, what about using a spring scale + gauge that pulled down vertically, so kids pulled down on their rope? And you wouldnt have to worry about falling back? Or something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDdnlEe_oBg -- and you had bigger weights between 2 clamps?
I like KJ's idea of video. Seems like it would be helpful to see the hands and actions in addition to what's happening to the fibers.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever look into 3D printing a rope braider? I don't think it would be very helpful as a tool for people to use, but might be a fun facilitated activity for Sparks to use as an example.