Helping students learn new tech skills–and exceed expectations

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Last summer, the Crockett Foundation took a group of middle school students to Orlando to participate in a full-stack development (coding) workshop at Oracle Labs. The field trip was part of the Foundation’s annual enrichment trip centered on exposing students to burgeoning aerospace and technology careers. Upon arrival, the workshop facilitator spoke to the group’s director and commented that the day’s lessons may be too advanced for this age group.

“They can put their heads down if they find the presentation too complex. I won’t mind,” he said as he explained the first of several coding problems for the day. After the first challenge was cued, a sprinkle of hands rose almost immediately. “That is correct!” “Wow, you guys are quick studies.” Soon, the tone of the workshop changed, and the group of middle schoolers was on its way to gaining proficiency in the fundamentals of full-stack development and adding one more coding language to their repertoire.

So, how did the Crockett Foundation’s students, most of whom attend Title I schools and live in historically under-resourced communities, achieve this sort of success? The answer can be found in a small but mighty after-school and summer program that sets high expectations to inspire young people to explore technology career pathways and become leaders committed to improving their communities. 

Introducing tech-powered career pathways

The Crockett Foundation’s Coding in Academics (CIA) program was launched in 2009 in a local middle school as an afterschool space to provide students with basic instruction on coding languages. Over the past 15 years, the program has expanded its offerings to include classroom instruction on general computer science, digital technology, mixed media, robotics, esports, and web design. Currently, the CIA program has been rebranded as the Digital Explorers, a robust STEAM education program that spans four middle schools and serves over 150 students.

Throughout the years, our Digital Explorers have visited NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the Magnet Research Lab at the FSU/FAMU campuses, and JetBlue University–all as part of the enrichment field trips to expose students to the grand possibilities found in the science and technology fields. Our purpose is twofold: (1) provide our students with unique experiential learning opportunities; and (2) expand their understanding of the STEAM careers of the future. 

Helping students connect multiple disciplines

Oftentimes, the typical school setting pushes students to compartmentalize varied subject matter. Subjects like mathematics and science are often learned in isolation, making it difficult for students to develop comprehensive ideas across the different disciplines. We believe, however, that it is crucial for students to understand that every discipline informs and is connected to each other. Such a position can help frame classroom assignments as interdisciplinary tasks and projects that require knowledge from other classes and other subjects. It can compel students to tap into different intelligences and develop the habit of synthesizing knowledge.

We use an interdisciplinary approach to the STEAM education we provide in our Digital Explorers program. Projects like coding microbits or designing web pages require students to apply multiple intelligences and areas of knowledge learned in school and beyond, thus allowing students a space not only for STEAM but also for general enrichment and creativity. This year, we reorganized our course offerings under four subject matter pillars to ensure that students get a taste of multiple subject matter–whether it be esports, robotics, or shout-casting–with the intention of providing a diverse wheel of activities. Currently, we are cultivating lessons in artificial intelligence (AI) to guide students to better understand the strengths and limitations of Chat GPT in the classroom, as well as its current and future impact on tech careers.

Creating an exploratory setting

To facilitate our interdisciplinary approach, we believe that the classroom environment must be one that fosters experimentation and imagination. Students must be given opportunities where they are “at play” with technology and are challenged to apply their creativity alongside their problem-solving skills. Our instructors are subject matter experts who help guide their exploration by providing them with scenarios and simulations to solve.

In one esports class, the instructors teach the students basic techniques associated with manipulating the characters in the video game. In each class, some students are given a challenge that may require them to apply their technical knowledge in conjunction with their problem-solving skills. Other students take on the role of videographers and shoutcasters and are challenged to provide a detailed gamecast in a fun and enthusiastic manner. Few mistakes are corrected. Instead, instructors work on polishing the production quality by offering additional insight into the equipment and its possibilities.

This exploratory approach requires a learning environment that facilitates flexibility. We partnered with School Specialty to build our Innovation Lab four years ago and they were immensely helpful in both giving us new ideas and reaffirming them along the way. The furniture we installed was mobile, multimodal, and comfortable. This setting helped us create a “judgment-free zone” where students can make mistakes free of consequences.

Walking into one of our Innovation Labs, one will see couches, mobile chairs, or even simply cushions on the floor for students to make circles that help engender a sense of collaboration. This modular furniture, smart TVs, laptops, and game consoles, encourage collaboration and experimentation, while at the same time allowing for autonomy and creativity. It may all look a bit chaotic, but a sense of organization is implicitly present in the space. While the traditional classroom often focuses on paper and pencil or even a laptop computer, our sessions focus on tools and materials that require hands-on learning objects. Along with the instructor, students are compelled to cultivate a sense of curiosity by exposing students to new ideas and concepts to explore.

Almost always, the Crockett Foundation Innovation Lab stirs us to ask, “What could happen if we had one extra hour with students? What could happen if they have the right console, an extra laptop, a smart TV, or a drone? What could we all gain from that additional investment?

Every day we get closer to answering those questions. With a strong belief in exploration, experimentation, and education, the Crockett Foundation can inspire the next generation of inventors, technical entrepreneurs, engineers, and designers–the next generation of innovators and explorers.