In this episode, Dr. Peter Dalmaris and Marcus Schappi talk with Rich Lehrer.
Rich Lehrer divides his time between being the Innovation Coordinator at Brookwood School in Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA and working with educators, both in the U.S. and internationally, to bring authentic Project Based Learning experiences to their students.
For the past five years, Rich has been breaking ground in the use of 3D printing to connect students to their communities and world through finding and solving real-world problems.
Over the course of his career, Rich has been an educator in the Canadian public school system, in international schools in Venezuela and Brazil, and in the U.S. independent school system. Throughout his 27 years in education, Rich has been committed to the search for “what works” in education. His quest is to use Project Based Learning in the development and implementation of meaningful, engaging, and authentic student learning experiences for students.
This is Stemiverse Podcast episode 39.
Stemiverse podcast is brought to you by Tech Explorations, a leading provider of educational resources for Makers, STEM students, and teachers. Go to techexplorations.com to see a complete list of our books and courses covering the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and electronics.
Show Notes
- [00:00] Introduction – Introducing Rich Lehrer
- [03:17] Rich talks about his background, his work at Brookwood School as Innovation Coordinator
- [05:37] Did Rich’s traveling experience shape the Authentic Project-Based Learning and his philosophy in teaching and learning?
- [07:04] Rich discusses his experience in teaching in schools in various parts of the world, especially in countries like Brazil, Venezuela, and Rwanda
- [08:03] The International Teaching Network
- [09:22] When did Rich’s ideas and methods in regards to Project-Based Learning start to form and develop?
- [11:33] Discussing the article ‘Students use technology to do good in the world.’
- [13:46] Is student activism a new thing?
- [15:40] Creating Changemakers
- [17:31] What is an Authentic Design – The Buck Institute for Education
- [20:33] The difference between Authentic Project-based learning and Vanilla Project-based learning
- [22:44] An example of an Authentic Project with Fractions
- [26:02] How do you add rigor to PBL?
- [30:19] Are Testing and PBL compatible with each other? The example of MIT D-Lab and the Mastery Transcript Consortium
- [37:46] A 3D Printing Club without a 3D Printer!
- [40:23] Video Link
- [40:49] Mechanical parts and customization of the prosthetic hand
- [41:34] e-NABLE
- [42:17] Tinkercad
- [43:32] How this project caught Autodesk’s attention
- [43:53] Brookwood’s 3D Design Problem Bank Project
- [45:19] Senior housing | Harborlight Community Partners
- [46:18] Rich’s Webinar for Tinkercad: Using 3D Printing as a route towards getting kids involved in community problem solving
- [46:59] Example of a problem listed on designproblembank.weebly.com
- [51:00] Development of the process
- [52:37] Sowing the Seeds of Empathy With Technology?
- [56:35] Having an authentic relationship between the designer and the user
- [57:44] Efficient Biomass Cookstove project with D-Lab
- [58:36] User Experience and Design
- [01:00:17] Stanford d.school Human-centered design
- [01:00:35] IDEO
- [01:01:55] Rapid Fire Questions
- [01:02:09] Who has been the most influential in shaping the way Rich teaches: His teachers from when he was a kid, and Amy Smith, creator of D-Lab
- [01:03:38] Rich’s Favourite apps: Tinkercad, Fusion 360, Qlone, Morphi app
- [01:04:31] Ultimaker
- [01:06:50] Rich’s Advice for Educators just starting out
- [01:10:13] Teachers are changemakers
- [01:10:39] A 2016 Student Gallup Poll found that 42 percent of students in grades 5-12 aspire to create something that makes the world a better place
- [01:10:58] Rich’s Contact Information: Email: [email protected], [email protected], Twitter: @RichLehrer1, Website: http://richlehrer.weebly.com/