Today, I want to share one learning experience that I designed using IDEO’s Mindsets and Methods. This learning experience teaches second graders the four forces of flight, putting them through labs that show them scientific concepts based in aerodynamics and aviation. I designed this so that students feel like they are a part of an elite group of junior cadets whose purpose is to learn the lost art of paper airplane engineering, becoming the “best of the best'' paper airplane pilots in the world.
Welcome to the TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy
In order to engage students of all backgrounds and abilities, I set up field experiments where students make connections to their previous air and weather science units. Throughout the unit, TOPGUN labs include experiments that demonstrate gravity, lift (using the Bernoulli Effect), drag and thrust. For example, students create airfoils, balloon-powered cars, and explore what happens when they drop three parachutes of different sizes to the floor from the same height.
In order to create community, I invite both active and reserve duty officers from the Air Force as guest speakers to talk to students about real world aircraft, aerospace and aviation. Many times, these speakers are active duty parents and other family members. I especially want my students of color to see themselves as aerospace engineers, so I make sure that our military guest speakers are diverse. I invite female lieutenants and captains so that my female students know that they can become aerospace engineers or Air Force pilots.
In my first year, I piloted (pun very much intended) the TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy in two classrooms in two schools. In the second year, I scaled this learning experience to 23 classrooms in seven schools. Today, the TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy is taught in 40 elementary schools throughout our school district.
I believe that all students should see themselves as capable learners and should be excited about learning. Learning should be so fun that they never want to miss a day of school! School should be an exciting place where students feel seen and safe and supported. I believe that learning needs to be authentic and connected to the real world. Oftentimes, traditional lesson plans lack a strong purpose or meaning.
TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy gives students a concrete goal and multiple opportunities for success. During TOPGUN Labs, students receive immediate feedback on a particular force of flight and often experiment in order to better understand the concept and improve their design. When it is time to design, build and test our paper airplanes, students are excited to apply all that they have learned in the classroom and create their best paper airplane.
A student-centered design thinking framework allows teachers to create learning experiences that engage students in experiential learning and deepen their development of content knowledge. All students crave academic experiences that mirror their everyday lives. They want to feel that their academic pursuits and hard work mean something and are worth their time and effort. I believe that rigorous and challenging learning experiences promote deep learning because learning is optimized when students are involved in activities that require complex thinking and the application of knowledge. Students also have a desire to feel efficacious with regards to their cultural and academic identities. As a teacher, it is my job to connect learning to my students’ lives both inside and outside of the classroom. Learning can be both fun and rigorous; engaging and responsive.
The TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy represents my pedagogical beliefs and demonstrates that when students see themselves represented in the learning experience and are engaged in a real-world challenge, students will learn complex concepts and enjoy the learning process. The second-graders who graduate from the TOPGUN Paper Airplane Academy have more than just knowledge and skills; they have an intrinsic motivation that they can do anything they set their minds to. They are paper airplane engineers; not second-grade students!
I hope you enjoyed seeing a learning experience in action. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want collaborate.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
—Adrian