Giving Compass' Take:

• Alesha Bishop argues that maker education can solve problems and foster empathy by building a better, more robust educational experience. 

• Is this method the best fit for schools in your area? What do schools and teachers need to make this shift? 

• Learn about infusing SEL into core curriculum subjects. 

To help students on the path toward empowerment and empathy, we can start by incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) into curricula. The five core competencies of SEL include self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills and social awareness. SEL can be built into the curriculum through student journals that reflect upon the impact on their communities or collaborative service-learning projects. SEL encourages conflict resolution, good citizenship, and resiliency.

And it works: a recent meta-study showed that the inclusion of SEL instruction in schools contributed to numerous positive outcomes, including better student attitudes and improved behaviors, reduction of emotional stress and improved academic performance overall. When we place a premium on kindness in our kids’ words and actions, everyone wins.

SEL is a natural fit for maker education. Project-based learning and school makerspaces give students hands-on opportunities to develop collaborative, analytical, reflective and creative skills that are tougher to focus on within traditional curriculum structures. Project-based learning is a whole-mind workout that promotes equity among students: when they are given a greater range of ways to succeed, more students succeed and develop confidence. What better way is there to solve the world’s problems than to give young people the confidence to know that they can make a difference?

Through maker education, students who are equipped to invent solutions to the problems they see in the world will be better, kinder citizens as a result.

Read the full article about maker education by Alesha Bishop at Getting Smart.