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V O L . X X I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 20 In teams of three, Goodwin's stu- dents are drafting, measuring, cutting and conferring with each other as they design and build floating wooden platforms for wind turbines they'll be making out of PVC pipes and other materials available in the tech-ed classroom. It's a whirlwind of activity, with Goodwin the calm eye of it — coaching, questioning, demonstrating and, more often than not, just observ- ing with the hint of a smile as the teams slowly assemble their uniquely designed floating platforms. "In three weeks we're going to be in Orono testing these models at the University of Maine's wind-wave simulator," he says, explaining during a lunch break the urgency evident during that morning's classes. "We'll be here until midnight some nights, if that's what it takes to get them done." What's happening in Goodwin's classroom reflects a convergence of several important education trends that are based on the realization that teaching the STEM disciplines of sci- ence, technology, engineering and math benefits greatly when academic learning is combined with hands-on challenges requiring real world solutions. It goes well beyond what used to be called "shop class," incorporating the multidisci- plinary project-based approach of what's called "expeditionary learning" with the more recent "Makerspace" move- ment that encourages students to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. "Gus is a very unique teacher who's been doing very good hands-on learn- ing with his students for many years," says Tom Keller, executive director of the Maine STEM Council, which was created by the Legislature in 2011 to identify ways of improving STEM achievement and interest among Maine students so that they will have the skills they'll need to be gainfully employed at Maine businesses compet- ing in a global economy. "e challenge of teaching science, technology, engineering and math is how to make it relevant to students' lives," Keller adds, noting that the goal goes beyond simply improving test scores. "It's a lot more about identi- fying a problem, thinking creatively, working with a team and communicat- ing with others what you've learned." Don't call it 'shop class' Goodwin has been teaching for 22 years, following stints in the U.S. Air Force and at L.L.Bean. He says there's a big difference between the traditional shop class assignment and the floating wind turbine platforms his students are creating. "If this was a shop class, I'd say, 'Here's your model and all the tools and materials you'll need: Now make one that looks just like it,'" he says. "Today, your students are learning how to use all the tools safely just as they would have in the 1970s, but I expect and encourage every project to be different. ey're doing a lot of trial and error, testing out their designs, seeing what works and what doesn't." Another difference, he says, is the way he coordinates his students' expedi- tionary learning projects with the curric- ulum of 8th-grade science teacher Peter Hill. e current wind power project, for example, was preceded by discussions in Hill's classroom about "pitch, roll and yaw" and the challenge of maintaining a towering wind turbine's balance point in an ever-changing ocean environment. In a separate project, students learned about buoyancy and propulsion before setting out to build submers- ible robots for the regional SeaPerch Challenge competition with other New England schools. King Middle School's team qualified for the nationals and is now raising money to compete with 175 schools in the event that will be held May 20-21 in Baton Rouge, La. "I don't expect every kid who comes into this class to go off and become an engineer when they become an adult," Goodwin says. "At the same time, if kids don't get to have experiences where they can build something, make mistakes and fix them, they might not ever know that jobs exist in which creativity and problem-solving are all essential skills that they need to have." Gus Goodwin, a technology teacher at King Middle School in Portland, shows 8th-graders Diana Aboda and Lillian Gates how to determine where 45-degree cuts will have to be made on the floating platform they're making for their wind turbine. P H O T O / JA M E S M C C A R T H Y Makerspace 101 Portland's King Middle School students gain real life skills building model wind turbines B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y F O C U S » C O N T I N U E D F R O M C O V E R

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