Da Vinci inspires students, parents during Wonder Workshops

The event, which begins at 8:30 a.m., will be led by Science Teacher Hilarie Hall and Art Teacher Justin Pyles.

“He was a polymath who never rested in his quest to design, plan, iterate, and create,” Hall said. “This is the heart of the design thinking program at St. Andrew's and the way that we work with our very youngest learners in order for them to gain confidence in trying and improving their work.”

 

Students and parents will try their hand at building a variety of flying machines, including planes, flying saucers and parachutes. They will also get to create their own Vitruvian Man by tracing their outline on giant sheets of colored paper.

 

“The Vitruvian Man deals with universal principles - I could take each child and outline them and apply the circle and the square on top of their individual outlines so that they might see how his theory relates to them,” Pyles said. “They get to appreciate the value of scientific experimentation while enjoying the process of creating a personal art piece.”

 

The Wonder Workshops were first conceived last year as an opportunity for students and family members to question, learn, and create together. Previous activities included constructing chairs from basic craft materials that could support a small stuffed animal, and a collaborative art activity that brought participants together to paint and decorate Santa’s workshop.

 

Design-thinking skills and the Mind, Brain, and Education Science ideas of the growth mindset and intrinsic motivation come into play during these Wonder Workshops, Pyles said.

 

“By investing the child and the parents in the learning process, the experience becomes an authentic one that both inspires and supports intrinsic motivation,” he said. “By moving away from traditional classroom approaches, we can use new discoveries in neuroscience and education to create a dynamic learning environment.”

 

Preschool students and their parents experienced the Wonder Workshop December 1; students in Prekindergarten through second grade will attend Friday’s session. Hall said parents can look forward to experiencing the unique ways students learn first hand during the Wonder Workshop.

 

“It's really fun to watch families experience design thinking because often, they are not familiar with it,” Hall said. “It is both crucial and fun for families to work together on such challenges - all will depart with new knowledge and newfound sense of pride in their creative abilities!”