By Julian Romero and Lauren Romero
In addition to our work with Tile Farm, we have both spent many years teaching and always welcome opportunities to return to the classroom.
This past fall, we taught an after-school course at San Rafael Elementary School in Pasadena, CA. After-school programs present a unique challenge: students arrive from different grade levels, with a wide range of abilities, and with energy levels that can vary dramatically, from completely exhausted to bouncing off the walls.
Fortunately, Tile Farm Academy lends itself to flexible, student-centered STEAM experiences that meet learners where they are academically, emotionally, and energetically. Here are five reasons it worked especially well in our after-school class.
Kids Want to Talk & Be Social
After a long school day, many kids need some time to talk and be social. Tile Talk is a great way to start off any class, while fulfilling students’ social needs and engaging them in deep mathematical discussions at the same time. Last Tile Standing is a class favorite that combines rich mathematical discussions and question asking in an engaging game-like format.
Daily Digits is a Perfect Transition to Focused Work
In any setting it is helpful to have a routine that is consistent and grounding at the start of class. Having students complete their Daily Digits was a great way to transition students to working on their individual devices, with the added bonus of giving students some well needed fluency practice.
PBL in Tile Farm Studio is Perfect for After School
After completing their Daily Digits, in most classes we did a project based learning activity in Tile Farm Studio. This ranged from a lesson on tessellations, to students creating their own crypto tiles puzzles, to some students even taking on the ambitious goal of designing their own apparel. Students absolutely love being creative, and the low-floor high-ceiling nature of these activities worked perfectly across wide age groups. Shown above, one student made a tessellation capitalizing on the recent “six seven” trend.
Students Find What They Love in Playground
At the end of a long school day, many students need some time to just relax and do what they are in the mood for. We always made sure to give students some time at the end of class to freely explore in Tile Farm Playground. A lot of students simply wanted to color beautiful tessellations in Bright Ideas, others organized high score contests in more numeracy-focused games, while others simply picked their favorite puzzle and completed it at as many levels as they could for the day.
Students Discovered a Love for Math
One of the most exciting outcomes of teaching this class was the love for math it sparked in students. Even though the class was only one day a week, many students started a routine of doing their Daily Digits every single day. We even got a message from one parent about their daughter completing Daily Digits from the hospital after she had broken her arm.
Final Reflection
In any teaching environment, arguably the hardest thing about teaching is meeting diverse students with diverse backgrounds at the appropriate level. This is only amplified in a mixed-grade after school class. The really joyful thing about using Tile Farm Academy as a teaching tool is that every experience is designed to be low-floor, high-ceiling. This makes the learning experience fulfilling for every student, while keeping things simple and fun for the teacher.
Ready to bring joyful STEAM experiences to your classroom?