Throw-back to the beginning of SAIS’s PBL roots! Shenzhen American International school, Shenzhen’s only PBL school at the time, started it’s PBL programming with projects like this.
Students found community needs, in this case one kid’s mom constantly forgot her keys at home, and solved them using electronics and design. This device has a motion sensor and a speaker, to remind the mom “Don’t forget your keys please!” whenever she leaves the house. It’s installed at adult head-height, so the student doesn’t trigger it when walking by.
Grove Zero, a 3D printer, and a PBL Teacher!
Intro video with James in it! Lots of starter projects at Seeed’s site here
When the students brought the project to the Shenzhen Makerfaire, the adult entrepreneurs of Shenzhen were impressed! They even asked for copies of the business plan template that the kids used!
Having the kids solve real problems helped the school get away from the crazy 40 minute class schedule that students normally have. The teachers showed that the students were still learning relevant topics, and also were highly motivated. This led to the lengthening and combining of topics in classes, and eventually a full PBL system.