The Henry Ford’s inHub studying platform helps lecturers put together college students to be world-changing innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs. By the usage of the Mannequin i framework, college students study 5 actions and 6 habits which can be widespread in tales of innovators, from the Wright brothers to Rosa Parks. The actions and habits have been designed to assist unleash the internal innovator in all college students.
To see the way it performs out in an elementary classroom setting, we requested North Carolina 4th grade trainer Amanda Dover to check out the inHub curriculum useful resource library together with her college students. Right here’s her Instructor Picks overview—and why she recommends this platform for different educators trying to develop scholar innovation.
What grade ranges and topic areas do you suppose The Henry Ford’s inHub is finest suited to?
The gorgeous factor about this useful resource is that there are options accessible for just about all ages. Their Innovate for Tots assets supply lesson plans excellent for preschoolers. Moreover, you’ll discover assets tailor-made to Ok-12 lessons which can be simply filtered by grade degree to make planning a breeze. The movies and interactive actions will be appropriate for all grades, particularly with structured help.
As a trainer of dyslexic college students, I’ve plenty of conversations with college students concerning the distinctive strengths of the dyslexic mind, notably the power to “suppose out of the field.” Analysis has proven that dyslexic brains have an edge in progressive pondering as a result of totally different approach they course of info. This platform is really a present because it permits them to entry their progressive superpowers in a enjoyable and interactive approach. From watching movies and seeing how others harnessed their very own artistic powers to participating in classes just like the Mannequin i Primer: Study From Failure, college students study to embrace the method of innovation and precious life classes realized alongside the way in which.
Does this product align with any particular requirements or curriculum pointers that you realize of?
This aligns with most know-how requirements in all states selling digital-age abilities that assist college students turn into career- and college-ready. Moreover, a number of elements of the platform tackle many social research and science requirements nationally. Particularly in North Carolina, this addresses requirements corresponding to “H.1 Perceive how individuals and occasions have modified society over time,” spanning a number of grades. As we examine Colonial instances by way of the Revolutionary Struggle in our 4th grade classroom, this web site permits us a lens into the evolution of society by way of the years.
Whereas nearly all of the actions and classes on this web site concentrate on social research and science requirements, many of those actions even have an ELA part. A lot of the actions hit the usual “CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2 – Write informative/explanatory texts to look at a subject and convey concepts and data clearly.” A product of just about the entire classes is a worksheet or written part that requires college students to elucidate what they realized—a wonderful extension of writing abilities.
The content material on the location additionally offers alternatives for cross-curricular initiatives, the place college students can work on their very own innovations and current them in a classroom showcase, constructing abilities in creativity, communication, and important pondering.
For instance, the Paper Airplane Enjoyable lesson incorporates science, math, and language arts. On this exercise, college students are tasked with making a paper airplane based mostly on totally different designs they’ve researched. As soon as they’ve selected a design, they then take a look at their airplanes and acquire quantifiable knowledge (the space the planes flew and their wingspan). This knowledge can be changed into a graph as one other math extension exercise. Upon completion of the undertaking, college students then prolong this exercise into writing as they summarize the outcomes of their undertaking in written kind (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7).
How would you utilize this product in your classroom?
inHub provides a novel alternative to convey innovation, creativity, and real-world problem-solving abilities into the classroom. The number of assets on this web site completely enhances items on STEM, historical past, and design pondering.
As a design-thinking exercise, I’d have college students discover the Revolutionary Studying Framework on inHub, guiding them by way of the method of figuring out an issue, brainstorming options, and creating prototypes. Beginning with the Mannequin i primer, college students study to suppose like innovators after which are walked by way of the innovation course of step-by-step. There are such a lot of methods to develop this, together with tying it right into a lesson on well-known inventors, utilizing the location’s movies and historic supplies to encourage scholar initiatives.
In social research, I’d use the location’s artifacts like these discovered within the With Liberty and Justice for All useful resource information. inHub incorporates a information to the precise artifacts that may be discovered within the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. In social research, we spend the majority of the 12 months discussing the occasions of the American Revolution and occasions main as much as the battle. These artifacts and tales might assist deepen college students’ understanding of Revolutionary Struggle occasions. Thomas Paine’s 1776 Widespread Sense pamphlet was mentioned as one of many inciting incidents of the battle, and the artifact highlight offers extra particulars and context round this doc for college kids. This discipline journey additionally highlights artifacts such because the Declaration of Independence, the Benedict Arnold letter, and George Washington’s Camp Mattress.
How did your college students react to the location?
As an ELA exercise and extension of our conversations about innovation, we explored the Keep Curious lesson. A defining attribute of my class this 12 months has been their shared love of puns. By this exercise, college students used their progressive mindsets and creativity to create their very own puns with homophones and homographs. My favourite was overhearing this pun shared with a good friend: “Why can’t you give Elsa a balloon? As a result of she’s going to let it go!” Their love of puns didn’t cease with this lesson, as they continued to make use of their artistic pondering abilities to invent new puns lengthy after this lesson! As one in all them acknowledged, “We’re pun-fessionals now!”
We additionally tried out a number of of the Kahoot! video games. Our favourite was Keep Curious … Just like the Wright Brothers. We realized about how the well-known brothers began with a motorbike store, which helped spark their progressive spirit later, main them to invent the world’s first profitable airplane. After taking part in, a scholar shared, “I favored this Kahoot! as a result of it was enjoyable and I obtained to check what I knew. Studying how the Wright brothers saved attempting new stuff made me need to continue to learn too.”
Why is The Henry Ford’s inHub your Instructor Choose?
Educating innovation will be onerous as a result of faculties and programs aren’t at all times constructed for change. A variety of the time, issues have been finished the identical approach for years, and attempting one thing new can really feel dangerous, particularly when lecturers are beneath stress to satisfy requirements and take a look at scores. There’s additionally the problem of not having sufficient time, coaching, or assets to check out new concepts correctly. Even when lecturers need to innovate, they could face pushback from dad and mom, directors, and even college students who’re used to the previous methods. Plus, it’s onerous to measure whether or not a brand new method is admittedly working, particularly within the quick time period. All of this makes it difficult to interrupt out of the standard routine and check out one thing totally different within the classroom.
Utilizing this inHub platform helps break down boundaries as a result of the teachings are straightforward to make use of and implement. The location presents info in a well-organized, user-friendly format. I found lesson plans, actions, and assets that straight matched my wants. I particularly valued the clear directions and ready-to-use supplies, which allowed me to combine these ideas into my educating with minimal prep time or additional coaching. As well as, I discovered plenty of methods to speak about innovation with my college students’ dad and mom and administration, which was nice for creating a rationale behind all the pieces I do within the classroom.
What have been your favourite two options on The Henry Ford’s inHub?
My college students adore Kahoot!, so I really like that inHub provides plenty of participating choices on this platform. I plan to make use of Kahoots recurrently in my classroom from this web site.
Moreover, I really like the curriculum useful resource library. I discovered it effectively organized and simple to make use of. I beloved that every grade degree had all kinds of classes that have been straightforward to observe and adapt as wanted for classroom use.
What makes inHub distinctive in comparison with different packages you’ve used?
inHub’s sturdy concentrate on innovation, creativity, and real-world problem-solving make it stand out from different academic packages I’ve used. I really like how all of these items are grounded in genuine historic content material, making all of it cross-curricular, integrating elements of STEM, historical past, and social research. It evokes creativity by connecting college students straight with actual artifacts, tales of inventors, and the innovation course of.
Additionally distinctive to inHub are the Revolutionary Studying Framework and the Invention Conference Program. The framework is exclusive as a result of it offers a hands-on student-centered method that extends far past conventional classroom instruction. Its actions are rooted in historic innovation. This helps join college students with the legacy of innovation all through our trendy society. The framework is inquiry-based, permitting college students to formulate their very own questions after which conduct the analysis to reply them. It emphasizes course of over perfection, reminding college students that failure is a part of the method and contributing to the expansion mindset we as educators are striving to instill in our lecture rooms.
I really like how this system empowers my college students and treats them as thinkers and creators who’re shaping the Twenty first-century world we dwell in. The talents they acquire from this are important to turning into productive residents of the following technology. I additionally love that it permits for many cross-curricular connections, mixing issues like social research and math, or science and writing, to make studying extra significant and fascinating.
How will inHub prevent time or make educating simpler?
inHub saves time by offering ready-to-use high-quality assets that may simply be built-in into lesson plans. This implies I don’t need to create all the pieces from scratch. It additionally offers entry to tons of participating content material that aligns with my curriculum and requirements.
When engaged on initiatives that require a little bit of innovation and creativity, inHub additionally offers actionable concepts and steps to information college students by way of the method seamlessly. This finally reduces the time I’d in any other case spend planning project-based assignments.
How do you intend to make use of inHub once more sooner or later?
As I’ve explored the location, I’ve discovered tons of alternatives to make use of the platform in my classroom subsequent 12 months. The Colonial- and American Revolution–period artifacts curiosity me for my social research curriculum. I plan to combine these into my research subsequent 12 months. I’d additionally prefer to introduce my college students to the innovation framework as we discover project-based actions the place these steps may very well be helpful. I additionally plan to take a look at these assets to assist me uncover extra methods to innovate within the classroom:
Instructor Picks is a sponsored program accessible from We Are Academics. All opinions shared within the overview are sincere and based mostly on the trainer’s direct expertise. To study extra about our pointers and overview course of, click on right here.
