The idea

As Makerspace Coordinator I have the pleasure of writing curriculum that draw from a variety of existing source - Visual Arts, Design and Digital Technologies and more. When have rolled it out to Years 7 + 8, with our Year 9's being at an alternate campus thus taking a year off the elective.  So when asked to roll out a new course at Year 10 I was excited by the prospect of trying some new making tasks. But also excited at the prospect of having students mature enough to help me decide what we do. And thus the Makerspace Menu was born!

How was it used? 

Students arrived one morning to find a menu on their desks. Immediately before the class begun they had picked them up and started reading them, the hum of excitement was great! After explaining the concept and clarifying any points, students jumped onto a Google Form and within 10 minutes I knew which units they were very interested in, types of assessment that suited the cohort  and I knew what to develop into a yearly planner and then into units supported by resources, site visits and collaborations.  

Why a menu?

The concept of a menu was born once I realised that the students needed a starting point - asking them what they wanted to do with little concept of what they could do would not be fair.  So the menu was designed to give them a snapshot of possible topics and tasks. It also communicated the idea that a menu is a range of choices. And there was a sneaky opportunity to reiterate the not negotiable aspects connected to safety,  technical drawing and planning!