Very similar to mini-internships with access to community experts like the teacher had for the video project.
It would be great to have access to a parent database of experts who could act as advisors. The students could use the parents or their friends as resources
Here are some great examples of FAB Lab type projects and how the students documented and "Shared with the World". Watch some of the videos for your grade level.
"The contemporary questions that interest us as adults - like those about power, extinction and health - can be asked in ways that resonate with young people, too. And, their answers can be manifest in real world answers: games, books, stories, art, and more. "
Here is a collection of questions and project cards you can use with your students.
BIE is new to me. This organization is dedicated solely to PBL. Check out the vast array of videos from What is PBL? to How to do PBL to sample projects.
The resurces here are so helpful. Go to the tools tab and check out the planning forms.
There is also a great article that explains the difference between projects and PBL. You'll get a sense of how direct instruction is incorporated in PBL.
A possible structure for our FABLab - perhaps each year we deliberately experience each step in this scaffolded approach leading to "free inquiry" - or independent FABLab projects.
This Rube Goldberg machine is so impressive, but, it is enhanced by the fact that many of us taught Stewart & Oliver. These experts are right in our own backyard and probably available for consultation and inspiration.
Thinking about FABLab: "So, rather than just putting kids in front of some craft supplies and a laser cutter in a "maker space," and telling them to go at it, you're advocating a much more specific approach of what you call the four P's: Students making projects, around their passions, collaborating with peers, and maintaining a playful attitude. "
Check this out - ideas to incorporate design thinking in the classroom. Might help jump start a FAB Lab project or class activity. Erica and Megan saw this in action this past summer. Ask them about it.