Bring the Wildcat Inventors Workshop to your school! The Wildcat Inventors Workshop (WIW), Vermont's first mobile micro-maker fair, introduces an innovative professional development model for educators interested in integrating the maker movement across the curriculum. Beginning with custom training sessions in their own classroom focused on areas of their curriculum where they want to enhance learning with making, teachers discover, explore, and experiment with maker activities of interest. Once teachers have experienced the making themselves, they are joined by experienced makers from WIW, the Society of Women Engineers, Generator in Burlington, IBM, and other organizations to host an Inventor's Workshop Micro Maker Fair at their school. This broad based maker experience not only familiarizes teachers with the breadth of the maker movement, but connects teachers to active members of the maker community. As a whole-family activity, the event builds support within the school and across the community for making in the classroom. After as-needed collaboration with WIW, teachers bring their maker units into the classroom with support and equipment provided by the WIW. This presentation will show examples of the transformative effect of this PD model and integration of making across the curriculum. Examples include participation at Richmond, Essex, and Flynn Elementary Schools, and Mater Christi Elementary and Middle Schools. The Wildcat Inventors Workshop is available to all teachers of Vermont students; equipment is funded by grants from IBM and Dealer.com through the Vermont State Science and Math Fair Educator Outreach program.
