RAFT Hands-On Education

Did you know that each year on December 4 th in the United States people observe National Dice Day?  Many games use dice as a way to add random challenges by generating numbers from a toss of the dice. The value of the toss is determined by the uppermost face of the die after it has come to rest.             Dice are used as  gambling  devices for games like Craps and are also used in non-gambling  tabletop games. Dice are often used in board games to decide the distance a playing piece will move on the board.  Backgammon and Monopoly are two such board games that use dice.           A traditional die is a  cube , with each of its six faces showing a different number of dots ( pips ) from 1 to 6. When thrown or rolled, the die comes to rest showing on its upper surface a random integer from one to six, each value being equally likely. A variety of similar ...

Did you know NASA has created their Beginning Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) lessons to help K-8th grade students understand the Engineering Design Process?  The Engineering Design Process is a series of steps engineers use to guide them in problem solving. Engineers must ask a question, imagine a solution, plan a design, create that model, experiment and test that model, then take time to improve the original – all steps that are crucial to mission success at NASA. Throughout the Building a Satellite to Orbit the Moon and Launching a Satellite activities, the emphasis is for students to understand that engineers must “imagine and plan” before they begin to build and experiment. To successfully complete the NASA BEST Activities, students must draw their ideas first before constructing. Students transform into NASA Scientist and Engineers as they create their own satellites using a cardboard tube and general building supplies including buttons, bubble wrap and alumi...

What can cause math anxiety among students? Research shows an imposing authority figure, the risk of public embarrassment, and time deadlines (e.g. the pressure of timed tests) often cause math anxiety and unproductive tension among students. Students may not see relevance for knowing mathematics in their lives. Some teachers who do not understand much about math impose fear on students to prevent them from asking questions which might expose the teacher's ignorance. Math is often related with frustration --- students make negative associations with numbers from seeing adults with unpaid bills, unforeseen debts, overdrawn checkbooks, or other money experiences. What can be done to reduce math anxiety? Design classrooms to make students feel more successful. Students need a high level of success or a level of failure that they can tolerate. Incorrect responses must be handled in a positive way to encourage student participation and enhance student confidence. Studen...

What do you get when you put a variety of leftover tiles in front of preschoolers? A feast for curious minds and creative hands! One of my five year old students designed this house. Look at the clever use of a little, round tile to make a door knob on the front door! She also used cupcake paper liners, bought from RAFT, to decorate around the house. She used a pink bottle cap and was proud that she had a very unique, pink Sun! One Sunday morning, in my art school, the Dune School in Newark, CA , the project theme was “Tiles”. As always, instead of telling them what to paint or construct, this was an open-ended art activity with no preset instructions or rules. I do this to encourage creativity and critical thinking in my students. I kept a tray of tiles of all colors, shapes and sizes along with bottle caps, yarn, buttons, cupcake paper holders and other RAFT materials in front of 4 and 5 year olds. I said “Today, you get to be an Architect.” Immediately, one child asked “Wh...