Where can you find an endless supply of authentic problems for your students to solve, allowing them to develop and grow their collaboration and critical thinking skills? It turns out, you already have most of what you need on your school campus! This Community of Practice will provide support in developing authentic problem solving opportunities for your students through a student run Repair Cafe.
Approximately two years ago, my STEM students and I set out to answer the question: “What if STEM students created and ran a fix-it shop at our middle school?” As we are about to start our third year of this experiment, we can share that this opportunity has provided a seemingly endless supply of authentic problems for the students to solve. More importantly, however, the students love it.
At our first meeting, you will get to hear from both students and educators about what we have tried (our failures and successes). In addition, we will share what we have learned along the way as well as our plans for growth in the coming year, which include an afterschool club and a partnership with the Tucson Repair Cafe.
If you discover that you would like to try building a similar program on your campus, you have the opportunity to join us as we establish a collaborative community of practice focused on just that. We will meet a few times in person over the school year (and maybe try to build an online collaboration tool) to share ideas, tools, materials, and anything else we decide will support us as we endeavor to provide this opportunity for our students.
Dates: September 2, 2025. Future dates and frequency of meetings will be determined by participants at the first meeting.
Tucson Values Teachers is providing limited scholarships for educators to attend PD opportunities, if you are interested, click here for more information
- For questions regarding this resource, please contact Pima County School Superintendent's Office (PCSSO).
- Contact Name: Marianne Landrith
- Phone No: 520-724-8451
- Email Address: marianne.landrith@pima.gov