If it’s one thing engineers and entrepreneurs understand, it’s iteration. You try something, it doesn’t really work, and you learn from it for next time.
It was a lesson learned recently by a group of engineers at the University of St. Thomas who wanted to bring their project – called Code + Chords – to St. Paul libraries, where they could introduce young people to STEM and coding during two-hour sessions at three different library branches. Hot off a summer of using working with eighth and ninth graders, Code + Chords opened the mini sessions to anyone ages 5 to 17, and soon learned that the new, wider range of ages would alter their outcomes significantly.
With no children over the age of 10 and too little hands-on learning time, their surveys show they didn’t have the level of engagement in learning the technology as they hoped. But much like developing new code, they’re learning from error.
“We’re going to go back to the drawing board,” said Rachel Farah, a computer engineering student who led the workshops at St. Paul Public Library branches. The flop felt disappointing at first, she said. But she’s glad to gain the knowledge now, as a student who wants a career in attracting more girls to STEM fields.
Code + Chords pairs computer-coded visualizations with music, so the audience at a concert can see the music as it’s performed. Coders on the project match an element of sound – say, the pitch of a singer’s voice – with a visual element, like a color. As a group of singers harmonize, the colors associated with each singer’s pitch appear in the visual. Those sound and visual combinations unite with others to bring the songs to life.
Using Code + Chords to introduce children to coding is a natural progression of the project, which is part of the Playful Learning Lab – a research group at St. Thomas dedicated to coming up with new, fun learning experiences for kids from Pre-K through high school. Before their next education opportunity, they’ll assess how they can connect better with a younger group with a shorter workshop that includes more experiential learning. And maybe raise the age limit to 7.
Grace Kubista, a civil engineering student at St. Thomas who acts as project coordinator for Codes + Chords, said the project offers a chance to show the ways science, technology, engineering, and math harmonize with other interests, like music or sports. People who bring well-rounded interests into a STEM field contribute a fresh perspective.
“It’s a cool way of saying STEM mixes well with other things,” Kubista said. “It’s not just numbers and equations all the time.”
