Looking back at our 1st teff Maritime Makerspace (Sustainability)

Life Below Water

The Makerspace was organized by the teff Academy and the Institute for Physics Didactics at the University of Cologne. The idea behind the Makerspace is to be able to work freely on one's own project and to be provided with a wealth of resources for its implementation. The aim is to acquire new knowledge in the field of sustainability and life under water, to collect new ideas for implementing the topic with students, to learn new skills in general and, of course, to make many new international contacts.

Collaborative Problem-Solving

During the Makerspace event, participants collaborated in pairs to develop innovative learning units on the theme of sustainability and “Life Below Water.” In the initial virtual meeting, they received ground knowledge and an introduction to the topic before transitioning to independent project work focused on designing their learning units. On the first in-person meeting day in Cologne, these units were tested in practice, allowing participants to refine their creations. The following day, they had the unique opportunity to implement the units with a school class, gaining valuable hands-on feedback and insights.

Working with Pupils

All participants had the opportunity to work with pupils and to test and pass on their knowledge. This was perceived very positive: "It was very interesting for me. Because it was my first experience with pupils at age of 12 and also it was my first experience in laboratory with microscopes and stuff like that. So I'm very excited about that". "Today for me it was a very new experience because I never worked with middle school students before".

Learning new skills in workshops

In two workshops, participants acquired additional knowledge to enhance their future work. In one workshop, they gained hands-on experience in creating 3D models. In the other, they learned effective techniques for using and integrating whiteboards in the classroom.

Looking Ahead

The Makerspace highlighted the critical importance of sustainability in our lives and, most importantly, how to effectively convey this to schoolchildren. Participants gained new insights on the topic and collected numerous ideas and suggestions for working with pupils. They also had the chance to explore other subjects and freely choose their own areas of focus. One participant shared, "Today I learned a lot of different things, because normally we do physics stuff and we did a lot of biology today, and that's the great thing about Makerspace, that you go out of your comfort zone and do new stuff you never did before and try to think about things you never thought about before. So it was a really successful day, I would say".