Making 101 and Crayons to Computers: A Model Partnership for Community-Engaged Learning

January 28, 2018

A catapult, a lacing slipper, a place value teaching tool and a language-based interactive game - this is just a short list of design making projects researched and developed  by students in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Human-Centered Making Program.  This major, first offered to Xavier students in the spring 2015 semester, promotes a community engaged learning experience that fosters a uniquely blended skill set of design acquisition, product engineering and critical thinking skills. Additionally, students are taught to envision prospective products with an empathy for its end-users’ needs, environments and cultural dynamics.

This program model is well exemplified by Making’s partnership with the Cincinnati-based nonprofit, Crayons to Computers (CTC), which supports schools with students who identify as having 60% of the student body on free or reduced lunches.  Through its Free Store and Outreach Program, CTC offers not only basic school supplies but also incentive items that teachers can use to motivate and inspire student engagement in approximately 600 schools in the Cincinnati tristate area.  It is in the process design of these enrichment materials where Xavier’s Making program collaboratively partners with Crayons to Computers to both pragmatically educate its own students while contributing outwardly and intentionally to local and state communities.

This project partnership is a multifaceted semester process and begins with the Making students’ visit to the CTC warehouse to view recyclable materials that are donated by companies with zero landfill policies.  In addition, students review educational guidelines such as the Ohio Learning Standards or Next Gen Science Standards  to understand specifics around educational requirements and outcomes.  Students may also dialog with current or former teachers or observe student behavior at Xavier’s own Montessori Lab School to further experience key elements of independent learning.  Brainstorming sessions render set projects to which students align their creative energies for the duration of a semester.  After formal presentations to CTC, selected designs are targeted for production through Crayons’ own Crafts with Conviction (CwC).  This program is a collaborative initiative between CTC and Ohio rehabilitation facilities which allows incarcerated inmates to assemble educational materials to support at risk elementary school students.

The College of Arts and Sciences’ Making Program is community engaged learning at its very best and, as it embodies both the University’s Student Commitment and its Vision Statement, is a clear win for all touched by its reach, scope and purpose.