Teacher Discussion on Engineering Hackathons

   In Catalonia, the educational system offers a specific project-based learning subject called "Tech Projects" for high school students. This subject runs for four hours a week and functions as an elective, similar to optional subjects like chemistry or Latin, depending on a student's chosen academic path before college. Unlike traditional engineering courses that focus heavily on mechanics, pneumatics, or electricity, "Tech Projects" utilizes a project-based learning (PBL) methodology. At the end of every term, students receive comprehensive assessments that go beyond pure technical knowledge. They are evaluated on teamwork, project management, and effort through a combination of teacher evaluations, self-assessments, video recordings, and parent assessments.

The development of this project-based curriculum originated independently before finding validation through connections with higher education institutions like MIT. The creator of the "Tech Projects" subject initially structured the course based on their own organizational ideas, completely unaware of similar existing programs.

Eventually, an MIT student visited the high school class and recognized that the methodologies mirrored courses taught in their first year at the university. This realization, along with networking opportunities in the Boston educational ecosystem, helped bridge connections with other global educators and communities focused on project-based learning.


Hackathons:

To expand the reach of this educational methodology, a three-day hackathon was created to immerse students and teachers from various schools in collaborative learning. This event brings together students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds—ranging from well-funded private schools to under-resourced public schools across the Catalan geography. Participants who do not previously know each other are mixed into teams based on shared project interests, such as designing a house that moves to follow the sun. As students collaborate, teachers transition from traditional authoritative roles into active team members and facilitators, learning the methodology alongside the students. The hackathon serves as a powerful marketing tool for the educational methodology, successfully catching the attention of political administrators who now want to expand the initiative throughout the region using dedicated mentors.

The magic happens with the teachers, because at the beginning, they are just paying attention, looking at what's happening. But as soon as that one of students, one of them, their students comes in, teacher, we don't need we need that, and we don't know how to do it. The teachers are mixed with the students. They became a part of the team in this team. Maybe there is only of my students, or maybe no one of my students involved in this team, and I'm helping them as another student. 

The Hackathon has, from my point of view, several powerful tools. First of all, we show other schools the way we are working, so it's a way to split our the methodology. We expose the students to those methodologies, to to these viruses. Let's call virus. It's okay, virus. Then when they come back to the school, they ask for more. They are an active vector for that. The teachers are not only learning; they are being part of the activity, so they are asking for more. And the principals that just come to say everything is okay. So, how how everything works, and the next year they can start something relative similar in their own schools, but it's only a three-day activities, and it comes because I cannot invite all those all all the schools to my schools when I'm teaching. 

The hackathon is a marketing tool in terms of showing how deep would be the impact in the communities in all the levels, students, teachers, but there is another level, the administration, political. Now they are after nine years of knocking at the door, they pay attention on us, and they want us to do that in a different places all around Catalonia. 

Importance of Near Peer Mentoring. I'm asking for more mentors, because I need of that. For us, the key of that are the mentors, because the mentors are closer enough to the students to be a peer, or even they have more knowledge. They have more experience. They're peers. They are peers, and the language, the language that they use, is completely different. The approach that they can do when they are showing this project or working in those projects is completely different from a teacher's point of view.

Challenges: As many students have had prior formal training in technology such as (Adobe Illustrator) vector design for lasercutting, 3D design tools such as Fusion 360, and Canva for creating presentations, as well as traditional sketching, students have much success in achieving their creative vision. However, there is frequently a need for more formal instruction in technology for physical computing, such as Arduino, Microbit, ESP32, and basic electronics, as students often have much more difficulty implementing their ideas when these tools are involved. See resources below.

In this modernized educational framework, the role of the teacher shifts from a traditional instructor to a facilitator who helps students navigate resources and problem-solving. Rather than needing to know every technical detail, such as coding in Python or building electronics from scratch, educators provide an environment where students can independently pursue their interests. With access to modern tools like AI and websites like Instructables, students are encouraged to develop the critical life skill of researching information and asking the right questions. Mentors and teachers act as guides, helping students stay engaged and supporting them when they demonstrate a genuine effort to learn and collaborate. We are only providing an environment in which they will decide what are the the things that they will grow





Assessing students in the tech projects class requires a comprehensive, multi-faceted grading system. At the end of every term, teachers must fill out an assessment sheet using a numerical scale where higher numbers indicate better performance. Grades are based on various factors, including a student's ability to manage a team, technical improvements in areas like electronics, and their overall classroom engagement. The grading process incorporates multiple perspectives, utilizing reports, oral presentations, video recordings, self-assessments, parent evaluations, and teacher assessments to calculate the final mark. 



The success of project-based learning relies heavily on 'near peer' mentors and a shift in the traditional teacher's role. Mentors are crucial because they act as peers with more experience, using a relatable language and approach that differs from a traditional teacher. Teachers in this environment function as facilitators or helpers rather than traditional instructors, setting up an environment that engages students to work collaboratively. They guide students based on their interests and only step in to assist when students actively ask questions or prove they need help. 

While technical skills like coding and electronics are valuable, teaching students how to independently find answers  and work together as a team is the primary goal of these educational projects. Some students enter the class with prior coding experience in Python, naturally taking the lead on software-related projects, while others might lack basic electronics knowledge. 

Programs, such as MIT's Beaver Works, which offer sophisticated projects like self-driving cars, autonomous air vehicle racing, and embedded security, emphasize the development of technical skills through online courses taken prior to the in-person program, but they sometimes miss the point of community collaboration by not giving students control over what they build. Instead, the core focus should be on building a community where students share skills and learn to ask the right questions. 

Other courses were mentioned such as Tom Igoe's Physical Computing course at ITP-NYU, which combines basic skilss with student-directed projects, High Tech High , a network of project-based charter schools in San Diego, CA, and NuVu Studio, a studio-based innovation school in Cambridge.
 
With modern tools like AI chatbots such as Google Gemini and websites like Instructables, students must develop the essential life skill of independently sourcing information and solutions rather than expecting a teacher to provide all the answers. 

Artificial intelligence has radically transformed hackathons and maker projects by democratizing development and massively accelerating prototyping velocity. It shifts the focus from writing manual syntax to high-level system architecture, allowing multidisciplinary teams to build polished, fully integrated applications in mere hours rather than weeks. [1, 2, 3] Tools such as Google Notebook enable  the production of pitch decks, demo scripts, and marketing materials, in minutes rather than days helping teams nail the critical 3-minute presentation. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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Online Courses in Physical Computing:
Top online physical computing courses range from beginner-friendly hardware making to intermediate engineering. Leading platforms and university extensions offer project-based options to bridge the gap between digital code and real-world interactions. [1, 2]

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The "adjacent possible" is a theory stating that at any given point in time, a system (whether biological, technological, or conceptual) can only advance into states that are exactly one step away from its current reality. [1, 2]
Introduced by theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman and popularized by author Steven Johnson, the concept operates like a house that expands every time a door is opened. You cannot build a complex technological breakthrough, such as the internet, without first having the prerequisites of electricity, vacuum tubes, and early networks. The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries continually grow as you explore them; each new discovery creates a new set of doors, opening up possibilities that were entirely unreachable a moment before.
Applied to electronics design, this means that if one is already experienced with electronics design and coding, one can incorporate a specifi new design or component; however, if one has no previous experience, this will be much more difficult.

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