A 60-minute session for the Arizona Science Center's Educate to Innovate conference. Teachers build a circuit, program a device, and then trace where that device actually comes from — the same arc their students can run, from kindergarten through senior year.
Workshop Recap
We started by passing around a music chip and refusing to say what it was.
By the end, teachers had built a paper circuit or a Snap Circuits board, programmed a micro:bit guitar they played with their own skin, traced a semiconductor from raw material to landfill, and said one sentence of evidence out loud to the room.
Nobody watched a lesson about a lesson. They were the learners.
The arc stays the same. Three dials move.
CLICK — experience it How does electricity make something happen? A complete path makes something happen: input, path, output. Finish the circuit, then break it.
CODE — control it What changes when I can program the response? The music chip plays what its designer decided. The micro:bit plays what you decide.
CHANGE — shape it responsibly What responsible future is possible? Question, trace, imagine, act. The chip in your hand becomes a supply chain, a set of trade-offs, and a career pathway that starts in Arizona.
K–5 runs paper circuits, unplugged sequencing, and LEGO lithography stamping. 6–8 runs Snap Circuits, micro:bit blocks, and a supply chain trace. 9–12 runs Snap Circuits with the IC, the micro:bit guitar, and Principled Innovation.
The arc never moves. Three dials move: build complexity, depth of explanation, and scope of the question. See the full grid on the hub →LINKED HERE
Where to go next
| Semiconductor Technician Quick Start | https://info.maricopacorporate.com/semiconductor | Ten days, free to Arizona residents, at Maricopa community colleges. There's a version for teachers and counselors. |
| Principled Innovation | https://pi.asu.edu/practice/the-fundamentals-of-pi | The framework behind the CHANGE questions, from ASU's Mary Lou Fulton College. |
Who ran this session
Jasmine Coleman — STEM Transformational Teacher Lead, chemistry and physics, ASU Preparatory Academy – Casa Grande.
Danielle Serna — Humanities Transformational Teacher Lead, same campus.