Creating a Student Bike Repair Shop to Build Student Ownership

How can we build student ownership in our professionally run bike shop?

When we say embedded at Embark we mean that learning happens in the context of our two professionally managed shops,  Framework Cycles and Pinwheel Coffee. We approach this in several different ways--students do weekly shifts where they’re learning the skills to be a barista or bike mechanic, academic projects use the shops as an authentic context for learning a variety of standards. In addition to these, we want students to have real ownership in the work of the shops. And, figuring out how to do that is complicated. One of the questions we’re navigating is how to maintain the public perception that the shops are professionally run businesses (because they are!). While at the same time, creating opportunities for the students to add real value to the shops. 

So how do we train students to be confident bike mechanics and build student ownership in the bike shop? We started with the realization that to understand bikes students should be riding bikes. As a first step, I reached out to my friend who works at the Golden Optimist Club and asked her if the Club could help us build a fleet of bikes for us to fix and then ride. They were able to donate several bikes. Most of the donated bikes only needed basic repairs done to them to get them up and running.  

I researched some different bike repair courses and found one that fit well with what we were trying to do.  Now, each week, I support students to learn a repair skill.  The students pair up and follow the lesson using a bike from the fleet donated to us.  I made a chart of repair skills with all the student’s names.  Each repair skill is written 3 times.  After each repair lesson, the students mark themselves on the chart as having the lesson.  Then they work to practice that repair skill on another fleet bike or in our professionally run bike shop during one of their shifts.  

Working in the student repair shop has brought out critical thinking skills, and collaborative work.  Just today, two students replaced both wheels on a bike and took it out for a spin.  They were excited and proud of their work.  The bike now has a nickname, Watermelon, to match the new red tires they installed on a green bike.  Another pair of students collaborated on how to put a bike on the bike stand.  Not an easy task for the first time.  Their success was due to the fact that they worked together.  This brought smiles to their faces.

Right now about half of the fleet is ready to ride. As the weather continues to warm, we plan on getting out on the Denver bike trails for a ride. As we are riding our bikes more we hope that students will continue to understand the value of a well-functioning bike and begin to own needed repairs and adjustments. We’ll be using these new skills to give back to the Golden Optimist Club for the bikes they gave us. We’ll be fixing bikes that are donated to them so that they can, in turn, donate the newly repaired bikes to others. With the growth of these skills and confidence as bike mechanics, we’ll be asking students themselves to figure out ways they can help add value to Framework while also building connections in the community.