Summary
Now that many schools have added student devices to their schools, they are looking for other ways to integrate technology and give students enhanced authentic opportunities to apply learning. Makerspaces provide a platform for that, but many educators and administrators do not know where to start. By the end of this session, participants will leave with a better understanding of Makerspaces and how to start them in low cost/no cost ways as they build capacity.
Essential Questions
What is the added value of Makerspaces to learning?
What do you need to start up a Makerspace with students?
Learning Goals
Understand how to develop a culture of Making.
Develop a plan for using low cost/no cost Maker tools.
Explore the best tools to add to their own spaces.
Materials List
Makerspace Activity Ideas (digital; provide a copy for participants to have after the session)
Presentation Slides (attached)
Designing A School Makerspace Article (optional; print for participants)
Four Corners posters (attached; 1 copy of each)
Surplus art/office supplies for Maker challenge
Sticky notes in 6 different colors
Participant devices that can connect to the internet
Engage
Use slides 1-4 to introduce the professional development. Display the instructions on slide 5. Participants have 8 minutes on the timer to use materials on their table to create something that shows the most important point of the last unit they taught.
Give participants time to share out at their tables what they made and how it shows their learning. As a whole group, ask for volunteers to share something they liked about a tablemate’s creation. Then ask the group what sorts of learning were happening while creating and talking about their creations. Who had a creation that didn’t go as planned? What can we learn from things that don’t work?
Ask: What was this experience like for you? What did you like about it? What could you see your students doing?
Explore
Display slide 6. Explain to participants that they now have some time to explore existing Makerspaces on their own. You can give participants the choice of searching Makerspace images and recording what they notice or print and pass out the article Designing a School Makerspace (see link in Materials above) for them to read and record observations.
On each table make sure to have 6 different colors of sticky notes. Ask participants to find a different color note from the rest of the people at their table. Have them record what they notice about Makerspaces on their sticky notes.
Once participants have had time to explore the resources and record their observations, display slide 7 and ask them to stand and find others with the same color sticky note as they do to talk about what they noticed.
Explain
Display slide 8. Explain that there are lots of ways that we can apply low cost and no cost materials to the curriculum and content when trying to integrate Making. The hardest part can be brainstorming creative applications for what we have on hand.
Open the Makerspace Activity Ideas, making sure that it is visible for participants to see. Attendees work as a group to first call out materials that they have a lot of. This could include lined paper, broken crayons, paperclips, etc. Record responses. Generate a list of materials on a white board or chart paper, and revisit the list as participants share possible projects and products students could create using the materials listed in the article.
After participants have had time to generate a list of materials with multiple ideas, return to the slides and display slide 9. Give participants time to scan the QR code. Let them know that scanning the code will provide them with a copy of the resources you just generated as a group.
Extend
Move to slide 10 and reflect on all you have seen and done. Ask participants to share out what they feel Makerspaces look like, sound like, and feel like.
Remind participants that this is all with low-cost/no-cost materials. Adding big ticket items can be exciting for teachers and students, but it is the mindset we create that makes the biggest impact. Display slide 11 and share that OETT has a grant program that can be used to expand Makerspaces and add more technology/robotics. Share the OETT link with participants and either give them time to explore the site and ask questions or encourage them to explore it further on their own time: https://www.oett.org/grants/
Evaluate
Remind participants that mastery does not come before applying a tool with students. If we waited to let students use materials until we had mastered every tool that we use in our Makerspaces, students would never get to use them. Additionally, with low-cost materials, we never know what students may create, so it is best to provide opportunities and see where they take them. When we don’t fully have a tool or material mastered, we have the chance to authentically model how to find the information we need to make things work and authentically model a growth mindset. Do not be afraid to be open. Kids need to see us model struggle so that they can begin to be comfortable with struggle themselves.
Move to slide 12. Participants can consider their comfort in using common Maker tools by engaging in a four corners activity. Explain that we are going to show our TEAM spirit in this activity by moving to the poster in the room that matches our experience with a variety of both high-and low-end maker tools. In this instance, TEAM stands for Try, Explore, Apply, Master. Display the Four Corners posters (attached) around the room. Use slides 13-19 to gauge participants comfort with a variety of Maker tools. Remind participants that they are considering what category they fit in as they look at the Maker tools displayed:
Willing to Try
Have already Explored
Have Applied to learning with students
Mastered and use regularly
Continue to display slides 13-19 to gauge the participants’ willingness to work with different Maker tools. After participants move each time, ask what has made it difficult to work with the tools, or what supports they have found helpful in integrating the tools.
End by reminding participants that tools are engaging, but their willingness to try and model is at the heart of a successful Makerspace. Giving students space to explore, tinker, and try will develop a growth mindset and a readiness to think about their world in new ways.
Follow-Up Activities
As teachers express an interest in learning more about integrating specific tools, follow-up trainings can address the use of those tools specifically. Call on the participants who said they have "mastered" the Maker tools to help mentor and facilitate future trainings.
Research Rationale
Makerspaces are currently used for activities such as STEM challenges, free play, or literacy extensions. While Makerspaces continue to grow in popularity, there is currently a lack of research on best practices for implementation and outcomes regarding the efficacy and impact of Makerspaces on learning (Davis, 2018; Vongkulluksn, et al., 2018). The problem facing Makerspaces today is that there is no standardized pedagogical framework for best practices in implementing and assessing learning in Makerspaces. However, within a school, a Makerspace has the potential to reach a multitude of learners across a variety of learning styles including those who learn best in a hands-on environment (Sheffield et al., 2017).
For Makerspaces to have a positive impact on student learning, teachers and leaders have to be prepared to select materials and coach learners. Educators need to understand how to guide students to develop a growth mindset while working in a Makerspace. The process and not the product needs to be the central focus for learning. Makerspaces are often viewed as expenses but using less costly materials to build and create can be both more sustainable and replicable (Lakind et al., 2019). Learning should be the focus over high-priced materials (Fontichiaro, 2018). This session helps educators to see how they can use low-cost or no-cost materials to support student learning through Making.
Resources
Davis AML. (2018). Current trends and goals in the development of makerspaces at New England college and research libraries. Information Technology & Libraries. 37(2):94-117.
Fontichiaro, K. (2018). Beware the magical object: stop expecting tools to be teachers. Teacher Librarian, 46(2), 49–51.
K20 Center. (n.d.). Four corners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/138
K20 Center. (n.d.). 8 minute timer. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-21YM7Ey7k
Lakind, A., Willett, R., & Halverson, E. R. (2019). Democratizing the maker movement: A case study of one public library system’s makerspace program. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 58(4), 235–245.
Sheffield, R., Koul, R., Blackley, S., & Maynard, N. (2017). Makerspace in STEM for girls: a physical space to develop twenty-first-century skills. Educational Media International, 54(2), 148–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2017.1362812
Vongkulluksn, V. W., Matewos, A. M., Sinatra, G. M., & Marsh, J. A. (2018). Motivational factors in makerspaces: A mixed methods study of elementary school students’ situational interest, self-efficacy, and achievement emotions. International Journal of STEM Education, 5.