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| How To Create A Makerspace In Your School A Step-By-Step Guide To Unleashing Students Creativity. Arlington, Texas: PARAGON, 2017 |
The
“maker movement” is catching on in education, and it’s easy to see why. Looking
to inspire the next generation of tinkerers and innovators, a growing number of
schools are creating spaces to unleash students’ creativity.
These
spaces, which are equipped with everything from popsicle sticks and glue guns
to electronics kits and 3D printers, can go by many different names. In some schools,
they’re called “dream labs.” In others, they might be referred to as
“innovation spaces.” To keep it simple, we will refer to them as “maker spaces”
throughout this guide.
When
educators encourage students to learn by creating, they inspire students to
take ownership of their learning. Students become highly engaged and invested
in their education.
In
the process, students can learn not only key STEM concepts (like how an
electronic circuit works or what the engineering design process entails), but
also 21st-century skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking,
creativity and perseverance.
The
maker movement isn’t really a new concept. “Montessori said that when you work
with your head, your heart and your hands, it all works together,” says Sylvia
Martinez, co-author of the book Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and
Engineering in the Classroom. Learning by creating “is good pedagogy,” she
says, explaining that the idea can be traced from Rousseau to John Dewey,
Piaget and others throughout history. But one thing that’s different today is
the sophistication of the tools that are available to students. As recently as
10 years ago, K-12 students would not have been able to design a machine and
then fabricate parts for that machine. Now, with the help of widely accessible
design programs and 3D printers, “any sixth grader can do that in a single
class period,” says Trevor Shaw, director of technology for the
Dwight-Englewood School in New Jersey and a leader in the maker movement for education.
“It’s such an empowering experience,” he observes. Creating a maker space for
your schools might seem like a daunting task. With this guide, we hope to make
the process easier.
Within
these pages, you’ll find questions and strategies to consider as you define
your vision and goals, design and equip your maker space and help teachers
shift their mindset to take full advantage of the space with their students.
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