Stop and think
Before moving on, take a moment to think back on your schooling. Think about something you did that truly stands out to you as a positive experience where you REALLY LEARNED something.
Write it down, make a movie, or just sit and ponder.
Not to make assumptions but for many of you that memory will be about a project or task where you got your hands dirty and either designed and built something OR engaged in something you truly loved. You'll never forget the frustrations and celebrations you experienced as you strove for success.
This is the heart of Maker Education. Learning by doing while solving problems that mean something to YOU.
Below there is a brief overview of the Maker Movement and Maker Education. The goal is mainly to provide you with some essential elements of the history and rationale for Maker Education AND get you thinking about the concept as an instructional tool.
Write it down, make a movie, or just sit and ponder.
Not to make assumptions but for many of you that memory will be about a project or task where you got your hands dirty and either designed and built something OR engaged in something you truly loved. You'll never forget the frustrations and celebrations you experienced as you strove for success.
This is the heart of Maker Education. Learning by doing while solving problems that mean something to YOU.
Below there is a brief overview of the Maker Movement and Maker Education. The goal is mainly to provide you with some essential elements of the history and rationale for Maker Education AND get you thinking about the concept as an instructional tool.
We are makers
Recall the video from the Introduction, called We Are Makers, that provided a brief rationale for and the history of the Maker Movement.
Remember it? Feel free to go back and watch if its been a while.
STOP AND THINK:
Now, ask yourself the following questions (You're encouraged to record your thoughts in some manner):
What is your understanding of the maker movement?
How did watching the video change your understanding of making and the maker movement?
Do you view yourself as a maker?
Early in the video, they discuss the impact of the loss of shop, music and other hands-on classes in schools. How do you think this might impact your students in the long-term?
How do you think the ideals of the maker movement could most benefit your students?
What are your thoughts about the label of ‘Maker Education?’
What challenges do you foresee when thinking about the use maker education?
How would you start to overcome some of these challenges?
Have a listen:
Now that you've answered the above questions, listen to a short interview in which Sarah, a CBE teacher, answers the same questions shortly after viewing We Are Makers:
Remember it? Feel free to go back and watch if its been a while.
STOP AND THINK:
Now, ask yourself the following questions (You're encouraged to record your thoughts in some manner):
What is your understanding of the maker movement?
How did watching the video change your understanding of making and the maker movement?
Do you view yourself as a maker?
Early in the video, they discuss the impact of the loss of shop, music and other hands-on classes in schools. How do you think this might impact your students in the long-term?
How do you think the ideals of the maker movement could most benefit your students?
What are your thoughts about the label of ‘Maker Education?’
What challenges do you foresee when thinking about the use maker education?
How would you start to overcome some of these challenges?
Have a listen:
Now that you've answered the above questions, listen to a short interview in which Sarah, a CBE teacher, answers the same questions shortly after viewing We Are Makers:
STOP AND THINK:
It is now time, again, to stop and think. Compare your responses to Sarah's. Did you agree with each other? Did you see things differently?
Did listening to Sarah's ideas change your thinking? Did anything she said excite you or make you nervous?
It is now time, again, to stop and think. Compare your responses to Sarah's. Did you agree with each other? Did you see things differently?
Did listening to Sarah's ideas change your thinking? Did anything she said excite you or make you nervous?
Where does Maker education Come from?
Maker Education is built upon two major theories of learning: constructivism and constructionism.
Key Understandings About Constructivism:
Key Understandings About Constructionism:
Key Understandings About Constructivism:
- Developed by Jean Piaget.
- Learning is increasingly the responsibility of the learner.
- Learner motivation is increased through the completion of complex, challenging tasks.
- Teachers become facilitators.
- Learning is an active and social process.
- There is collaboration between learners.
- Teachers and learners support and learn from each other.
Key Understandings About Constructionism:
- Developed by Seymour Papert and inspired by constructivism.
- Shares many of the same tenets as constructivism, as outlined above.
- Suggests learning is most effective when actively designing and creating tangible objects in the real world.
putting it all together
Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez are two of the biggest proponents of Maker Education. As frequent Keynote speakers and the authors of Invent to Learn, they believe that schools need to support the 'return to the hand' by providing intentional experiences for students to play with and use a wide range of tools in order to support learning.
Key Understandings About Maker Education:
STOP AND THINK:
It's time to think again about that time in school that you REALLY learned something. Did that time reflect the above understandings?
If so, are there any new technologies or tools that would have enhanced your experience?
If not, could the task have been altered to include making? Would that have further improved the experience?
Key Understandings About Maker Education:
- To have students using authentic tools to create meaningful projects.
- Ties in with all subject areas (writing and research is viewed as a form of making).
- Many professions now use the same technologies, no reason to sort by 'academic or vocational.'
- Asks teachers to create settings were students are active participants instead of passive recipients.
- 'Computers as material' - Making uses a range of materials, from low to high tech.
- Computers are not required but enhance depth and breadth of experience.
- Asks students to solve real problems through design and invention.
- Focuses technology instruction through cross-curricular tasks instead of teaching isolated skills.
STOP AND THINK:
It's time to think again about that time in school that you REALLY learned something. Did that time reflect the above understandings?
If so, are there any new technologies or tools that would have enhanced your experience?
If not, could the task have been altered to include making? Would that have further improved the experience?