Maker-Centered Learning

Acknowledgments ix List of Tables and Figures xiii Foreword xix Introduction 1 What is a Maker? And What is Maker-Centered Learning? 4 A Road Map to the Journey Ahead 8 1 Exploring the Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 15 Learning from Maker Educators and Thought Leaders 17 Identifying the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 18 Understanding the Primary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Developing Agency and Building Character 19 Understanding the Secondary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Cultivating Discipline-Specific and Maker-Specific Knowledge and Skills 35 Recapping the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 39 2 Teaching and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom 43 Maker-Centered Roots and Connections 45 Who (and What) Are the Teachers in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 51 Students as Teachers 51 Teachers in the Community 55 Online Knowledge Sourcing 56 Tools and Materials as Teachers 57 What Does Teaching Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 59 Facilitating Student Collaboration 60 Encouraging Co-inspiration and Co-critique 63 Redirecting Authority and the Ethics of Knowledge Sharing 70 What Does Learning Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 73 Figuring It Out 74 What Does the Maker-Centered Classroom Look Like? 77 Tools and Materials 78 Storage and Visibility 80 Specific and Flexible Spaces 83 3 Developing a Sense of Maker Empowerment 85 What Is Agency? 89 Choice, Intention, and Action 89 Scope: Agency and the Complex Web of Interrelated Actions 91 Locus: Participating in Agentic Action 94 Agency and Maker Empowerment 98 Empowerment and Social Justice 101 Empowerment in Education 103 4 Developing a Sensitivity to Design 109 Developing a Sensitivity to Design in a Consumer-Driven World 111 The Hidden Mechanics of Stuff 112 Living in the Throes of a Throwaway Culture 114 What Is a Sensitivity to Design? 116 How Are Students Sensitive (or Not) to Design? 120 Seeing the Designed World as Malleable 122 5 Maker-Centered Teaching and Learning in Action 127 A Framework for Maker Empowerment 128 Looking Closely 130 Exploring Complexity 133 Finding Opportunity 136 Tools and Techniques for Supporting Maker-Centered Thinking and Learning 141 Dispositional Development and Thinking Routines 142 Developing Thinking Routines to Support a Sensitivity to Design 142 Conclusion 155 Maker-Centered Learning: Challenges and Puzzles 157 Considering the Ethical Dimensions of Maker-Centered Learning 158 Equity and Access in the Maker-Centered Classroom 159 Supporting and Sustaining Maker-Centered Practice 162 Looking Ahead: The Future of Maker-Centered Learning 163 Imagine If. . . 166 Afterword 169 Appendix A: Overview of Interview Participants 173 Appendix B: Thinking Routines 175 Notes 185 References 195 Index 203 About the Authors 223